Shuntaro Furukawa reflects on community incentives through Nintendo Switch Online and other benefits for his console.
With a Nintendo Switch that is in the middle of its useful life after three years available on the market, the Japanese company is now studying how to gain the long-term trust that more than 55 million players have already deposited. For this, according to the CEO of the company, Shuntaro Furukawa, they want to boost their online services, the business on mobile devices and the incentives of games with online mode.
According to their statements, they will continue to promote mobile video games (Mario Kart Tour already has more than 100 million registered players) to bring their best-known licenses closer to an iOS and Android environment, which may eventually translate into new Nintendo Switch players. Also, enhance video games with online elements that facilitate the game for a long period of time. Finally, digital sales, which are becoming a source of business with great potential and which, at the same time, are approaching the subscription of Nintendo Switch Online.
Over 15 million subscribers on Nintendo Switch Online
"We will continue to put our efforts in building trust with our consumers so that they want to continue maintaining their relationship with Nintendo in the long term," explains the manager.
Regarding the number of active players, Furukawa declares that he will not offer concrete figures this time, but that the figure is above 15 million members (data updated to January 2020). “The number of active paid members has grown particularly since the launch of games that complement the online game, such as Pokémon Sword and Shield or Animal Crossing: New Horizons. By adding elements that make games even more fun to play and making the service more attractive in itself, we hope to continue to see continued growth in making a service that makes Nintendo Switch even more enjoyable and convenient for users. time to play ”, he adds.
Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite | The family consists of two models: one hybrid and the other only portable at a reduced price.
"The digital sales ratio during the fourth quarter was also relatively high throughout the fiscal year ended this March," says Furukawa. Much of that growth is due to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, whose digital sales stand at 50% of the total. This percentage, not at all common, they do not expect to become a norm in the short term since it responds to the circumstance experienced by the coronavirus (COVID-19), the direct consequences of which have caused a serious lack of supply of physical copies. Apart from this, it is a game that lends itself to being always available in the console menu.
“We understand this is probably due to the large number of cases in which our consumers, who purchased hardware during the Christmas campaign, chose easy access to the digital version of games when they made their second or third titles. In the fiscal year just ended, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is an ideal candidate to be played in its digital version, which we consider was one of the factors for which we had a higher digital sales ratio in the last quarter. ”
Coming soon, Nintendo Switch will receive Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition in May, Paper Mario: The Origami King in July, and Bravely Default II sometime in 2020.
References | Nintendo Financial Results (March 2020)
