The Nintendo Switch continues to kill it in hardware sales since its release in March. Many were probably surprised by just how successful the Switch has proven since launch, among them Pokémon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara, who had little faith in the hybrid console’s market potential prior to launch.

“I told Nintendo the Switch wouldn’t be a success before it went on sale,” Ishihara said in a recent interview. “I thought that, in the age of the smartphone, no one would carry around a game console. It’s obvious I was wrong.”

That being said, Ishihara is still taking a wait-and-see approach before fully recognizing the Switch’s success.

“Currently, [the Switch] is popular among early adopters, and there needs to be one more step to attract a wider audience,” he said. “I see more potential in the Switch, but one shouldn’t overestimate its potential.”

Ishihara’s trepidation is backed up by history. The Wii U’s sales, which infamously petered out at 13 million units by the end of its four-year life cycle, started out strong as well, with numbers comparable to the Switch’s launch sales. Of course, the Switch has kept up a much stronger pace than the Wii U, with sales surpassing 5 million just over six months after launch, all without a single holiday season on sale. It took the Wii U over a year including two holidays, to reach that mark.

So what will keep the Switch going strong? Ishihara thinks that software is the answer, more so than the Switch’s adaptable platform model.

“I came to realize the key to a successful game is quite simple: software with absolute quality leads sales of hardware,” he said. “Playing style can be flexible if the software is attractive enough.”

When asked about the upcoming Pokémon Switch game, however, Ishihara was less forthcoming, only saying that “the Pokémon games work well on handheld devices, and we are developing games that work on Switch,” but he couldn’t give more details.

When Ishihara talks about Nintendo needing “one more step to attract a wider audience,” it’s hard not to think he’s referring to his company’s own properties, even if the development team is feeling pressure to live up to fan expectations.

Additionally, it’s anyone’s guess when the next mainline Pokémon game is coming to the Switch, though it’s likely we won’t see it until November 2018 at the earliest.

Until then, we’ve got two beefier versions of previously released Pokémon games coming to Nintendo consoles: Pokken Tournament DX is launching for the Switch on September 22nd, and Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon are launching for the 3DS on November 11th.

Posted: Sep 07, 2017 9:51 am
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: http://www.egmnow.com/all/pokemon-ceo-told-nintendo-the-switch-would-bomb/