Yesterday, after Nintendo published their latest software and hardware figures the web was abuzz with numbers and percentages and hype. We were fanning the flames too. It’s not every day that a console becomes the best-selling ever and it was surprisingly interesting to see how games like Metroid: Dread, Pokémon and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe are doing in terms of sales. And we’d definitely suggest checking out yesterday’s article!
However, along with the announcement of figures, there was also a presentation by Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa (you can actually have a look at the presentation slides here and here) followed by a Q&A session which revealed several other big talking points (for a quick translation of the whole Q&A we’d suggest checking this thread by Senior Analyst at MST Financial David Gibson). Using this info, we’ve selected three you may have missed…
The news you may have missed
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Firstly, when asked about a possible next-gen device Mr Furukawa stated that the Switch was only ‘mid-way through its life cycle’. This may seem a little strange at first considering it is nearly five years old. However, once you consider how the Switch isn’t really competing directly with Sony or Xbox, is still selling really well and has received system refreshes (like the Lite and OLED models) we may very well be playing on a Switch for a long time. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean an upgrade to the internals is not on the cards at some point in the next year or two. And let’s be real – we’ve heard lines like this about the Switch from Nintendo before. So, best to take this one simply as an indication that the Switch will still be around for a while.
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Next, when the topic of acquisitions was discussed – Furukawa explained that Nintendo was not interested in acquisitions unless they were really necessary. And considering that the slides show that Nintendo will be pumping in up to $900 million in order to expand its own game development capabilities, Nintendo is pretty happy with what internal teams are currently producing and the ‘necessary’ statement probably refers to the current partners and a situation where a big bid from another company came in for them. Unless that happens Mr Furukawa (according to Bloomberg) stated:
Our brand was built upon products crafted with dedication by our employees, and having a large number of people who don’t posses Nintendo DNA in our group would not be a plus to the company.
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Finally, the topic of NFTs and the Metaverse was also touched on. Furukawa did state that they were ‘interested’ and saw some ‘potential’ in this area (which is worrisome). However, it should be mentioned that he was speaking to investors. Also, the good news is that he also added that for now, they were still looking into what benefit/joy they could offer in this area, and he was seemingly focussed on the so-called metaverse more than NFTs. Hopefully, their investigation comes to nothing.
In other news also popping up yesterday, according to Famitsu physical sales of Pokémon Legends: Arceus in Japan within three days of their release were at an eye-watering 1.43million. This would make it the second fastest-selling Switch game in that country behind Animal Crossing: New Horizons. And earlier today, Nintendo of America confirmed that the game already has ‘6.5 million players worldwide’.
Thank you to the more than 6.5 million explorers worldwide who have already embarked on an exciting new adventure in #PokemonLegendsArceus!
We hope you're loading up on more potato mochi before your next research mission! pic.twitter.com/u1MKRHkhhD
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 4, 2022
For a round-up of Arceus reviews click here.
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