Nintendo plans to launch its next-generation NX console in July 2016, according to sources at the company's parts suppliers.

Foxconn Electronics is allegedly set to manufacture the console, but competitor Pegatron Technology is engaged in a bidding war for some of the orders.

Sources say mass production is set to start between May and June 2016, which points towards a July launch, with an aim of shipping 20 million NX consoles in the first year of release.

A 2016 release would see Nintendo fall out of lock-step with Microsoft's and Sony's generational shifts.

Meanwhile, in Nintendo's annual Japanese shareholder meeting, president Satoru Iwata conceded that the early announcement of the NX was designed to quell rumours that Nintendo would bail on its hardware business, following the disappointing reception of the Wii U.

Iwata also said the NX would see a proper reveal in 2016, and that it is being designed as a successor to both the Wii U and the 3DS.