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Nintendo reportedly plans a smaller Switch console

It's designed to be more portable and easier to carry around, says a report from Japanese publication Nikkei.

Marrian Zhou Staff Reporter
Marrian Zhou is a Beijing-born Californian living in New York City. She joined CNET as a staff reporter upon graduation from Columbia Journalism School. When Marrian is not reporting, she is probably binge watching, playing saxophone or eating hot pot.
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A smaller version of the Nintendo Switch may come out later this year. 

 Óscar Gutiérrez/CNET

A lite version of the Nintendo Switch is in the works, says a Thursday report.

Nintendo is planning to offer a smaller version of the Switch hybrid console to make the gaming device more portable, according to a report from Japanese publication Nikkei. Nintendo told manufacturing partners and game developers about the plan, the publication said.

The new model will be easier to carry around, though its functionality will be limited, according to Neowin's translation of the Nikkei report. The smaller Switch device may appear in mid-2019.

This comes after October rumors that Nintendo may release an updated version of the Switch as soon as the summer of 2019. In September, the gaming giant launched Nintendo Switch Online, a subscription service that costs $20 a year and lets users play games in multiplayer mode and gives them a library of classic titles.

Nintendo reportedly may also launch another subscription service this year. The rumored service will reportedly target users who don't mind spending a lot of money on in-app purchases.

Nintendo didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nikkei is the largest Japanese business newspaper and has accurately predicted the arrival of new Nintendo products before.

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