Pachter Predicts Nintendo to Release Handheld Only Switch in 2019, PS4 and Xbox One Price Cut - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 08 January 2019 / 1,895 Views
Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter in an interview with GamingBolt has predicted Nintendo will release a handheld only model of the Nintendo Switch. He expects the Joycons to be integrated into the tablet, as well as a drop in price.
"Nintendo may position it as a reinvented Switch," said Pachter. "My guess is that Nintendo will take the Switch and get rid of the 'Switch' part, so it’ll be handheld only. They’ll probably just make the Joycons part of the integrated body of the tablet, and probably drop the price. Get rid of the docking station, and the external power supply- just turn the thing into a handheld that’s rechargeable with a power cord, you know, like a normal handheld, and charge $200 for it."
Pachter expects Microsoft and Sony to drop the price of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, respectively.
"So they do that, Sony can probably cut the price, Microsoft probably will cut the price," he said. "You’ll probably get a $199 Xbox and a $249 PlayStation, and a $199 Switch that’s handheld only, and that’ll probably be enough to drive unit demand to keep it constant year-over-year."
Pachter was asked if a Switch Pro would release in 2019 that would be similar to the PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One, however, he doesn't expect one so soon.
"Not in 2019, zero chance," said Pachter. "Sure, there’s a chance in a few years, but not next year."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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11 Comments
So apparently PS4 and XB1 prices will be going up this year and Nintendo will never release a handheld only Switch :P
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TalonMan (on 08 January 2019)
It still amazes me that anyone actually listens to this guy, anymore...
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Most likely due to the fact that he was one of the first "serious" video game market analysts. Tell me, how many "somethings" has he actually gotten correct over the past decade or so?
Here's a choice quote from Pachter, himself: Nintendo should dial back its reliance on quirky hardware or control schemes, despite its focus on unique elements in the Wii, 3DS and Wii U, and become more conventional in its approach to the home console space.
Right - because diving into a red ocean with Sony and MS consoles would be the best and most logical path forward for Nintendo's survival... :/
Face it - Pachter is an idiot. The only people that actually listen to him, are fellow baby-boomers who don't know any better and have no understanding of the video game industry.
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...testing to see if I stopped getting notifications when I myself, have commented. :)
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See! I wasn't insane :D awesome that you fixed it though. Was making me think my comments were popular!!
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I rarely post in news articles, so I didn't even know it was an actual problem until yesterday... :P
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what he is getting right is generating clicks or views, he doesn't have to get anything right as long as he gets people to read and comment on what he says.
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Thanks for fixing it! It's been annoying me for ages but I didn't think to give feedback about it. Now I know who to complain to lol
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I'm about 99% sure that he's right about the XB1 and PS4 Price cuts, the XB1 S price cut has already been leaked by other sources. As for the Handheld Switch model, I hope he is right because I would love a $200 Switch, but I feel like it is unlikely that Nintendo will drop the Switch design. There probably will be a new Switch model, but sadly it will probably only be slightly smaller, still have joycons and a dock, and go for $250.
The dock isn't 100 USD by itself in cost or so. In Japan they already sell dockless...
For they to reach a 200 USD they would need to make some other cuts as well or regular Switch would already be overpriced if doesn't take a 50USD cut.
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I know, the dock actually only takes like $20 or $30 to manufacture but Nintendo sells it for $50 (the standalone docks). That being said, Switch is definitely overpriced right now, it couldn't possibly cost more than $250 to manufacture the whole thing, Nvidia's Shield tv uses the same Tegra X1 chipset as switch and it is selling for $170 on Amazon right now, sure Switch has extra stuff like a screen, a battery, and rumble motors that the Shield tv doesn't have, but all in all the cost of those components shouldn't bring the total manufacture price over $250. I seem to remember hearing that Nvidia's Tegra X2 chipset is actually cheaper to manufacture than the X1, because the 20nm process is dying and there is lots of competition for the few production lines still making 20nm chipsets, so by using the X2 in a Switch handheld/Switch Mini and dropping the dock, they should hopefully be able to reach $200, or at least like $220-230. Also, using a Tegra X2 would give a Switch Mini better battery life, which is crucial for a handheld.
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If I were to guess I would put Switch costing 200-250 at launch.
But the point is that if they have the price of Switch regular and HH only diff by only 50 bucks or less then it won't really benefit them.
Sure they can make the next revision that would bring Switch cost down a lot but atribute most of it only on the HH version (that you can't put on the dock, because that would canibalize them) and just later discount the regular one.
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So gamingbolt wanted to interview this idiot, why? I wish gaming publications and gaming sites stopped interviewing him, quoting him or giving him any attention what's so ever. Then again maybe patcher wants to feel important and pays to be interviewed? Unless he knows about a handheld only switch where does he come up with this nonsense. For a start it wouldn't be a switch and nintendo would need to change the name. The fact that nintendo has no reason other than savings on the docking station to bring out a hand held only switch. It is already handheld patcher you prick.
Not only the could save on the dock, they could integrate the controls and also downclock or remove some of the GPU, making the cost smaller. Not much I would say.
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- No cut in the MSRP for everyone and Switch Pro is coming out this year, thanks Patcher !!
Please don't give this man a platform. We've already had our fun with him but it's gotten old. You're only making the site look bad by mentioning him.
Isn´t this the same guy who said that Vita would crush the 3DS? Geeezz.... nobody knows where this person came from, why people insist in giving him attention ? A portable-only Switch is pointless, everybody knows that.
So ps4 and xone up to 399 and nintendo will make a only desk console at 299.
Pachter doesn't predict, he just tells his personal opinion. When will people learn?
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