When it comes to Nintendo, they’re known for doing (mostly) good things for its consumer base, and they know how to make sure that they keep a good thing rolling–sometimes to a point where it’s just too much. With the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo has hit a high that they didn’t have since the Wii, which was only two generations ago. The system has seen incredible sales figures, and beyond that, it has an awesome lineup of titles available, with many more coming down the pipeline both this year and next.
Much like the other console publishers in the market, Nintendo is going through some rough times in terms of console manufacturing. Taking a look at recent sales numbers, the Nintendo Switch is at over 111 million, but in the quarter-by-quarter analysis, they were down in sales by over a million due to the semiconductor shortage that is affecting the industry.
In an interview, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa talked about the shortage and how it wasn’t going to change things for Nintendo as a whole. They’re still going to sell the three versions of the Switch–the regular version, the Lite, and the OLED–and they’re going to make sure it’s still at a price point that works for everyone.
“We’ll work out the best strategy as we go along. We’re doing our best to procure high-quality products at an appropriate price with an eye toward the next few years.”
He enforced that a price raise was not in the cards, not just because it’s more about “demand outweighing supply,” but that the software for the Switch is also something that helps make the company profit. Indeed, the console market may be slowing down in terms of what can be made, but the software market is still going strong, to the point where many Nintendo Switch titles have been selling millions of units.
Plus, Nintendo knows that with key franchises still yet to release this year, the surge of software sales will no doubt make up some of what is being lost in the console sales market.
Going forward though, it will be interesting to see just how all three major console makers are going to try and adapt to the semiconductor shortage. Microsoft and Sony launched their newest consoles before everything hit the fan, and thus their sales are hindered by this as well. It’s impossible to know when this shortage is going to stop, so as such, it’ll be something to pay attention to going forward no matter what side you’re on.
Source: Nikkei
