‘I like to win’: Reggie Fils-Aimé says if he was still at Nintendo, he’d try to make sure Switch outsells the DS
“Their opportunity to reach that milestone is essentially here”
Former Nintendo of America president and COO Reggie Fils-Aimé says the company should be doing everything it can to ensure Switch outsells the DS.
Nintendo posted its latest financial results on Tuesday, which show that lifetime sales for the original Switch currently sit at 154.01 million, right behind those of the Nintendo DS (154.02 million).
In an interview with The Game Business, Fils-Aimé said that while he’s no longer with Nintendo, if he was he’d be doing everything possible to make sure the Switch is able to cross the finish line and overtake the DS.
“I’ve been observing the [Switch 2] launch like a fan, though at times I look at things critically and wonder how [Nintendo are] thinking about different opportunities,” Fils-Aimé said. “I’ll share one with you just right now.
“They just published their recent financial performance. The original Switch is on the cusp of outselling the Nintendo DS, to be the best-selling system of all time for Nintendo. And so – I’m a very competitive type of person, I like to win – and so if I were still with the company I would be thinking about ‘how do we make that happen’, you know?
“Black Friday is a big opportunity for value-oriented programs. During my time with Nintendo we used Black Friday to sell through remaining inventory of Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance SP, Nintendo DS, the original Wii, and so could they be thinking through how to maximise that selling opportunity, to put Nintendo Switch over the top? I don’t know, but I’d be thinking about it.”
It was pointed out to Fils-Aimé that since Nintendo’s financial results counted up to the end of September, there’s a chance the Switch might have already overtaken the DS by now.
“It’s gonna be interesting,” he replied. “It could be there now. I would think through the end of this calendar year might be their last opportunity.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed but buried in their announcements they did say that moving forward all of their development is going to be focused on Switch 2, so their opportunity to reach that milestone is essentially here and over the next few months.”
While it seems all but certain that Switch’s lifetime sales will overtake those of Nintendo DS (if it hasn’t already), it may fall just short of becoming the best-selling console of all time.
On top of its currently lifetime sales of 154.01 million units, Nintendo expects to sell another 2 million Switch consoles by the end of the current fiscal year, bringing its lifetime sales to around 156 million, not quite reaching the 160 million set by the PlayStation 2.
Looking ahead, Nintendo’s next reporting period will include the launch of Pokémon Legends Z-A, which sold 6 million copies in a week when it released last month, as well as the recent Super Mario Galaxy remasters and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, which arrives in December. All three are available on the original Switch, which could boost hardware sales.
