"The Nintendo Switch Will Ship 2 Million by Launch" -Nintendo President

“The Nintendo Switch Will Ship 2 Million by Launch” -Nintendo President

That’s what the President of Nintendo, Tatsumi Kimishima, is saying as reported by Wall Street Journal journalist Takashi Mochizuki. The company expects the Nintendo Switch to ship 2 million units “this fiscal year ending in March”. The thing is, the Switch launches in March 2017, so those 2 million will have to be sold by four weeks at the most (by the end of March). It might seem high, but it’s the first month the system is in the market – demand will be high just out of hype and curiosity for the new technology. To put things in perspective, even the abysmal Wii U sold 3.06 million units in its first six weeks.

It might seem high, but it’s the first month the system is in the market – demand will be high just out of hype and curiosity for the new technology. To put things in perspective, even the abysmal Wii U sold 3.06 million units in its first six weeks.

The Nintendo CEO also commented on the (as of yet) unannounced price point of the Nintendo Switch – he said they “won’t be selling at a loss”, but are also “listening to what consumers expect when setting the price”. So, standard practice for any company ever. Finally, the last concern the CEO addressed was whether consumers would understand the difference with the Nintendo 3DS – he says they absolutely will understand this is a different beast. If you remember, that was a problem with the Wii U – a lot of people thought it was just the Gamepad, which was an extension of the Wii. Many didn’t realize it was a brand new system.