One of the things that console and software makers love to brag about is the number of units they sell across their brand or lineup. After all, it showcases how well they did and what standing they have as a team or company based on those sales. When it comes to hardware companies like Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, they WANT to show how well they’re doing and how many people are coming to their systems. But there’s another metric that we feel gets lost: the people who KEEP playing their systems. You know, the gamers who, year after year, keep playing the console because there’s something worth playing on it.
The “player retention rate” might not be the biggest thing on your mind, but as proven by Nintendo during its latest financial report, it’s something you should keep in mind. During the newest report, they revealed that the Nintendo Switch had sales of over 141 million units. That’s impressive and helps them get closer to the No.1 hardware slot that many hoped it would reach. But tucked just above that revealing stat was another one. The annual rate of players on the Switch is at 123 million! As the chart shows, the retained user rate has grown as the Switch has:
That means that when it comes to the Switch, only about 18 million people who have bought one aren’t playing it. But even then, that number might be much lower than you think. After all, there are people who get something like a Switch, and then a special or new model comes out, and they decide to get that one to enjoy the “upgraded version” or “special edition.” So, naturally, those original Switches they bought aren’t being played anymore.
Even if that wasn’t the case, for the console being over seven years old now, as it came out in 2017, and having over 123 million players annually on it? That’s an astounding number and proof that Nintendo is doing just fine, especially with its software lineup.
However, that also means that Nintendo has to do whatever it came to ensure that the next console doesn’t just try to emulate what the Switch did, but surpass it. Sadly, that’s something that Nintendo has struggled with over the years. If you look at the drops between the Wii and the Wii U, or the DS to the 3DS, the number of units sold between them is quite large.
Hopefully, Nintendo understands that and puts everything they have into their next system, which we know we’ll hear about within the next fiscal year.
