Gaming giants, Nintendo has said there would be no new model of its in-demand Switch console in 2020.
“We have no plans to launch a new Nintendo Switch model in 2020,” president Shuntaro Furukawa announced at a briefing in Tokyo on 31st January 2020, the AFP reported.
Competition in the gaming industry will likely grow tougher this year, especially as Sony prepares to launch its PlayStation 5 for the Christmas season. This is in addition to upcoming 5G mobile phones that should improve the sophistication of mobile gaming.
But Furukawa says that its Switch console’s lifecycles and customer bases are different from that of its rivals.
“Other companies’ business moves will not have a special impact on our business,” he said.
The original Switch console has become a huge global seller. It’s a hybrid console that works as a handheld device or connected to a screen at home
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The Switch console is entering its fourth year, which Furukawa describes as the “early stage of its middle life.” However, the consoles are still doing very solid numbers boosted especially by its powerful software titles.
In September 2019, Nintendo launched a cheaper version of the console, which it called Switch Lite. It is a handheld device and Its sales performance has also been doing huge numbers.
In December, the Japanese gaming firm and makers of Super Mario and Pokemon launched the flagship Switch model in China via Tencent to improve its global reach.
The current Coronavirus situation is expected to affect some of Nintendo’s plans if a solution is not found soon.
Makoto Sengoku, market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute believes “the new coronavirus is rather worrying”. He also noted that it could disrupt Nintendo’s shipments from Chinese factories.
“Stocks related to inbound tourists have been falling but now investors have realised Nintendo could also be affected,” he added.
.Nintendo said on 30th January 2020 that its net profit for April to December 2019 rose by 16.4 percent from the previous year.
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