Much less hampered by the shortage of components than Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo steers its boat with insolent calm and does not seem in a hurry to bring a successor to market. “The Switch is only in the middle of its life cycle and the momentum for this year is good. The Switch is poised to break the pattern of our past consoles, which saw their momentum wane in their sixth year on the market, and expand further.“, observed CEO Shuntaro Furukawa during the earnings presentation this morning.
It may seem obvious, but let’s stress it anyway: even if Nintendo powered its Switch for another five years, nothing prevents it from releasing a next-gen console in the meantime. As we know, the launch of a new machine does not necessarily imply the abandonment of its big sister, as evidenced by the PS4 which is about to receive games like Horizon Forbidden West and Gran Turismo 7 while being in its 9th year. Shuntaro Furukawa is therefore not necessarily implying that it will be necessary to wait until 2026 or 2027 to see the next Nintendo platform arrive.
Either way, with more than 100 million consoles now in homes in less than five years (including 23.6 million in 2021) and more than 766 million games distributed, the trajectory of the Switch no longer has nothing traditional. Nintendo has already explained that one of the great strengths of the console, available today in three models, is to be present in several copies in more and more homes. In 2022, the console will notably be driven by such anticipated titles as Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Kirby and the Forgotten World, Splatoon 3, Bayonetta 3 and the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Nintendo is not interested in acquiring a giant
As major acquisitions follow one another at the start of the year, shareholders have not failed to question Shuntaro Furukawa on Nintendo’s position. Last November, the CEO announced plans to invest up to 100 billion yen (772 million euros) to bolster its development capabilities, but dip into the war chest for the sake of making a major acquisition n is not in Nintendo’s plans. “Our brand has been built on products made with dedication by our employees, and having a large number of people who do not have Nintendo DNA in our group would not be a benefit to the company.“, Judge Furukawa. Nintendo does not forbid itself to recruit in a coherent way, as with the recent purchase of the Canadian studio Next Level Games, developer of Luigi’s Mansion 3.