Analysts are all Henny Penny that the sky is falling when it comes to Nintendo’s future because sales of the Switch have slowed down from gangbusters to normal levels, signaling what some have taken to be a chink in the Big N’s armor that necessitated a stock selloff that still continues to plague the company.
But that it is all much ado about nothing if you look at the Switch’s already installed base and the company’s aggressive holiday plans with regard to first-party releases for the system.
Yet all of the commotion does make one wonder if there isn’t a bit of truth to some of the naysayers claims about Nintendo Switch’s less-stellar position in the market.
After all, where there is smoke there is fire, right?
But, when it comes to the Switch, it’s more a story of lapsed memories and “what have you done for me lately” attitudes than it is the system expressing fundamental weakness in its sales.
After all, that smoke everyone was inhaling a few years ago was from the fire caused by the Switch’s rapid ascent – the fastest of any home console ever released. Surely that high hasn’t worn off already?
A lot of the worries center around the belief that Nintendo will miss its vaunted goal of 20 million units sold. But, as Forbes dutifully highlights in their article “Nintendo’s Switch Sales Slowdown Is An Old Problem, But Not A Worrying One,” this is all par for the course for a Nintendo system.
Unlike the PlayStation and Xbox, the Switch is heavily reliant on Nintendo’s first party releases. Since most of those new releases are reserved for the end of the year, the system’s sales necessarily slow down as new titles dry up. As Nintendo releases new games, the system starts to sell out again – rinse and repeat.
This cycle has plagued the system pretty much since the Nintendo 64 but became even more pronounced with the Wii U. The follow up to the amazingly successful Wii, the Wii U was a complete marketplace disaster and failed to catch on with audiences. Those few who did buy the system were largely left to a stable of Nintendo titles, the release of which was few and far between.
Nintendo is known to pump out quality work for systems that sell, such as the two Mario Galaxy titles for the Wii and the multiple Pokemon games released for the 3DS but they will cut the faucet off if the system isn’t moving.
This fall Nintendo is bringing a Smash Brothers title as well as the first-ever home console version of a Pokemon game in the form of Let’s Go Eevee and Pikachu. Two games that are inspired by the augmented reality sensation of Pokemon Go, longtime Nintendo watchers expect a Pokemon title for the Switch will print money and allay analyst fears of a slowdown in demand for all things Nintendo. Only time will tell.
