Earlier this week, Nintendo released its latest financial update. The Switch continues to sell very well and several games have also seen some impressive sales figures. This is possibly best exemplified in the Pokémon franchise sales which saw figures heading towards 30 million units sold in just several months! Phew! Gotta buy ’em all! For a more in-depth discussion about the highlights from the report, be sure to check out this article at nintendogamer.co.za.
Mr Furukawa’s concern
However, alongside the report, what caught my eye yesterday was this article as published in videogameschronicle.com. In it, Nintendo’s accompanying Japanese investor Q&A is discussed, and in particular, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa’s remarks about how important the transition from the Switch to whatever their next console will be.
Mr Furukawa responded to a question about the Switch’s strong games lineup several years into its lifecycle by referring to lessons learned from the Wii and DS systems. As discussed in the article, these (like the Switch) were super successful consoles that were followed up by much less- successful consoles (and in the case of the Wii U one could argue – a sales disaster). Hence, Nintendo is understandably very aware of the importance of making the move from the Uber-successful Switch. They are mitigating this risk by making the move from the uber-successful Switch and are mitigating that risk by…
…continu[ing to launch] new software on the Nintendo Switch… [as well as providing] services that also use Nintendo Accounts and other IP outside of gaming software. (translation as provided in the VGC article)
TNG’s view…
I’ve spoken a lot about what I think the new Switch will be and I even speculated about when it could reach us (read about that here) or watch the first episode of the NAG show where Regardt and I chat a little bit about it. In short, I think it may be a while. And I also think comments like the one quoted above and the staggering sales Nintendo continues to have with the Switch (and their positive forecasts for future sales) – only further indicate that Nintendo’s ‘new console’ may not be here as soon as many hope.