Nintendo will direct its focus toward developing more original intellectual property for its best-selling console ever, the Switch.
“Games are not a necessity of life. In order for customers to choose games in their finite time, they have to be interesting. Competition is tough,” Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa told Nikkei.
The Switch has sold nearly 80 million units since its launch in 2017 and moved 11.57 million units in the last three months of 2020, its best quarter yet. Lifetime software sales for the Switch have reached 532 million units, as well.
Nintendo expects to reach $12.8 billion in revenue for its fiscal year ending March 2021.
The Switch’s best-selling game, “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe,” has sold more than 33 million copies. It’s been a challenge for Nintendo to develop new IP that can generate the same success, but the company is prioritizing more original series going forward.
“We are constantly building up ideas for the new consoles the market is expecting,” said Furukawa.
Nintendo is also planning to release an upgraded model of the Switch in the near future. However, Furukawa has warned that the global semiconductor shortage may create production issues for the console.
