Nintendo Switch has been a rage worldwide right from the day it went on sale. The console is still hard to find in retail outlets. Due to the massive gap in supply and demand, online retailers are selling it at exorbitantly high prices. The demand is only expected to go up during the holiday shopping season. A senior Nintendo executive just said he was uncertain whether the company would be able to meet the Nintendo Switch holiday demand.
Exec didn’t commit to fulfilling the Nintendo Switch holiday demand
The Switch is on track to sell more than ten million units this year. Even after having doubled its production capacity from 10 million to 20 million units per year, the Japanese company might struggle to meet the Nintendo Switch holiday demand. Speaking at Variety’s Entertainment and Technology Summit on Thursday, Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime said supply issues would persist during the holiday season.
Fils-Aime didn’t commit to fulfilling the holiday season demand. “Are we going to have enough for the holiday? That’s what we are focused on,” said Fils-Aime. He said the demand was “certainly” there, and Nintendo’s supply chain was there to hit the ten million units goal. His statement is in line with recent comments from GameStop, which said it was still struggling to keep the console in store shelves.
Nintendo Switch has been around for more than a seven months, but consumer demand for the console shows no signs of abating. Fils-Aime said at the conference that Nintendo was more than just a gaming company. He described it as “an entertainment company.” Nintendo’s efforts into mobile gaming have paid off well. The Super Mario Run has been downloaded more than 150 million times worldwide.
Nintendo is more than just a gaming company
The success of Super Mario Run mobile game gave Nintendo insights into which markets it should target to sell the hardware, said Fils-Aime. The Japanese company has also joined hands with Universal Studios to expand its presence beyond gaming. Fils-Aime said options like TV shows and movies were also “potentially on the table.” Augmented reality game Pokemon Go, in which Nintendo holds a stake, has also been a roaring success.
However, Nintendo Switch does not support augmented reality. The previous generation Nintendo consoles support the technology, though. Other tech giants such as Apple, Facebook, and Google have also been investing heavily in AR. Apple’s iOS 11 software will support AR applications.
Pokemon CEO didn’t expect Switch to be a success
While Nintendo will likely struggle to meet the Nintendo Switch holiday demand, just a few months ago some believed that the console was destined to be a failure. Pokemon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara said in a recent interview that he was doubtful of the console’s success. Before the Switch went on sale, Ishihara told Nintendo that “Switch wouldn’t be a success.”
The Pokemon CEO thought no one would want to carry around a gaming console in the age of smartphones. Today, the scarcity of Switch says it all. The success of Switch has taught Ishihara that “software with absolute quality” could drive hardware sales, and that people’s playing style is flexible if the gaming titles are attractive enough. Ishihara still believes the Switch needs to attract a wider audience.
Nintendo Switch sales numbers
Nintendo sold nearly 2.74 million Switch units in the first month of launch. It sold another 2 million units during the June quarter, taking the total shipments till June to 4.7 million units. The sales could have been much higher had Nintendo been able to meet the demand. Experts believe the Switch will surpass the lifetime sales of Wii U in just one year. The Wii U sold 13.5 million units in its lifetime.
If you haven’t yet been able to buy a Switch console for yourself, you can get the Nintendo Switch Splatoon 2 bundles from Walmart starting September 8th. The bundle will be a Walmart exclusive. Nintendo has priced the Splatoon 2 bundle at $380. It includes a digital download for Splatoon 2, Joy-Con controllers in Neon-Pink and Neon-Green colors, and a carrying case.
Six new titles now available on the Switch eShop
Nintendo has also added six new games to the Switch eShop. The new titles are in addition to R.B.I. Baseball 17 and Lego Worlds that were released earlier this week. One of them is Blue’s Journey, where you have to use your ability to shrink in size to pass through various stages. It is priced at $8. The second title is Double Dragon IV, which is developed by Arc System Works and costs $7.
Other new titles include The Bridge, a logic puzzle game; Lichtspeer: Double Speer Edition; NeuroVoider; and Physical Contact: 2048. European users can now also get The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+, which was released in the US in March. On September 12, the acclaimed title Rayman Legends: Definitive Edition will arrive on the Switch.
