Nikkei chatted with Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa in a new wide ranging interview. Mr. Furukawa was asked about Nintendo’s future plans and he replied that whatever form the next system takes, it has to offer video game fans a new experience.
However, he says that we are still in the middle of the Switch’s lifecycle, but this life cycle can still be extended. Mr. Furukawa wouldn’t elaborate further, but presumably there’s a room for future Switch models including a slightly more powerful variant.
Any successor to the Nintendo Switch must be able to offer consumers “new forms of entertainment”.Furukawa said Nintendo doesn’t have a specific time frame in mind for hardware development, rather it is “constantly researching technology.
Nikkei – Furukawa interview highlights
The hardware and software development teams are in the same building, communicating closely and thinking about how we can propose new forms of entertainment.
In order to create a single piece of hardware, we have to do a lot of preparation several years in advance, so we are working without stopping. In the end, the deciding factor in whether or not to commercialise a product is whether it can create a new experience.
We always say that we are in the middle of the Switch’s lifecycle, and since one piece of hardware can be used to play both stationary and portable games, we can offer a wide variety of software for this purpose. The life cycle can still be extended.
The most important thing for us is to continue to provide new and interesting games. The basis of Nintendo’s game creation is to make it as intuitive as possible for anyone to play. We want to lower the barriers to play, and create many games that can be played by as many people as possible, including family members, through communication.
We have experienced many times in the past when our business took a nosedive. That is why I, as well as others in the company, do not believe that this situation will last for long. Rather, I believe that every year is a critical time. If we don’t make fresh and surprising proposals to new customers, we will always be forgotten.
