Sharp has revealed it's making screens for a new gaming console, and the company has a history of manufacturing parts for Nintendo.
Earlier this week, Sharp CEO Robert Wu said in an earnings call that the manufacturer would produce a new LCD screen for a gaming console launching at some point before March 2024. Put the near-constant Nintendo Switch successor rumors together with a new LCD screen for a new console, and you've got the perfect conditions for rampant speculation.
"I can’t comment on any details regarding specific customers. But as to a new gaming console, we’ve been involved in its R&D stage," Wu told analysts during the earnings call (as reported by Bloomberg). Sharp actually has a small history of acting as a partner manufacturer for Nintendo, supplying the company with parts for the Nintendo Switch in the past, so it's not out of the question for the company to be involved with a successor.
Nintendo Switch successor rumors have persisted for what feels like forever at this point, and these latest comments are just added fuel for the fire. Considering the Nintendo Switch is now entering its seventh year on the market, you might think a successor would be right around the corner, but Nintendo revealed earlier this week there are no plans to launch new hardware in 2023.
If Wu's comments are related to Nintendo though, it appears the company has plans for new hardware before March 2024, less than a year away. Keeping in mind that the Nintendo Switch itself wasn't revealed until just a few months before its official launch in March 2017, we could be in for a similar reveal-to-launch timetable for the Switch's eventual successor.
Check out our Nintendo Switch Pro guide for a complete recap of all the rumors surrounding new Nintendo hardware over the past few years.