Nintendo says Switch hardware production is recovering and its 2020 games are on track
But president warns plans could change if there are further coronavirus waves
Nintendo has said that Switch hardware production is recovering following months of disruption caused by the coronavirus, while first-party software scheduled for release in 2020 currently remains on track.
However, during a shareholder meeting attended by Kyodo News on Friday, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa also warned that any new coronavirus waves could impact the firm’s software release plans.
“We could not manufacture [Switch] as planned until May but production has been largely recovering from June,” he said. “We expect it to normalize around summer.”
Nintendo has forecast Switch sales of 19 million units during the fiscal year ending in March 2021, down from 21 million sold in its last business year.
Switch production issues this year coincided with a jump in demand for the console globally, driven by social isolation measures and the launch of Animal Crossing: New Horizons in March.
This seemingly led to a rise in the number of opportunistic resellers listing Switch consoles for double or triple their recommended retail prices on sites like eBay.
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During Friday’s meeting, shareholders reportedly asked Nintendo to introduce measures to combat the reselling of consoles at inflated prices.
“I am sorry for causing trouble to the consumers,” Furukawa said. “We want to deliver [the console] to as many people as possible. We will improve the situation as soon as possible.”
As first revealed by VGC, Nintendo intends to celebrate Super Mario Bros.’ 35th anniversary this year with several major releases.
Nintendo will reveal plans to re-release most of Super Mario’s 35-year back catalogue in 2020, remastered for Switch, including 1996’s Super Mario 64, 2002’s Super Mario Sunshine and 2007’s Super Mario Galaxy.
The platform holder will also release several other Mario titles this year, including Paper Mario: The Origami King and a Deluxe version of 2013’s Super Mario 3D World.
In May, Nintendo said first-party software could potentially be delayed following a switch to remote working, but on Friday Furukawa said this has not yet been the case.
“Currently, we do not see any impact on software set to go on sale this year, but there is a possibility that we cannot sell it as scheduled in the event of a second or third [coronavirus] wave.”
Nintendo’s stock reached a near 12-year high this month, fuelled by new Pokémon game announcements and reportedly by fears over a second coronavirus wave.
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