Nintendo still expects to ship 20 million Switch consoles for the current fiscal year, it said during its recent shareholder meeting.
It was former president Tatsumi Kimishima's last meeting as president, having served as interim CEO after Satoru Iwata passed away in 2015. Kimishima was replaced by Shuntaro Furukawa this past June.
A transcript of the meeting is available online, although it's in Japanese.
Kimishima said that the company's plan to ship 20 million Switch units for the current fiscal year — between April 2018 and March 2019 — still hasn't changed. The company is confident it can secure the required production volumes for a shipment goal that large.
Nintendo Switch Production Problems
Nintendo experienced some problems in production last fiscal year, admitted senior executive officer Susumu Tanaka, due in part to the difficulty of securing certain components, such as memory. But by discussing the Switch's momentum to manufacturers, it'll be easy to resolve things on the production front, believes Tanaka.
Kimishima also delved into the company's most recent E3 presentation, especially on why it caused Nintendo's stock to dip down significantly. This past June's Direct package left many fans underwhelmed, much of them complaining about the obvious lack of information about some of the company's most anticipated titles, including Metroid Prime 4 and the much-anticipated Animal Crossing Switch title. Kimishima explained that the company has more to announce in the following months, including products for the upcoming holiday period. Nintendo, he said, is simply waiting for the right time to announce its full lineup.
Nintendo's E3 Presentation
Despite a somewhat disappointing E3 presentation, the Switch is selling like hotcakes in many countries, particularly in the United States, where the Switch has become the fastest-selling console ever. After a terrible journey with the Wii U, Nintendo has another winner on its hands. It has to keep the console's momentum up if it aims to make the Switch as successful as the DS or Wii, however unlikely that may be.
Nintendo doesn't frequently share sales reports, but at the rate Switch units are selling, it's easy to imagine for Nintendo to easily meet its goal of shipping 20 million. Again, the important thing is to continue the console's momentum — and also for Nintendo to keep up the good work in terms of marketing. The Switch has a killer concept: a home console you can take anywhere. Now, it's time to release killer games, too. Mario and Zelda won't hold fans for long.
