With the Nintendo Direct Mini in March 2020 and seemingly no big first-party games being released for Nintendo Switch, it might seem like Nintendo has played all its trump cards, especially amidst the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. However, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa stated during the investors’ Q&A that there are unannounced games in the work at Nintendo. Additionally, he talked about how the Switch is currently in the middle of its life cycle and how the company’s strategy will change to accommodate.
On the topic of hardware, Furukawa stated that due to the coronavirus impact, Nintendo was unable to produce as many Nintendo Switches as targeted. However, the effect on production is set to change by Summer 2020, although there is always the risk it won’t. Software-wise, there are games set to release beyond what has been announced so far, and the company’s financial forecasts are being made with those unannounced games in mind. However, due to the shift to working from home, it might be tough for those games to release on their expected dates if the pandemic continues.
Furukawa discussed the idea of working from home and talked about how it affects schedules, as the things you can do from home are much more limited, especially as Nintendo is a global corporation who works with many partners worldwide. Japanese workers also don’t have the tools needed at home so that they can work remotely, which is another problem.
Finally, Furukawa talked about how the Nintendo Switch has only just entered the middle of its life cycle, and due to there being both the Switch and Switch Lite, Furukawa still thinks it’s still possible to aim for a different life cycle compared to the Switch’s competitors. Due to this, Nintendo is adding 9 billion yen to its planned advertising expenses to advertise to people who don’t play games often or know much about Nintendo games. This will be carried out carefully, as Furukawa acknowledges that marketing a game well doesn’t guarantee its success.
During the recent Financial Results meeting, other stats that came out included the Nintendo Switch passing its fiscal year forecast, updated first party sales figures, Astral Chain sales, Splatoon 2 global sales, Fire Emblem: Three Houses sales, Animal Crossing: New Horizons already becoming the highest-selling game in the series , and Pokemon Sword & Shield sales.
