Nintendo on the importance of year two for Switch, prolonging the system’s lifecycle, more
The lifecycle of Switch was a prominent topic discussed during Nintendo’s latest financial results briefing. President Tatsumi Kimishima, managing executive officer Shinya Takahashi, and Shigeru Miyamoto weighed in on year two and the system’s future in general.
Kimishima once again spoke about the importance of year two. In 2018, Nintendo will focus on games featuring Switch’s concept of playing “anytime, anywhere, with anyone” and “encourage consumers to discover their own ways of having fun.” Kimishima added that Nintendo “will release a series of products, including some not announced today, and continue to create games like Nintendo Labo that people look forward to playing.”
As for Takahashi, he said that Nintendo’s “developers understand how important it is this year to create both products that are fun to more people and products that even game fans will find compelling to play.”
Miyamoto mentioned that Switch “has many features not available on any other hardware to date.” And while a hardware’s lifecycle tends to last five or six years, “it would be very interesting if we could prolong that life cycle, and I think you should be looking forward to that,” Miyamoto said.
Below are the full comments from Kimishima, Takahashi, and Miyamoto:
Kimishima:
Year two is critical in terms of how the Nintendo Switch business will expand going forward. Of course, I’m not suggesting that the first year was unimportant, but we launched the hardware last March, not during the holiday season, so we prepared a lineup of major titles, thinking our most important task was getting game fans and Nintendo fans quickly on board with Nintendo Switch.
The main feature of Nintendo Switch is that it can be played “anytime, anywhere, with anyone,” so our focus in the second year will be to continue to release numerous software titles that provide that experience and hammer home that concept and encourage consumers to discover their own ways of having fun. We will release a series of products, including some not announced today, and continue to create games like Nintendo Labo that people look forward to playing. Things do not always go according to design in the entertainment business, no matter how much you talk about plans, so let me just say that we want to continue to create new and interesting products, and I hope you will look forward in anticipation.
Takahashi:
We are nurturing junior developers inside the company (to continue to create interesting products). Our developers understand how important it is this year to create both products that are fun to more people and products that even game fans will find compelling to play. Behind the unceasing stream of Nintendo Switch software releases to date is an approach to development that concentrates on development, itself the fruit of efforts several years ago to integrate the software development teams, which has made it easier to organize teams. Another major factor is our approach inside Nintendo whereby not just the software, hardware, and system development teams, but also the manufacturing, global marketing, and sales teams join together now for closer discussions about “what can be developed when” and “what can be sold when.”
Miyamoto:
When you think about what can be done with Nintendo Switch as a device that can be taken on the go and that every person has in their hands to play, you realize it has many features not available on any other hardware to date. Nintendo also has a system in place whereby the software developers focus on these hardware features in their development efforts for the continuation of the Nintendo Switch business. Up until now, the hardware lifecycle has trended at around five or six years, but it would be very interesting if we could prolong that life cycle, and I think you should be looking forward to that.
