TOKYO—
Nintendo Co.
NTDOY -1.78% plans to release a new version of its Switch videogame console next year to maintain the sales momentum of the device, according to suppliers and others with direct knowledge of the plan.
Sales of the Switch, introduced in March 2017, are still solid but are
no longer delivering the favorable surprises that marked the machine's first year on the market. Nintendo shares, which rose sharply last year, have trailed the broader stock market this year. The move to update the Switch suggests the Kyoto, Japan, company is moving quickly to ensure its flagship product doesn't lose competitiveness.
Nintendo is still debating what new hardware and software features to include in the upgrade and weighing the cost of the features, people with knowledge of the discussions said.
One option is improving the display, they said. The current Switch uses a lower-end liquid-crystal display without some technologies that are standard in more recent smartphone LCDs.
Updating the display with these technologies would make it brighter, thinner and more energy-efficient. The updated Switch isn't expected to adopt the organic light-emitting diode or OLED panels used in
Apple Inc.'s
AAPL 1.22% iPhone X series.
