Omdia: Nintendo plans to introduce a new Switch gaming console in 2024 with an 8" LCD screen; the current seven-year-old Switch has sold over 132M units
- The next console from Kyoto company to have 8-inch LCD — Seven-year-old Switch console has sold over 132 million units
Context & Ripple Effects
Nintendo had already extended the platform with a 7-inch OLED revision, following earlier reports of a planned hardware refresh. That iterative approach matters because the installed base had passed 132M units, making any new model a transition from a still-large existing ecosystem rather than a clean reset.
The report also arrives as Nintendo’s unit-sales outlook had begun to moderate from prior levels, with the company projecting 15M Switch sales for the fiscal year after selling 18M in the preceding year.
First-order effects
- Nintendo’s reported roadmap points to a new Switch model with a larger LCD display, shifting the next hardware conversation from the prior OLED refresh toward a new product cycle.
- The company must balance that new hardware push against a 132M-plus installed base, while display-component planning would move toward 8-inch LCD capacity.
Second-order effects
- Game publishers and accessory makers would need to prepare for a split market: continued support for the established Switch base alongside products tailored to the new device.
- A larger LCD configuration could sharpen competition among handheld-console makers on screen size and price, rather than treating OLED as the default premium differentiator.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, Nintendo’s hardware strategy is evolving toward longer-lived platforms refreshed through successive form factors and display choices, delaying the economic break implied by a full generational reset.
- The key uncertainty is whether the new model is positioned as a successor or a compatible extension; that decision would determine how quickly software, accessories, and consumers migrate.
The trend: Mature game-console platforms are being prolonged through targeted hardware refreshes that preserve installed-base economics while reopening demand for new devices.