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Please use the sharing tools found via the email icon at the top of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour.
https://www.ft.com/content/b70f2e7e-...0-857e26d1aca4
Nintendo has beaten its own record for the fastest-selling home console in the US with the Switch, as the Japanese video games group raises its sales targets for next year.
More than 4.8m Switches were sold in the 10 months since it launched last March, Nintendo said on Thursday, topping the 4m Wii consoles sold over the same period when that console debuted a decade ago.
The strong holiday sales and growing support from third-party games publishers such as Electronic Arts and Ubisoft have bolstered Nintendo’s confidence that the Switch can avoid the fate of its predecessor, the Wii U, to become a sustained success over several years.
Nintendo executives say they are now targeting 20m Switch units to be sold in its next financial year, on top of the 14m the company hopes to sell in the fiscal year ending in March.
Reggie Fils-Aimé, president and chief operating officer at Nintendo of America, said that friends and families playing in groups over the festive period meant more people tried out the Switch which should help maintain sales momentum.
“We believe the core proposition of Nintendo Switch — a home console you can play anywhere anytime with anyone — is resonating with consumers,” he told the Financial Times.
The popularity of the Switch in the US follows a similar milestone which it reached in Japan at the end of last month, when industry estimates pointed to it overtaking Sony’s PlayStation 2 first-year sales in its home market.
First launched in 2000, the PS2 went on to become the best-selling home console of all time with sales exceeding 150m units, although Sony executives have said the current generation’s PS4 could eventually beat that number.
As well as innovative hardware that allows the Switch to be played at home, on a television set using wireless controllers, or on the go, using its own screen, Nintendo’s success stems largely from two games: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey. Both games have been hailed by critics as among the best of last year.
Please use the sharing tools found via the email icon at the top of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour.
https://www.ft.com/content/b70f2e7e-...0-857e26d1aca4
However, some analysts are concerned that having deployed its two biggest franchises so early in the console’s lifecycle, the Switch may not be able to sustain its current pace of sales.
Mr Fils-Aime pointed to the introduction of sports games Fifa 18 and NBA 2K18 on the platform, as well as Nintendo’s upcoming launch of titles featuring its Yoshi and Kirby characters, as evidence that the software line-up can compete against rivals PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One.
“Our job as a platform holder is first to create a large and robust install base for developers to create their content for. We believe we’re doing that,” he said.
Nintendo has tried to make it easier for external developers to write games for the Switch than it did with the Wii U, for instance by ensuring compatibility with industry-standard development platforms Unreal Engine and Unity.
Mr Fils-Aime said that the company had also tried to better market the console than it did for the Wii U.
“We made sure first to clearly, and in a compelling manner, communicate the core proposition of a Nintendo Switch. The core proposition for Wii U was not as well understood,” he said.
https://www.ft.com/content/b70f2e7e-...0-857e26d1aca4
Nintendo has beaten its own record for the fastest-selling home console in the US with the Switch, as the Japanese video games group raises its sales targets for next year.
More than 4.8m Switches were sold in the 10 months since it launched last March, Nintendo said on Thursday, topping the 4m Wii consoles sold over the same period when that console debuted a decade ago.
The strong holiday sales and growing support from third-party games publishers such as Electronic Arts and Ubisoft have bolstered Nintendo’s confidence that the Switch can avoid the fate of its predecessor, the Wii U, to become a sustained success over several years.
Nintendo executives say they are now targeting 20m Switch units to be sold in its next financial year, on top of the 14m the company hopes to sell in the fiscal year ending in March.
Reggie Fils-Aimé, president and chief operating officer at Nintendo of America, said that friends and families playing in groups over the festive period meant more people tried out the Switch which should help maintain sales momentum.
“We believe the core proposition of Nintendo Switch — a home console you can play anywhere anytime with anyone — is resonating with consumers,” he told the Financial Times.
The popularity of the Switch in the US follows a similar milestone which it reached in Japan at the end of last month, when industry estimates pointed to it overtaking Sony’s PlayStation 2 first-year sales in its home market.
First launched in 2000, the PS2 went on to become the best-selling home console of all time with sales exceeding 150m units, although Sony executives have said the current generation’s PS4 could eventually beat that number.
As well as innovative hardware that allows the Switch to be played at home, on a television set using wireless controllers, or on the go, using its own screen, Nintendo’s success stems largely from two games: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey. Both games have been hailed by critics as among the best of last year.
Please use the sharing tools found via the email icon at the top of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour.
https://www.ft.com/content/b70f2e7e-...0-857e26d1aca4
However, some analysts are concerned that having deployed its two biggest franchises so early in the console’s lifecycle, the Switch may not be able to sustain its current pace of sales.
Mr Fils-Aime pointed to the introduction of sports games Fifa 18 and NBA 2K18 on the platform, as well as Nintendo’s upcoming launch of titles featuring its Yoshi and Kirby characters, as evidence that the software line-up can compete against rivals PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One.
“Our job as a platform holder is first to create a large and robust install base for developers to create their content for. We believe we’re doing that,” he said.
Nintendo has tried to make it easier for external developers to write games for the Switch than it did with the Wii U, for instance by ensuring compatibility with industry-standard development platforms Unreal Engine and Unity.
Mr Fils-Aime said that the company had also tried to better market the console than it did for the Wii U.
“We made sure first to clearly, and in a compelling manner, communicate the core proposition of a Nintendo Switch. The core proposition for Wii U was not as well understood,” he said.