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Shuntaro Furukawa

Another brief interview with Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has emerged from Japan. This time around, it was The Sankei News that published the discussion.

Furukawa commented on a few different topics, including Switch’s success towards the end of 2018. He also weighed in – yet again – on looking to sell 20 million units by the end of the fiscal year, and it’s here that something interesting was said. According to Furukawa, Nintendo is trying to focus on selling Switch and is “not considering a successor or a price cut at this time.” Given the system’s success, perhaps that isn’t an overly surprising statement.

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa recently participated in an interview with Kyoto Shimbun, which was published just a few days ago. The company’s boss weighed in on selling 20 million Switch units by the end of the fiscal year and needing a steady stream of games for the system, mobile (including keeping smartphone games separate from Switch), and the future of 3DS. He also teased future plans for Labo, touched on eSports, and commented on looking towards the Chinese market.

Here’s a full translation of the interview:

Japanese daily Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun conducted an interview with Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa, which was published today. Furukawa primarily commented on sales, but some other things as well.

First, Furukawa officially confirmed that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate sold five million copies worldwide in its first week. Additionally, Switch is the home console seeing the fastest software sales so far in Nintendo’s history. The system’s sales began to increase in mid-November, which makes sense given the holiday period and the launch of Pokemon: Let’s Go. Switch is currently available in 60 countries.

Once again, Nintendo sees smartphone gaming as a pillar of earnings. Furukawa wants to land smartphone hits and publish multiple apps across multiple fields.

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Shuntaro Furukawa

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa was recently interviewed by Nikkei. Furukawa shared some interesting comments when asked about the risk of being in the entertainment industry, his approach in leading the company, the tough task of innovating, and fluctuations in business performance.

Here’s our translation of the mini discussion:

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

In just three days, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate sold five million copies worldwide. Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa commented on the early success while speaking with The Sankei News.

Furukawa said, “The people who’ve played Smash before are coming back for this one; that accumulation of players contributed to the initial push [in sales]”. He also said that Nintendo needs to continue selling “and not get caught up in that initial momentum.”

Japanese publication Kyoto Shimbun recently spoke with Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa. During the discussion, Furukawa mentioned that Switch and its games have done well so far this holiday season. Also, the company still expects to hit 100 million units in software sales by March 2019.

From April to September alone, Switch software sales were around 42 million. The rapid release of titles helped for the increased demand this holiday season. Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Mario Party, and Pokemon: Let’s Go have all proven popular.

Furukawa also briefly addressed Nintendo’s current goal of selling 20 million Switch consoles sold this fiscal year. He did acknowledge that it’s not an easy goal to meet, and it can’t be predicted how the new year will go. However, Furukawa hopes that the Switch’s playstyle and its portability will keep attracting people, and Nintendo will continue to release new titles.

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Nintendo Switch - Nintendo 3DS

Even though Switch is the focus when it comes to Nintendo hardware these days, 3DS hasn’t been entirely forgotten. The system is still being sold and there will still be games released on the dedicated portable next year.

Speaking during the company’s latest financial briefing, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said that 3DS will continue to be sold as long as there’s demand. Furukawa also reiterated that 3DS has its own advantages compared to Switch thanks to its size, weight, and price.

Nintendo Switch

During Nintendo’s financial results briefing last month, one investor brought up how Switch has some major games missing from third-party publishers. President Shuntaro Furukawa was asked if he believes this will change in the future.

In response, Furukawa indicated that it’s unrealistic to expect every major game on Switch. Nintendo is speaking with publishers, however, and he believes “the number of titles on it will increase a lot more.”

Nintendo Labo

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa shared a few words about Nintendo Labo during the company’s latest financial results briefing, mentioning that sales are expected to increase this holiday and it will “sell for a long time”. Sales will also be different to core titles like Mario and Zelda.

Furukawa also left a very interesting comment to close out his response. Labo was one way in which Nintendo wanted to expand Switch’s user base, but Nintendo has other ideas that don’t rely on franchise titles. These will be announced later, Furukawa said.

Mario Kart Tour

Almost all of Nintendo’s mobile games were developed in-house. But for Dragalia Lost, the company teamed up with Cygames. Could there be more collaborations in the future?

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa commented on the possibility during the company’s latest financial results briefing, explaining:


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