Following recent confirmation that the Nintendo NX will launch in March 2017, the company has stated that it believes missing the holiday season and the associated shopping period is the right move.
Nintendo published an English translation of its financial results briefing Q&A in which Nintendo president and CEO Tatsumi Kimishima discussed the company’s hope to avoid launching the NX at a financial loss and its belief that there will be enough software ready to support the launch.
“We are not thinking of launching the hardware at a loss,” he commented. “When Wii U was launched, the yen was very strong. I am assuming that situation will not repeat itself. Selling at a loss at launch would not support the business, so we are keeping that mind in developing NX.”
Despite missing the 2016 holiday season, Kimishima says it was important to wait in order to ensure there’s a “solid lineup of software.”
“One of the reasons for choosing the launch timing that we did is so that the software lineup will be ready in time for the hardware launch,” he added. “Not only at launch, but we also need to be able to continuously release titles after launch. We are planning for this to be a platform that consumers can enjoy for a long time.”
Kimishima later stated, “The fact that consumers spend more money in the holiday season may be a big factor in why launching then is a good way to start. However, our hardware and software business structure does not end in that year. We want consumers to continue to play this game system for many years, so we believe that in the beginning it is most important to make sure that everything is in order at launch.”
The new Legend of Zelda title was recently delayed and will launch for Wii U and NX in 2017.
