Nintendo Looking to Avoid “long gaps” Without New Games for Switch

One of the major problems that Nintendo’s Wii had was with the long gaps between good games for the system.   Especially immediately after launch, games to play on the console went dry for an extended period of time, before resurging late in the console’s life.  Apparently, Nintendo is looking to avoid this with the Switch.

Per their most recent financial reports and policy briefing, Nintendo says that they’ve arranged the 2017 software lineup to launch new games for the Switch without long gaps.   In theory, they believe this will urge players to keep using the system.

“Our thinking in arranging the 2017 software lineup is that it is important to continue to provide new titles regularly without long gaps.  This encourages consumers to continue actively playing the system, maintains buzz, and spurs continued sales momentum for Nintendo Switch.”

This same briefing revealed that there are now over 100 games in development for the Nintendo Switch.

The list seems lengthy right now, but as we’ve seen in the past, third party support has been hit and miss for Nintendo.  With the Wii U, there was plenty of support for the system when it launched, but that dried up soon after.

With the Nintendo Wii U basically dead at this point, Nintendo has also recently revealed their total sales figures for the console.  Lifetime, the Wii U sold roughly 14 million units.  Compared to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 that’s not great.   By Nintendo’s standards its the worst home console they’ve ever made, with only the Virtual Boy selling more poorly.

Hopefully Nintendo’s strategy for the Switch pans out and keeping players engaged with the console does in fact lead to continued buzz for the system and, in turn, more sales.