Rumor: Nintendo NX production will start in the fall

The Taiwanese website Digitimes claims that Nintendo has signed a contract with Foxconn for the production of a new console. The manufacturer would start production of the first copies of the Nintendo NX in October. Sales may then start in mid-2016.

Digitimes claims to have learned from an ‘internal source’ that Nintendo and Foxconn have signed a contract for the production of a new console. Under that contract, Foxconn should begin production of the first copies of the Nintendo NX by October of this year. Mass production of the console should begin around May 2016, building up enough inventory for the console to hit the market next July.

Nintendo would like to sell 20 million consoles in its first year. Digitimes has a mixed reputation when it comes to rumours, but the site has historically demonstrated good resources within the Taiwanese tech industry.

At the same time, Nintendo would like to phase out the production of the Wii U. The company hopes to sell two million copies in 2015. As of March of this year, 9.5 million Wii Us were sold worldwide, making it the worst-selling major console in Nintendo history. Despite the disappointing sales numbers of the Wii U, Nintendo managed to report profit for the first time in four years in April.

The Japanese company announced in March that it was working on a new console, which for the time being will go through life under the working title NX. More than that working title is not known about the device. Nintendo is expected to reveal all the details of the NX during E3 2016.