Nintendo: Switch user revenue is at historic levels in the US
Reggie Fils-Aime believes Nintendo is on course for unit sales targets, but importance is offset by strength of digital
Nintendo is confident of hitting its high unit sales forecast for the Switch, according to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, but any shortfall will be balanced by historic levels of user revenue.
The company's target for Switch sales this fiscal year is 20 million units, contributing to a 38 million target for the two years since the console launched. However, at the end of the September quarter, the Switch had sold just under 23 million, leaving a significant deficit to be made up before the end of March 2019.
That picture has caused a loss of faith within the investment community, but NOA president Reggie Fils-Aime told Forbes that Nintendo remains on course to reach its own lofty goals.
"We're feeling confident in our momentum and it's not just a stellar launch of Pokémon, it's not just what appears to be a stellar launch for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate," he said. "That Black Friday through Cyber Monday time frame was critically important to us, the remaining shopping days now through Christmas are critically important to us.
"More days right after Christmas as consumers receive gift cards or take unwanted gifts and monetize into things like Nintendo Switch are important to us."
Pokémon Let's Go set a new record for week-one sales for a Switch title, outperforming The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The early signs are that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has also sold well, setting a new retail record in the UK.
However, while these titles will be crucial if Nintendo is to reach that 38 million unit target, Fils-Aime emphasised the wider picture for the Switch. The console is earning more revenue per user in the US than any platform in the company's history, largely due to its stronger digital offering.
"We're looking at the overall software revenue that we're generating," he said, "so now this starts to take into account DLC, it takes into account purchases of indie games and other content, and again, the Nintendo Switch here in the United States is generating a level of revenue per piece of hardware that we've never seen in our history."