Nintendo says new Sony and Microsoft consoles won’t influence its business, focusing on Switch momentum
This information comes from the Q&A portion of Nintendo’s latest financial results briefing…
I would like to hear about what the positioning of the next fiscal year (ending March 31, 2021) is for
Nintendo as other companies are planning to launch their new hardware. Given that Nintendo Switch is soon entering its fourth year, do you see the next fiscal year, including changes in the environment, as something of a threat or a major opportunity? Please describe your direction in terms of positioning and strategy.Furukawa:
We’ll discuss specific figures for the coming fiscal year at the next financial results announcement, but I agree there will be changes in the environment due to the appearance of new products from other companies in the same industry. That said, we believe that the position of Nintendo Switch in its lifecycle is different from that of hardware from other companies and that the consumers of our products are also different. Therefore, we do not believe that the business activities of other companies will be especially influential on Nintendo’s business. On the other hand, it is essential for us to maintain momentum for Nintendo Switch, and, as described earlier, we must explore the unique demand for Nintendo Switch Lite and expand its sales without slowing momentum of the original Nintendo Switch. On the software side, in addition to continuing to release new software, we believe that it is also essential to continue our efforts to extend sales of already-released software for a longer period than before.
The Nintendo Switch business will soon enter its fourth year, and we believe it is just entering the middle of its life cycle. We are looking beyond the next fiscal year to consider how to move forward in the next fiscal year and ones to come.
