Nintendo is hoping for a smooth transition from Switch to its unannounced upcoming gaming console. This was stated by the President and Chief Executive Officer Shuntaro Furukawa at Nintendo's 83rd annual shareholders meeting last week.
Transitioning from Switch to New Gaming Console
During Nintendo's 83rd annual shareholder's meeting, President and CEO Shuntaro Furukawa expressed the company's goal for a seamless shift from the Switch to their unannounced upcoming gaming console. According to a report from The Verge, he acknowledged the challenges of marketing this transition to its customers.
When asked by an investor about the strategies for the transition, Furukawa highlighted the company had to rebuild a relationship with its customers each time they introduce a new device or new lineup. But to achieve the seamless transition, the company will be utilizing the 290 million registered Nintendo Accounts for cross-platform console games and mobile applications.
He added, "We want to do as much as possible in order to smoothly transition our customers while utilizing the Nintendo Account." This will be new to the company knowing that the company is not historically known for a strong or consistent online infrastructure compared to other gaming platforms in the market.
Slow Integration of New Technologies
Aside from Nintendo not excelling with other gaming platforms in the market when it comes to online infrastructure, Nintendo is also known for its late integration of new technologies.
For instance, Games Radar reported that Nintendo's Wii U and 3DS both utilized a Nintendo Network ID. Despite that both these can be connected to the modern service, many users considered this far from smooth by many.
Cloud saves and 4K gaming were also integrated by the company into its services late in the game. On its previous transition, it was reported as being messy and convoluted when Wii owners had to jump through hoops to move games to the Wii U.
Compared to Microsoft and Sony's persistent cross-generation accounts since the early 2000s, Nintendo is falling behind. But as Furukawa mentioned during the meeting, this could be the start of the company making its efforts to have a much-improved integration of the newest technologies that could help their devices to elevate in the market.
Also read : Is Using a Phone Charger Good for Your Nintendo Switch? Here's What You Need to Know [2023]
New Gaming Console
Despite seeing a decrease in sales for Nintendo Switch, the company assured that this will remain available in the market for at least another year. Last May, the gaming company announced that the new gaming console is not expected to release before April 2024.
The decrease in sales is evident, with approximately 18 million units sold in the previous financial year, compared to 23 million units the year prior and 28 million units before that.
Speculations about the new gaming console have been circulating for years, which led to analysts being uncertain about the possibility of Switch 2. As per IGN, the new gaming console is expected to feature enhanced graphics that is comparable to the PlayStation 4 and its Pro model.
