It’s not the first time Nintendo has confirmed that the Switch is at the halfway point of its life cycle. Well, Shuntaro Furukawa, the company’s president, recently spoke out on the subject again in a recent interview with Nikkei.
In the interview, he explained how they’re approaching the console’s lifecycle to make sure it’s long enough while still thinking about what’s next for Nintendo Switch. Here’s what he had to say:
Until now, hardware such as “Nintendo DS” and “Wii” have reached their peak lifespan of around four years. What is the future in this regard for Nintendo Switch?
Furukawa: In the fifth year, what to do as the life cycle of hardware becomes longer is important to us. It is very important that every customer continues to play Switch. Some customers have been around since the beginning of the launch, while others have been inspired by popular software series like Animal Crossing. Recognising that the customer base is expanding, we must make it clear that “Switch has these kinds of games”, including software that has already been released.
I agree. I always say that the Switch’s lifecycle is “in an in-between phase”. Since you can play games both on TV and in handheld mode with a single hardware, you can come up with various software for it. The life cycle can still be extended.
I haven’t decided at all in which year [the next hardware after Switch] will be released. However, I’m always doing technical research. The hardware and software development teams are working closely together in the same building to think about what new entertainment propositions they can make. To make a piece of hardware like this we have to make several preparations over several years, so it’s really just that we’re doing it non-stop all the time. The deciding factor for the final commercialisation is: “Can we create a new experience?”