The much-anticipated release of the Nintendo Switch is less than 24 hours away, and alistdaily has shared a recent interview with Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime. The interview features Reggie’s thoughts on the Switch, including how Nintendo applied lessons learned from past consoles like the Wii U, how the Switch will connect with its broad audience, and more.
First off, when asked how lessons learned from past consoles were applied to the Switch, Reggie said the following:
“Our goal with any console launch is to deliver an entirely new game experience for players. With a platform like Wii, the appeal was obvious. You move the controller like you would a tennis racquet, or a sword, and the payoff is instant. With Wii U, the value of a second screen in gameplay was not instantly recognized, and often problematic for developers to fully take advantage of in terms of what the system could do. However, with Nintendo Switch, the unique appeal of our ‘anywhere, anytime, anyway’ approach is readily apparent. So we think consumers will get the appeal right away, and developers will embrace how it can bring their ideas to life. The concept of ‘constant engagement’ was also built into our Nintendo Switch planning. You’ll be seeing this in a number of ways, but most importantly to gamers, it means a steady flow of big first-and-third-party franchises becoming available to play on the system in 2017. These games will launch starting on March 3 alongside the Nintendo Switch hardware and will continue through the holiday.”
Next, Reggie was asked how the Switch would connect to the broad audience that the Wii had introduced to gaming:
“The clearest early example of this at launch is the game 1-2 Switch. It contains more than two dozen activities like quick draw, sword fighting, copy dance and one called ‘Ball Count,’ which takes real advantage of the advanced HD Rumble feature of the Joy Con controller. This game is going to resonate with anyone who played Wii Sports—or for that matter, even if you didn’t. The difference, of course, is this. With Wii, you could invite your aunts and uncles and grandparents to join in the fun when they were over to your house. But with Nintendo Switch, you can take that multiplayer fun to them, wherever they are, due to the portability of the system. So the opportunities to experience a new kind of gaming fun are dramatically increased.”
Lastly, when asked about the concern over the Switch’s availability at retail and worries over consumers’ ability to get their hands on the console, Reggie had this to say:
“Well, the market will decide that answer in the short term. We hope it’s very popular. But the fact that Nintendo Switch arrives in March . . . rather than a typical Thanksgiving launch window . . . means that many of the first-year purchases will occur over the course of many months, rather than just several weeks. So we’re optimistic we’ll meet demand.”
To check out the full interview, you can go here.
The Nintendo Switch will release on March 3rd, 2017.
