Nintendo Switch May Even Manage to Outsell the Wii
It is no secret that the Nintendo Switch has been selling like hot cakes. Yesterday, we even learned that they were being flown on planes to meet demand. After which they would fly off shelves. However, given the proven popularity of the portable console, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima is setting a new plan.
Following an earnings announcement that revealed a five times increase in Nintendo’s profit, Kimishima announced a new roadmap to meet gamer demand. The plan is to ship 10 million Nintendo Switch units in the next year. Note: this is how many units will be shipped to retailers. However, the overall number of units manufactured over the next fiscal year will be a lot bigger.
“Planning to ship 10 million units means that we actually plan to produce more than that including units in our warehouse and in-transit product,” stated Kimishima. “Volume efficiencies will start to emerge once we produce the 10 million units we expect to ship this fiscal year, but we will not get the benefit of this right away.”
Furthermore, Kimishima expressed his faith in Nintendo Switch’s ability to match the Wii’s success. For anyone who doesn’t know, the Wii sold just over 100,000,000 million units during its shelf life. It outsold competitors PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and current generation consoles still haven’t come close.
“The truth is we want to raise the installed base of Nintendo Switch up to the same level as Wii. As we mentioned during our presentation, Nintendo Switch in America had the fastest start of any Nintendo hardware, despite launching in March.”
As for why Nintendo’s President finds Switch more promising than Wii, his explanation was rather simple: “…we think there will be households that feel as though one is not really enough.”Â
Considering the portability of the Nintendo Switch, Kimishima’s argument is downright logical. Just as households might buy more than one Nintendo 3DS or PS Vita, the same is likely with Switch. People want their own device to take elsewhere. Thus, selling the first 10 million consoles is Nintendo’s kick-off to reaching 100,000,000.
However, fans want the Nintendo Switch for more than its portability. Nintendo understands this. The success of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe are helping push the console off shelves; hence, the company’s plan includes the release of more Nintendo exclusives. For this year, they still have major titles Splatoon 2, Arms, and Super Mario Odyssey. And even after, there may be a lot more to come. As Kimishima puts it, “…we are setting a standard with Nintendo Switch to release a continuous string of major software titles from now on.”
Do you believe the Nintendo Switch can match or even beat the success of the Wii? Let us know in the comments down below. And for more gaming news and updates, be sure to check back.
Happy gaming.