Nintendo could begin assembly of its next games console, the Nintendo NX, as soon as October, if a report by a Taipei-based news organisation is to be believed.

Taiwan-based Digitimes claims that Nintendo has inked a contract with manufacturing giant Foxconn Electronics, and wants the group to begin pilot assembly on the new machine by October "at the latest." Foxconn, which is also based in Taiwan, is believed to employ close to one million people, and is known to be the manufacturer of numerous Apple devices such as the iPhone.

Digitimes' information, purportedly obtained by an inside source, could not be verified by time of going to press. GameSpot has contacted Nintendo for comment.

Given the working title the NX, Nintendo is expected to reveal its new console on or before E3 2016, with a release earmarked for later that year.

However, the Digitimes report claims that "mass production will start in May or June 2016, while the console's official launch may take place around July."

It is also claimed that Nintendo is preparing to ship 20 million Nintendo NX systems in its first year.

Meanwhile, the Kyoto corporation will apparently continue to wind down manufacturing of its commercially unsuccessful Wii U system, with shipment volumes at about two million units in 2015. This claim has not been officially confirmed by Nintendo.

As of March, Nintendo has shipped about 9.5 million Wii U systems worldwide since launch in 2012. Unless sales climb dramatically, the Wii U will be Nintendo's worst-selling main console in the company's history.

However, in April the corporation managed to balance its finances and deliver an annual operating profit for the first time in four years.

The Nintendo NX was first announced in March. Although it is implied that the system is a home console and not a handheld, no key details have been released yet.

If the manufacturing story is accurate, it would suggest that the corporation has a final idea on how the product will look, and what components it will use.