Nintendo Chief Says Strengthening Switch Selling Is Key Task Of Strategy

Nintendo is doing everything in its power to keep Switch sales, which sold 5 million disappointing units in the last six months ended September 30th. The new Nintendo boss said in a briefing to analysts that the Nintendo Switch remains on a steady growth trajectory.

Shuntaro Furukawa, who became president of Nintendo on June 28, said the company's strategy was to increase the number of titles to increase the appeal of the Nintendo Switch.

The company regularly updates complementary game content, such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon 2, both of which have been updated since April. Nintendo has also organized limited-time events such as the Splatoon 2 World Champion and Super Smash Bros. games. Ultimate. "These events are places where crowds can" feel the energy of our player communities, "Furukawa said. Other events are coming up, like the 2018 Nintendo Live event that will take place in November.

Nintendo's persistent titles – Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, The Legend of Zelda: Wild Breath, and Splatoon 2 – maintain their commercial dynamism, Furukawa said.

He also said that the paid service Nintendo Switch Online had started well in September. He noted that subscribed consumers had opted for a 12-month family or individual membership, which represents more than half of the total number of subscribers. Downloadable versions of the software provided now account for 60% of all digital sales.

"Software publishers have published many titles, ranging from evergreen titles that attract a wide audience to titles that satisfy gaming enthusiasts, and the sale of these products has been solid," Furukawa said.

Fortnite Battle Royale has been downloaded on almost half of the Switch units sold to date. And he said that Square Enix had seen more than a million copies downloaded for Octopath Traveler on the Switch.

In October, more than 500 software companies sold more than 1,300 titles on the switch.

Super Mario Party debuted on October 5th and sold more than 1.5 million units. Furukawa said he expects this title to become another evergreen title. Then the big games include Pokemon: Let 'Go Pikachu! and Pokemon: Let'Es Go Eevee !, both debuting in November. And of course, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the big title to come on December 4th.

Sales of Amiibo toys based on Nintendo characters reached $ 50 million. Furukawa said that he thought that Nintendo Labo's sales, a DIY kit would become a new evergreen title.

Meanwhile, Super Mario Run has been installed more than 300 million times on mobile devices, and downloads outside Japan account for nearly 90% of the total.

"I would like to say that the most important for the holiday season is to continue using Nintendo Switch," Furukawa said. "In the current fiscal year, the release of new major titles for Nintendo Switch is concentrated in the third quarter. We have laid a solid foundation for the second holiday season of Nintendo Switch, and we plan to offer new software
more and more people know and appreciate the charm of Nintendo Switch. "