Nintendo reportedly plans to release 4K-capable Switch early next year

If  you are planning to get yourself a Nintendo Switch this Christmas just to see what Animal Crossing: New Horizons is all about, then you might want to hold off for a little bit because according to Bloomberg, the Tokyo-based company is working on an upgraded version of its Switch game console which will be released early next year.

The report said specifications of the upcoming console have yet to be finalized but the Japanese gaming giant “has looked into including more computing power and 4K high-definition graphics.”

Apart from the more potent game console, the report also noted that a “slew of games from Nintendo itself and related outside studios” would also come alongside with the release of the new Switch. The upcoming games would cater to “casual gamers seeking small doses of escapism” and “devoted fans putting in marathon gaming sessions.” Sources claimed that Nintendo’s plans for next year explain the company’s “relatively quiet software release schedule so far this year.”

The tech giant released a refreshed model of the Switch last year with improved battery life, drastically extending the standard version’s 2.5-6.5 hours to 4.5-9 hours. The Nintendo Switch Lite edition, meanwhile, focused on the handheld console market and discarded the Switch’s removable Joy-Con controllers and docking system capability.

Nintendo’s hybrid console has performed extremely well this year following the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons in the wake of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. As of June 30, 2020, Nintendo has sold a total of 61.44 million units of the Switch since its release in 2017. In comparison, the 37-year-old Family Computer sold 61.91 million units.