Nintendo’s current president, Tatsumi Kimishima discussed various aspects of the Switch during a Q&A on Nintendo’s Japanese site.
Currently, the Nintendo Switch sold 2.7 million units, which has already surpassed the initial launch sale figures of the Wii U, Nintendo’s previous console, which released in November 2012. During the interview, one of the questions brought up the fact that currently, the Switch’s software attachment rate is lower than that of the Wii U, which Kimishima has responded in stating that the reason for the disparity is because the Wii U launched during the holiday season, while the Switch launched in March.
During the Q&A session, the interviewer mentioned that it was impressive that Nintendo managed to predict that the Switch’s software lineup (specifically, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild) would actually eclipse the sales figure of the console itself. Kimishima response highlighted that their prediction stemmed from observing the positive press The Legend of Zelda got by news media outlets, coupled with the word of mouth and coverage done by fans of Nintendo’s prior work. He went on to say that the new Legend of Zelda was the first time the series has tried an open-world approach to game design, which also helped pique interest in the title and ultimately lead to more sales.
The interview goes on to cover other aspects of the company’s recent dealings, such as the announcement of the Nintendo 2DS XL and the retirement of Genyo Takeda, the company’s director and finally, the Animal Crossing app for mobile devices. A translated transcript of the entire Q&A with Nintendo’s president is available on Nintendo of Japans official website.
