Nintendo: 100 games now in development for Switch

The long-term survival of a gaming console is contingent upon a steady stream of games without long gaps, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima told investors this week, adding that there are now more than 100 titles in development for Nintendo’s upcoming Switch console.

Those games, in development from more than 70 publishers, illustrate an increased interest in the new console from publishers, he said.

“After the presentation on January 13, we have continued to receive requests from more and more software publishers who want to develop games for the system,” Kimishima said during a briefing earlier this week. “At the presentation, we announced that there were over 80 titles in development from more than 50 software publishers, but that number has now climbed to over 100 titles from more than 70 publishers.”

He added that the still unannounced new titles will be detailed in the future.

Kimishima also made a point to explain why Nintendo is spacing out the release of Nintendo’s big, in-house developed games instead of releasing them all when the system comes out in March.

“Our thinking in arranging the 2017 software lineup is that it is important to continue to provide new titles regularly without long gaps,” he said. “This encourages consumers to continue actively playing the system, maintains buzz, and spurs continued sales momentum for Nintendo Switch.”

That’s why The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a launch-day title, but Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Arms are listed as coming sometime during the first half of the year and Splatoon 2 will hit in the summer.

“We believe that these titles exemplify the concept of the Nintendo Switch, which is to be able to play anywhere with anyone and at any time, and will expand and invigorate competition between players,” he said. “In this way, we are working to create titles and environments to invigorate the competitive gaming scene so that a wider demographic of customers can enjoy, talk about, and continue playing the Nintendo Switch.”

Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

He also reiterated that Nintendo still plans to ship two million units of the new console worldwide by the end of March.

“We have heard that many retailers have already closed pre-orders and have allocated remaining inventory for sale on launch day,” he said. “This pre-order momentum is reassuring proof that the core gamer demographic understands the uniqueness of the Nintendo Switch and continues to support us.

“We are preparing our supply system to ensure that we will be able to make continued shipments after launch as well.”