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Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has said that the company’s transition to its next console is “a major concern for us.”
Furukawa took part in an investor Q&A this week (as translated by VGC), and talk about future challenges.
“Unlike the past, we continue to have a large variety of games scheduled to be released,” Furokawa said. “This is because the Nintendo Switch has had such a smooth launch, allowing us to focus all of our development resources on a single platform.”
He then went on to compare the transition to a new console with the models of the past. “However, the question of whether we will be able to just as smoothly transition from the Nintendo Switch to the next generation of hardware is a major concern for us.”
In terms of a strategy, Furukawa pointed to “building long-term relationships with our customers.” He also said: “We will also provide services that also use Nintendo Accounts and other IP outside of gaming software. We intend for this to help build a lasting impact with our customers.”
It is an interesting time for Nintendo. The Switch is doing very well, outselling the Wii as of earlier this year. But, on the other hand, it is also in a strange position. Furukawa has spoken about the console’s longer-than-usual life cycle in the past. “We want to extend the life cycle of Nintendo Switch while maximising such advantages.”
Nintendo will surely now have to keep its active user profiles moving forwards. In the past, people had to have different profiles on 3DS and Wii U. It would make sense for the Switch to be the default user platform from now on, in the same way that one’s PSN or XBL accounts remain across generations.
