Sharp has announced that it is supplying liquid crystal displays to a new and mysterious gaming console, and while the Japanese company didn’t elaborate on what this system might be, a lot of people are assuming that it could very well be the successor to the Nintendo Switch. “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,” Robert Wu, Sharp’s CEO, told analysts on a call after the release of the company’s quarterly earnings. The speculation comes just days after Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa suggested that a new Nintendo console wouldn’t be out until April 2024 at the earliest, telling investors that there was no new or upgraded hardware in Nintendo’s annual forecast. The Nintendo Switch originally launched on March 3, 2017.
From a Bloomberg report (alternate link):
Sharp Chief Executive Officer Robert Wu said the Japanese firm, which is owned by Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group, has been working closely with an unnamed company on developing a gaming console since it was in the R&D phase. Sharp plans to launch pilot LCD-panel production lines this fiscal year for the new device, he said.
Wu was careful to avoid identifying the company or its impending product. After the analyst call, Sharp deleted from its online presentation slides a mention of a new game device it is a supplier for.
Sharp has worked with Nintendo before. Investors have anticipated that Nintendo will update its six-year-old marquee device next fiscal year, which could catalyze a flagging stock price.
For some reason, Sharp deleted "new game console" mention from its earnings document after a press/investor briefing https://t.co/7FJAqY4CSn
— Takashi Mochizuki (@6d6f636869) May 11, 2023