When it comes to Nintendo, they’re generally known for doing (mostly) cool things for their consumer base, and they also know how to make sure they keep rolling a good thing… excess. But, with the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo has hit a high they haven’t had since the Wii (yes, it was only two generations ago, but it still counts!!!). The system has incredible sales going on, and not only that, they have an awesome lineup of titles that are not only out to buy now, but you can expect to come down the pipeline both this year and next.
But, like other console publishers, they are going through some tough times in terms of making actual consoles. Because if you recall the recent sales numbers, the Nintendo Switch is over 111 million, but in a quarter-over-quarter analysis, their sales dropped by more than a million due to semiconductor shortages that hit the industry. Still working. This is bad, obviously.
However in an interview, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa spoke out about the shortfall and that it wasn’t going to change things for Nintendo entirely. They’re still going to sell three versions of the Switch from the regular version, Lite and OLED, and they’re going to make sure it’s still at a price point that everyone can get:
“We will work out the best strategy as we go forward. We are trying our best to procure high quality products at reasonable prices over the next few years.”
He enforced that the price hike was not in the cards, not only because it’s more about “supply-demand”, but also because the software for the Switch is something that helps them turn a profit. In fact, the console market may be slowly bottoming out in terms of what can be made, but the software market is still going strong, with many Nintendo Switch titles selling millions of units.
Plus, Nintendo knows that with major franchises still to be released this year, the growth of software sales will no doubt match what the console sales market is missing out on.
Going forward though, it will be interesting to see how all three major console makers are going to try to make up for the semiconductor shortfall. Especially Microsoft and Sony, who launched their latest consoles before everything hit the fans, and thus their sales are also hampered by this. It’s impossible to know when this shortcoming will stop, so the focus will be on moving forward, no matter which side you’re on.
Source: Nikkei
