Nintendo President Casts Doubt On Switch Price Cuts Or Hardware Refresh
There is little doubt that the Nintendo Switch has been a huge success. Many people are hoping to get their hands on a discounted console or itching to see how Nintendo will update the Switch. However, it appears that for the time being, fans should not expect any major changes. Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa stated that his company will not be cutting the price or updating the hardware of the Nintendo Switch.
Furukawa was recently interviewed by The Sankei News, a daily online Japanese newspaper. Furukawa remarked, “Nintendo Switch is our primary sales objective, and we are not considering a successor or a price cut at this time.” He also noted that Nintendo’s goal is to sell 20 million units by the end of the fiscal year.
Although Furukawa used the term “successor”, we believe that he meant that the Nintendo Switch will not experience a hardware refresh like the Xbox One S, Xbox One X, Playstation 4 Pro. For example, the Playstation 4 Pro is slightly different than its predecessor because it incorporates a different GPU, includes more storage options, and features 4K streaming. We find it unlikely that Nintendo will never release a successor to the Nintendo Switch, considering its popularity and the advancement of console technology.
The brief interview revealed a few other interesting aspects of the company. Furukawa contended that their goal with mobile gaming is to “build a relationship with our consumers”. Nintendo is trying to gain more experience with mobile gaming and plans to release games from various genres.
Nintendo has so far released five and licensed six mobile games, including Super Mario Run and Pokémon Go. Mario Kart Tour is slated to release this March. It has also been hinted that Nintendo will release a Legend of Zelda mobile game, but no further details are available at this time.
Furukawa also commented on how Nintendo plans to recruit individuals in the highly competitive entertainment industry. He said, “Since our business is linked to the ebb and flow of our times, we are [recruiting] those who can adapt in flexible manner.” In the past, Nintendo has attracted large numbers of interns.
The video game industry was a volatile environment in 2018. Some developers like TellTale Games are now defunct, while other companies like Activision Blizzard and EA faced a tremendous amount of controversy. Nintendo could potentially benefit from the talent that has become lost in the shuffle.
Whatever the future of the Nintendo, their sales certainly are not hurting. The Nintendo Switch is outpacing the sales of every other current-generation game system. It is no wonder that Nintendo is adhering to the old saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
Furukawa was recently interviewed by The Sankei News, a daily online Japanese newspaper. Furukawa remarked, “Nintendo Switch is our primary sales objective, and we are not considering a successor or a price cut at this time.” He also noted that Nintendo’s goal is to sell 20 million units by the end of the fiscal year.
Although Furukawa used the term “successor”, we believe that he meant that the Nintendo Switch will not experience a hardware refresh like the Xbox One S, Xbox One X, Playstation 4 Pro. For example, the Playstation 4 Pro is slightly different than its predecessor because it incorporates a different GPU, includes more storage options, and features 4K streaming. We find it unlikely that Nintendo will never release a successor to the Nintendo Switch, considering its popularity and the advancement of console technology.
The brief interview revealed a few other interesting aspects of the company. Furukawa contended that their goal with mobile gaming is to “build a relationship with our consumers”. Nintendo is trying to gain more experience with mobile gaming and plans to release games from various genres.
Nintendo has so far released five and licensed six mobile games, including Super Mario Run and Pokémon Go. Mario Kart Tour is slated to release this March. It has also been hinted that Nintendo will release a Legend of Zelda mobile game, but no further details are available at this time.
Furukawa also commented on how Nintendo plans to recruit individuals in the highly competitive entertainment industry. He said, “Since our business is linked to the ebb and flow of our times, we are [recruiting] those who can adapt in flexible manner.” In the past, Nintendo has attracted large numbers of interns.
The video game industry was a volatile environment in 2018. Some developers like TellTale Games are now defunct, while other companies like Activision Blizzard and EA faced a tremendous amount of controversy. Nintendo could potentially benefit from the talent that has become lost in the shuffle.
Whatever the future of the Nintendo, their sales certainly are not hurting. The Nintendo Switch is outpacing the sales of every other current-generation game system. It is no wonder that Nintendo is adhering to the old saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
