Console Corner: Why the Nintendo Switch is in it for the long haul

When Nintendo releases a console question marks are always raised over it's long-term validity.
The Nintendo Switch has been a staggering successThe Nintendo Switch has been a staggering success
The Nintendo Switch has been a staggering success

But any such fears that it’s latest console, the Switch, is merely a gimmicky money making exercise have been well and truly put to bed by a big announcement from the gaming giant this month.

The Switch has been so successful that Nintendo has announced plans to back the console for many years to come... way beyond the normal life cycle of a home console.

And that will be music to the ears of the staggering 14.86 million people that shelled out for the portable console in less than a year since it’s release.

Speaking to Japanese publication Nikkei, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima said that the company wants to support the Switch for longer than the typical console generation.

Kimishima hopes that the Switch will continue to be sold beyond the next five-six years.

And that means the potential for more quality releases and even follow-ups to the likes of Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and ARMS beyond 2023.

It was recently revealed that Super Mario Odyssey - which garnered 10/10 ratings from most of the respected gaming media - sold a massive 9 million units worldwide and counting.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is on 7.33 million sales, followed by Zelda: Breath of the Wild with 6.7million units and Splatoon 2 at nearly 5 million.

It hasn’t always been this way for Nintendo, indeed many doubted the company would ever return to the console market again following it’s Wii U blues.

But it has obliterated the total lifetime U sales of 13.5 million units in just nine months.

Such a bold statement from Nintendo will also persuade game developers to give extra consideration and time to building Switch-specific games to make the most of it’s unique selling points.

And who knows what a future VR release from Nintendo could do to gaming, I mean just imagine playing Zelda or Mario VR... a spine tingling prospect! Watch this space.

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