Though the Switch had a bit of a slow start to its second financial year on the market, Nintendo’s console-handheld hybrid has recently seen a massive explosion in sales. It sold strongly during the Black Friday week, while the launch of Pokemon Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Eevee! also saw it get boost in sales, something that has sustained over the next few weeks as well. On top of that, early sales figures indicate that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is going to prove to be similarly profitable for the system.
And according to Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime, that is exactly what is going to happen. Speaking with Forbes, Fils-Aime said that Nintendo is confident that the momentum the Switch has recently gathered recently is going to sustain itself going into the Holiday season and beyond, and that the company is still certain the Switch will reach its 20 million sales expectations for the financial year.
“We’re feeling confident in our momentum and it’s not just a stellar launch of Pokémon, it’s not just what appears to be a stellar launch for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,” said Fils-Aime. “That Black Friday through Cyber Monday time frame was critically important to us, the remaining shopping days now through Christmas are critically important to us. More days right after Christmas as consumers receive gift cards or take unwanted gifts and monetize into things like Nintendo Switch are important to us. So, this is going to be an ongoing effort to make sure that we drive our business forward through the balance of this holiday season but also the first calendar quarter as well.”
Though analysts have maintained that the Switch will not be able to hit 20 million units sold for the financial year, recent sales figures do show that there’s chance that that ends up happening. Both Pokemon and Smash are massive franchises that have a history of moving systems, while the Holiday season has also been the time when Nintendo usually sells the most hardware.