When the Nintendo Switch came out, the entire company was on its last legs. Now, Reggie confirms that the Switch was a “make or break” product for the company.
According to former Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime, the Nintendo Switch was a supposed swansong if it didn’t work.
According to the much-beloved figure, Nintendo was “lucky” that the Switch was a hit.
Nintendo was a dying legend
Many think of Nintendo and remember the thriving giant that it was in the ‘90s. Even now, people believe the company always had success.
Its games like Breath of the Wild and Animal Crossing: New Horizons make people revere Nintendo.
Even then, many have forgotten that Nintendo almost closed up between the mid-2000s and early 2010s. Reggie Fils-Aime clearly remembers that period.
“You know, Nintendo has done so many innovations in the space… I think what Nintendo did with the Switch, after the poor performance of Wii U, I think to me and what I was part of, that’s my lasting memory,” said Fils-Aime.
“People forget, when the Wii U launched, the performance over that life cycle was so poor, I mean it was the worst-selling platform, I think maybe Virtual Boy was a little bit worse, but Wii U underperformed pretty radically in the marketplace.”
The Wii-U was a failure
Reggie was right to call the Wii-U a failure. Throughout its life cycle, the Wii-U only moved 13 million units. The Wii-U had a ton of great games, but its PS4 and Xbox 360 rivals eclipsed it.
The Wii-U had a stellar base of titles, but it was a gimmick console at best. It was hard to develop for too and lacked third-party titles for it. The Nintendo Switch broke that drought.
“And when your only business is video games that next had to be successful and the Switch continues to be a dynamic platform – selling exceptionally well,” added Fils-Aime.
“And the ability for the company to come up with the concept, to bring it to life, to bring it to the marketplace, to have not only great first-party content but great third party and independent developer content – that is going to be something I will always be proud of.
Along with so many of the other things I was part of, but the Switch really was a make or break product for the company and luckily it was a hit.”
The Nintendo Switch has sold over 68 million units by September 2020 and is not nearly half its life cycle. Nintendo was lucky that the Switch is as good as it gets.
Featured image courtesy of Nintendo/YouTube Screenshot