Nintendo officially added Sharp to its list of assemblers of the Switch handheld console. According to Bloomberg, the move comes as the Japanese gaming brand works to bring the output of console back to normal levels amidst the ongoing US-China trade war and COVID-19 pandemic.
Surprisingly, the Sharp-owned factory tasked with assembling Nintendo’s popular console is based in Malaysia. As to how its appointment came about, Nintendo’s main assembly partner, Foxconn, reportedly connected the two brands. Not surprising, given that the Taiwanese brand technically owns Sharp.
More to the point, the Sharp appointment was also due to Nintendo’s request to Foxconn to provide an alternative manufacturing site outside of China, in an effort to skirt around the earlier mentioned trade war, brought about by the soon-to-be-former US President Donald Trump, and his administration. That said, a major chunk of production will still be handled by Foxconn and its factories in China.
Since its launch back in 2017, more than 68.3 million units of the Nintendo Switch has been sold, and analysts have forecasted that the brand is fast on its way to surpassing 100 million units sold. Let’s not forget that the company is reportedly planning on launching a new, upgraded Switch next year; one that is likely to feature more up-to-date hardware and support for 4K resolution.
