Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa informed investors that it will be difficult for the Kyoto-based video game company to “maintain hardware sales at the same pace as before” as the Nintendo Switch enters its seventh year on the market. Mr. Furukawa says the company is exploring additional ways to get consumers to pick up the Nintendo Switch console, and points to the upcoming opening of Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood as one way consumers will “encounter Nintendo themes in areas beyond dedicated video. gaming platform” along with the upcoming Super Mario Bros. movie.
“Nintendo Switch, soon to enter its seventh year, has cumulatively sold more than 120 million units and we believe it is entering uncharted territory in Nintendo’s dedicated video game platform business. In this environment, it will not be easy to maintain hardware sales at the same pace as before. For this reason, our new challenge for year seven is finding ways to encourage customers considering new purchases, trade-ins and add-ons to pick up a Nintendo Switch.
We believe that both new titles and evergreen titles can create opportunities for new users to purchase hardware. Furthermore, maintaining involvement in hardware can lead to the introduction of new software. In December last year, we saw the highest level of Nintendo Switch engagement and many users continue to play Nintendo Switch. Given the situation, it is important to communicate the appeal of the Nintendo Switch in the future through software offerings to consumers considering new purchases, replacement purchases, and additional hardware purchases.
SUPER NINTENDO WORLD will have its grand opening at Universal Studios Hollywood this February, and the movie Super Mario Bros. will premiere in April. By creating opportunities for consumers to experience Nintendo themes in areas beyond the dedicated video game platform, we aim to maintain the overall momentum of our business.
Since we are continuing with the Nintendo Switch business for the long term, we have tried to preserve the value and prices of the hardware and software as much as possible. We do not believe that policy needs to be changed at this time.”
