Nintendo Switch has sold 52.48 million units as of December 31, 2019, since its launch in stores in major markets on March 3, 2017. In just over two and a half years it has exceeded the total sales of Super Nintendo (49.10 million) and is close to those of NES (61.91 million). Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, among many other Nintendo series, gives two reasons to explain the success of the hybrid console: that more and more people are used to carrying a smartphone, and simplicity and Switch security against these.
“The Switch released with good timing in this age where people are walking around and using devices like smartphones. And yet, they get loaded up with a lot of data,” explains the Japanese creative in an interview with Famitsu. “So for this reason, we thought it should be relatively easy for a single console with a single technological architecture to succeed, given the situation. For mobile [gaming], there are many different hardware versions that all have to be accounted for, so you don’t know what else is going to come along with it all.”
The 67-year-old creative adds in the same conversation, when the interviewer suggests the concern that malware will be introduced to mobile phones, to the likes of Apple devices: “In that sense, I really like Apple. It’s not very prominent, but they’re quite good at regulating things and valuing their customers’ usability.”
What do you think about the statements of Miyamoto? Do you believe that the success of Nintendo Switch was due to the good timing of its release? Tell us about your opinions the comments below.
