Nintendo had a lot riding on the Switch when it unleashed the next-gen console earlier this year. Coming back from the mess that was the Wii U would be no easy task, but rather than play it safe and release a traditional console, the Japanese company took a risk built a hybrid console that could be played at home on a TV or on the go with a built-in display. Needless to say, the gamble paid off and the Switch has been a massive success.
In fact, even Nintendo couldn’t have predicted just how big of a success the Switch would be. In an earnings release this week, the company doubled its profit forecast for the fiscal year ending in March from 65 billion yen ($570 million) to 120 billion yen ($1.06 billion). Additionally, Nintendo revealed in the earnings report that it now expects to ship 14 million Switch units through March 2018 as well, up from a previous estimate of 10 million.
Along with being impressive in its own right, that 14 million unit figure is especially significant because Nintendo only managed to ship 13.56 million Wii U consoles in its entire lifespan. Reaching that number will be a challenge though, as Nintendo moved 2.9 million Switch units in the July-September quarter, bringing the total to 7.63 million units.
“We’ve boosted Switch production to meet strong demand as it was difficult for customers to buy the consoles at retail stores,” Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima said during the earnings briefing. He later added: “The true power of the Switch would be tested during the upcoming holiday season.”
The only real question now is whether or not Nintendo will be able to produce enough consoles to meet demand over the holiday season. If so, hitting the 14 million sales mark will be eminently possible, especially with games like Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild buoying the lineup.
