Nintendo Switch to Sell 40 Million by 2020?!?! Are You Kidding?
Yesterday, we told you about a massive Nintendo Switch tour that is unfortunately only making one Canadian stop. That is okay because we only have weeks to go before the big launch. One thing is for certain, the Switch is going to sell quite well out of the gate. Pre-orders have been selling out everywhere and there is a ton of buzz surrounding its launch. One research firm called DFC Intelligence is forecasting for the Switch to sell 40 million units by 2020. That may seem like a crazy high number but this firm has been accurate in the past with its forecasting.
In comparison, the PS4 is Sony’s fastest selling console ever and it’s been out for over three years now. The PS4 is sitting at a little over 50 million units sold. If Nintendo kept that kind of pace by reaching 40 million by 2020 it would be a small miracle but hey anything can happen, right? DFC Intelligence stated that its prediction is on the conservative side, tempered by the failure of the Wii U. Bottom line, the Switch could end up selling better than projected.
This certainly fits right in with Nintendo’s plans. In a recent interview with TIME, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime stated that Nintendo aims to reach its broadest audience ever with the Nintendo Switch:
“Just like every system Nintendo creates, we believe in having a very wide footprint, and we are experienced enough in this industry to know that the footprint changes over time. We believe that by next holiday season, with the launch of Super Mario Odyssey, that the footprint for Nintendo Switch will be very broad. Kids, young adults, parents, gamers will occupy that footprint. But what’s going to happen is that, that space is going to be filled in at each point in time with the subsequent launches. So for example, if you look at the first 45 days, you’ve got Zelda, 1-2 Switch, Mario Kart 8. So the active gamer. And candidly, the more the active gamer sees, the more excited they’re going to be for that game.”
“I was a Zelda fan before I was a Nintendo employee, and I can tell you that as I’ve experienced that game, it just gets me more and more excited to play. 1-2 Switch is a party in a box. And so that is going to be an all family type of experience that will then broaden the footprint. And then Mario Kart 8 is going to expand it even further. And so that’s what I see happening. A game like Arms will have a diverse footprint. A game like Xenoblade Chronicles 2 will be much more narrow.”
“And so, I think it’s the best way I could describe how the consumer base for Switch is going to evolve over time. And certainly by the end of our first full year, it’ll be kids, young adults, parents and gamers occupying that footprint.”
40 million units in three years would be a massive footprint indeed and it appears Nintendo is well on its way judging by the pre-order demand.
What do you think? Could they sell 40 million by 2020? Tell us in the comments below.