It’s plain as day to see that the Nintendo Switch has been a big success for Nintendo, but leading up to its launch it was easy to doubt it. Nintendo had just been coming off their worst console ever in terms of sales with the Wii U, and it wasn’t looking like they would be able to keep up with the competition.
We are now learning that the boss of the Pokemon Company, Tsunekazu Ishihara, actually told Nintendo that he felt the console would not be successful. He recently did an interview with Bloomberg regarding the console, and he said that “I told Nintendo that Switch wouldn’t be a success before it went on sale because I thought that in the age of the smartphone no one would carry around a game console.”
Of course, he ended up being very wrong on that front, as the console has been very successful so far and is on track to nearly match the lifetime sales of the Wii U in its first year alone. He admits that he was wrong, saying “It’s obvious I was wrong. I came to realize the key to a successful game is quite simple: software with absolute quality leads sales of hardware. Playing style can be flexible if the software is attractive enough.”
Ishihara is currently in the process of developing the first home console Pokemon game ever for the Switch, and he was willing to shed some light onto the creative process of that game. He said that “We see [the Switch] as a chance to create Pokémon that goes deeper and with a higher level of expression. As a result, that makes it an extremely important platform. Right now we’re using 7 to 8 inch screens, but on a high-definition TV you can express a whole different world with graphics and sound. Until now, games were made as one for one person, but now you can go home and play with everyone — so how do we tackle these themes, and how do we make sure it’s not complicated?”
The Switch has been a success so far, but Nintendo definitely needs to keep the stream of quality games coming to ensure it stays that way. They’ll be closing out the remainder of 2017 with games like Super Mario Odyssey and Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and hopefully 2018 will bring more big games that owners of the Switch will be looking forward to.
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