The Nintendo Switch hasn’t officially ended its inaugural year yet, but the company has managed to sell more than 10 million units of the hybrid console, almost reaching the lifetime sales of the Wii U. However, Nintendo is not taking a break anytime soon, aiming to sell 20 million this year, and is already hard at work on making the Switch’s second year, even better than the first.
In an interview with a newspaper in Japan via NintendoEverything, Nintendo’s president Tatsumi Kimishima said that “in order (for the Switch) to be playable in the long term, the second year is crucial.” Nintendo is now acknowledging the big task that they are now faced and said that their priority is “to add more users, including people who barely touch game consoles.”
As of now, Nintendo is on the right track to make the Switch a long term console. The fact that the company is more than willing to encourage third party developers to make games for the Switch is already a step in the right direction. As numerous Nintendo and third party titles are headed for the Switch this year, I believe that this alone would attract new players to Nintendo’s hybrid console. You can check out the upcoming releases for the Switch in our summary of the recent Nintendo Direct mini here.
Kimishima also recognized the upsides of inviting third party developers to make games for the Switch but he stated that the industry is extremely competitive and other companies may release hardware that would steal the Switch’s momentum and attention. Personally, I don’t see Kimishima’s concern as a threat to the Switch’s popularity because Nintendo is already known to have pioneered the home console/portable handheld technology. Even if other companies such as Sony and Microsoft would develop systems with similar features, it would just look like they have copied it from Nintendo. Lastly, the likelihood of Sony and Microsoft to develop a sort of “hybrid system” like the Switch is unlikely, given that those companies are more focused on graphical performance and VR support than portability.
In the end, even if Nintendo is on the right track with the Switch, they still have to start listening to the feedback of their community if they want the system to be even more successful. First of all, they should have already introduced the Virtual Console on the Switch, which is one of the most requested features fans have been asking for. Secondly, if Nintendo wants to bring in people who barely touch game consoles, then Nintendo should offer more features that are not related to gaming. On the top of my mind, a Netflix app will definitely be helpful in attracting more people to purchase a Nintendo Switch. Although Netflix has stated that they are working with Nintendo on this issue, Nintendo should act quickly if they want the second year of the Switch to be more successful than the first.
What features would you like to see on the Nintendo Switch? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
