The Nintendo Switch has recently dominated the video game industry, but according to an analyst, demand will further increase if a Pokémon game for the hybrid console is released next year.
The prediction comes after the analyst claimed that Nintendo Switch sales are outpacing the performance of the Nintendo Wii so far.
Nintendo Switch vs Nintendo Wii
The Nintendo Wii is the most successful Nintendo console of all time, but according to NPD analyst Mat Piscatella, the Nintendo Switch is on pace to sell 20 percent more units over the first 10 months since launch.
Piscatella echoes previous predictions involving the Nintendo Switch. In March, GameStop executive Eric Bright stated that the hybrid console could eventually outperform the Nintendo Wii, which sold over 100 million units worldwide over its lifetime. In June, Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal said that the Nintendo Switch will lead to higher Nintendo earnings compared to the Nintendo Wii.
According to Piscatella, in his insights that he posted on the Resetera forum, the Nintendo Switch is more of a "core gamer" console compared to all previous Nintendo devices since the Nintendo GameCube. In addition, because of its portability, there is a chance that there is more than one unit within a single household, making for higher sales potential compared to the Nintendo Wii.
When Will 'Pokémon' For Nintendo Switch Be Released?
It is hard to see Nintendo Switch demand going up even higher than it is now, but according to Piscatella, that will happen if the planned Pokémon game for the Nintendo Switch is released next year.
At E3 2017 in June, Nintendo confirmed that there was a new Pokémon RPG coming to the Nintendo Switch. However, the release date for the game is "2018 and beyond," which means that there is no assurance that Pokémon for Nintendo Switch will happen next year.
Piscatella said that if the Pokémon RPG is indeed launched for the Nintendo Switch in 2018, the hybrid console will easily grab over 40 percent market share in hardware sales.
Nintendo Switch Black Friday Sales
If there is any indication that the Nintendo Switch demand is till crazy right now, consider this fact from Adobe Insights: the hybrid console is the best-selling product for Black Friday 2017, even though there were no discounts for it.
The Nintendo Switch has been beating the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One for months now. Even with the promotions offered for the two consoles, the Nintendo Switch still outsold them for Black Friday 2017.
If Pokémon for Nintendo Switch is released next year, the hybrid console may find itself nearing Nintendo Wii-level sales sooner than later.
