The Switch has proven it's a massive success as the Switch selling 120M-140M in its lifetime is becoming more likely at this point, especially with the Switch potentially having the greatest selling console year of all time with potentially 30M+ sold in 2020 in it's fourth year, which is unprecedented.
With that being said, it still seems far fetched to think the Switch could sell as high as 150M globally like the PS2 and DS since we gotta see if the Switch could perform as well in the later years in the market, which for the most part is unlikely to happen for a console, but given how unpredictable and successful the Switch has been since launch, we certainly can't rule out the possibility.
So what do you think Nintendo needs to do in the future to be able to reach 150M sold with the Switch?
So here are a list of some of the things in my opinion Nintendo needs to do to potentially reach 150M sold with Switch:
#1 Double Down on Casual Experiences: While games like Mario, Zelda, Pokémon will certainly help Switch sales in the future, I don't think those games alone will be enough for the Switch to sell 150M sold worldwide since those games don't really appeal to casual non-gamers and it's likely that most people interested in those franchises already purchased a Switch. What Nintendo needs to do to reach 150M sold is to appeal to non-gamers and double down on their "blue ocean strategy" by doubling down on games that might appeal to a soccer mom or grandma for example, since literally the market for non-gamers is limitless and obtaining small portion of that market is huge. I felt like one of the primary reasons the PS2 and DS sold as well as they did was because they captured a large market of non-gamers with those devices. The DS released well before smartphones were a thing and the DS filled that void for casual gamers to play simple pick-up and play games on the go, the sales of Brain Age and Nintendogs on the DS proved that a good portion of the DS's sales were from casual gamers, the same ones who now play Candy Crush on their phones. With the PS2 while the PS2 didn't have games that really appealed to non-gamers, it had a very capable DVD player at the time and for many it seemed like the best value to get a PS2 since not only you got a DVD player, but an entire game console as well for a similiar price as a DVD player at the time, even non-gamers were willing to purchase it just cause of the value they perceived. For Nintendo to sell 150M with the Switch, they need to appeal to non-gamers by doubling down on casual experiences. Nintendo has really started to do this and quite succesfully with stuff like Animal Crossing and Ring Fit Adventure, which are both selling like hotcakes on Switch and are selling a ton of Switch's and we have to see how much of a lasting affect they have on Switch sales. However, Nintendo needs to keep doubling down on those casual experiences, maybe make a sequel to Wii Sports or find new gimmicks that could appeal to casual gamers. Add Netflix or an internet browser to make it more than just a games device. Simple stuff like that could go a long way in appealing to non-gamers.
#2 Release more hardware iterations: This should already be fairly obvious, hardware revisions, especially when it comes to handhelds could be huge when it comes to sales numbers. Hardware iterations might increase sales by encouraging the consumer to essentially buy the same brand twice just to experience a new iteration. Hardware iteration could also appeal to new consumers since a new hardware iteration might have a certain value or feature that might be a big enough of a selling point to get a consumer who was initially reluctant to get a console to get one just cause of a new iteration. I expect Nintendo to do this given how successful the Switch has been as Nintendo has a tendency to release multiple different iterations of the same console for successful consoles.
#3 Continue to market to weaker regions: In the United Sates and Japan, Nintendo has no problems selling and marketing the Switch in those regions. However, to have a good chance of selling 150M WW, you need to appeal to the other guys where your appeal is weaker, such as Eastern Europe or regions who don't play much consoles. China, Eastern Europe, and more are huge markets Nintendo can't miss out on capitalizing on. Nintendo has to distribute and market the Switch in weaker regions themselves rather than allow a poor distributor market their system. The PS2 is so successful mainly cause of how dominant it is in Europe and other regions, and if Nintendo could continue to capitalize on the "other guys", they'll have a good chance of selling 150M.
#4 More 3rd Party Experiences: While 3rd Party Support on the Switch for the most part been good, and even then I don't think 3rd Party games are a major reason why the Switch is selling. I still believe 3rd Party games could play a role in how much Switch's could be sold and the Switch is missing a few key franchises such as COD and GTA. If Nintendo could get more AAA 3rd Party ports from PS4/PS5 on the Switch, that could appeal to a market not into Nintendo games to get a Switch since they'd like to play their 3rd Party Games on the go. While the Switch has been successful, there's still a good portion of people who aren't interested in it because they aren't interested in Nintendo games as they only like their yearly Madden or COD. For the Switch to reach 150M units, it needs to appeal more to that crowd.
What do you guys think?
