Nintendo Switch has become one of the best-selling game consoles in history, but before its release, Nintendo was facing considerable pressure. Wii U performed far below the success of its predecessor Wii, leaving Nintendo desperate for a new console to turn things around. Now, Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of analytics firm Kantan Games, has gone so far as to say that if Switch had repeated the Wii U failure, Japan’s console market might have been completely eliminated.
Lose Again, and Players Might Just Quit Consoles?!
Toto believes that if Switch hadn’t become the massive success it is today, Japanese players would likely have shifted further toward smartphones and PCs. In other words, the problem wasn’t just Nintendo selling fewer consoles—the market itself might have lost the player base needed to sustain the console industry. For a Japanese market already impacted by the rise of mobile games, this was indeed a critical turning point.
Switch Ended Up Killing It to Become #2 All-Time
As it turned out, Switch didn’t follow the “Wii U sequel” script at all. Not only did it successfully reverse Nintendo’s fortunes, but it became the second-best-selling game console in history, trailing only the PlayStation 2. Switch’s success also allowed Nintendo to expand beyond just consoles and games into movies, theme parks, and other IP ventures.