LogInNintendo's President Shuntaro Furukawa noted that Switch's two-year period between the announcement and release was "a special case".
During a recent investor Q&A session, Nintendo's President Shuntaro Furukawa discussed the planned marketing campaign for the company's upcoming gaming console, hinting at the possibility that Nintendo's next-generation handheld may have a significantly shorter time gap between its announcement and release compared to the Nintendo Switch.
Acknowledging the circumstances surrounding the Nintendo Switch's marketing campaign, which started in March 2015 when the console was first announced under the development codename "NX" and ended in March 2017 with the release of the device, Furukawa stated that this two-year period between the announcement and release was a "special case", driven by Nintendo's desire to assure consumers that they remained committed to the dedicated video game platform business as their core focus.
Given the immense success of the Switch, with millions of units sold, it is highly probable that Nintendo may forego the need for an extended marketing campaign for their new console. Instead, they could opt to release the console shortly after its official reveal, confident in their established brand and market presence.
"Looking back at the release of information leading up to the Nintendo Switch launch, we announced the “NX” development codename in March 2015 during a joint announcement with DeNA Co., Ltd. regarding our business and capital alliance (as it related to joint development of smart-device game applications and its operation, and also the core system development centered around Nintendo Account)," Furukawa said. "When we announced our entry into the mobile business at that time, we needed to let people know that Nintendo would be continuing to focus on the dedicated video game platform business as our core business. So, I believe that the timing of the Nintendo Switch announcement was a special case."
Read the full Q&A session here. Also, don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.