One of the most hype deflating announcements that Nintendo has probably made in a very long time, and one that took all the wind out of the sails for the NX, which had been gathering some positive momentum in the last few months, was when they confirmed that the NX would not be launching at the end of this year, as had been popularly speculated and rumored- instead, Nintendo would be launching it next year, in March.
In a Q&A session with the investors, which was translated by Japanese resident Cheesemeister3k, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima was asked about Nintendo missing the Holiday season release date- especially since the company has historically tried to meet the holiday season shopping rush. Kimishima, however, doesn’t seem to buy into the perceived all-importance of the holiday season at all.
“There is no change to our thinking about launch timing,” he said. “When launching hardware, “How much software can customers play?” is important. Launch timing must be based on that. Customers having more money to spend during the holiday season is one big factor in starting then. But our integrated hardware/software business doesn’t end that year, but is something that can continue to be played for several years so we think that “releasing something proper” is the most important thing. By that, we don’t think “holiday season timing is a must” but rather that we should launch when we can provide something proper. That point has not changed.”
So it looks like more than anything else, Nintendo is trying to ensure the NX has enough software upon launch- and if that entails launching it in a window when not many other consoles have launched, it looks like Nintendo will be willing to make that sacrifice.