- The Switch will be around for more years to come
- Nintendo’s president says the console is just at halfway its lifetime
- The company will continue to innovate on the software side of things
Nintendo’s president Shuntaro Furukawa says that the Nintendo Switch will remain the company’s priority for the upcoming years.
Nintendo’s Plans for the Switch
The Nintendo Switch has become not just the company’s most successful product, but also the world’s most sold console. With its sleek design, easy portability, and hybrid handheld and stationary console, the Switch has sold more than 100 million units since its release in 2017.
Naturally, with such success and the console already being almost five years old, speculations arise as to what the Switch’s successor will be. To explain Nintendo’s position and plans, the company’s president Shuntaro Furukawa talked to the Japanese publication Nikkei. He explained that Nintendo is “constantly researching technology” in an effort to improve its current offerings, instead of following a strict timeline for the development and release of new hardware.
“The hardware and software development teams are in the same building, communicating closely and thinking about how we can propose new forms of entertainment,” Furukawa said. He explained that creating a piece of hardware takes years of preparation, so the company is working constantly without stopping. “In the end, the deciding factor in whether or not to commercialize a product is whether it can create a new experience,” he added.
The Switch Is in the Middle of Its Lifecycle
The Nintendo Switch is almost five years old, but Furukawa reaffirmed the position that the console is only halfway through its expected life. The management thinks that the device’s lifespan can be increased because of what its software could offer.
Furukawa has talked before that Nintendo plans to have the console for the next five years. Reaffirming this statement, Furukawa said to Nikkei that the fact that the Switch is both a handheld and a stationary device will help it be more viable still. This can be supplemented by regular software updates. “The life cycle can still be extended.”
Keeping this in mind, Furukawa and Nintendo will focus on their fans with new and interesting games while continuing to lower the barriers for playing those games. The president also mentioned that the company is keeping a close eye on worldwide trends. Furukawa noted that the company has experienced “nosedives” several times in the past and views every year as a critical time to continue improving.
Finally, he said that if Nintendo does not come up with fresh ideas and proposals, “we will always be forgotten.”
