Audience for Nintendo Switch Games at 4K ’Too Limited’: Nintendo

HIGHLIGHTS

• Nintendo thinks the audience for 4K gaming hasn't hit critical mass
• It likens the delay for the Switch online service to Breath of the Wild
• The company wants its online service to have all features when it hits

The Nintendo Switch is one of the more popular consoles at the moment with demand outstripping supply by a large margin. So much so that Nintendo is contending with Apple for components to make the Switch.

Nonetheless, unlike the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, the company isn’t touting content at 4K. According to Nintendo America boss Reggie Fils-Aime, this has to do with targeting a larger potential consumer base.

“The Nintendo mission is to reach as many consumers as possible and to have them engage and have fun with our intellectual property. That’s what we try and do. So inherently, we go for a more mainstream audience. Inherently, we want our products to be affordable. We want our products to be easy to pick up and experience, low learning curve. We want our IP to shine as we deliver these experiences,” Fils-Aime said in conversation with The Verge (via Go Nintendo) during E3 2017.

For Nintendo, the audience for 4K content is ‘too limited.’

“That’s the way we approach it. And so, what that means is, a sweet spot of $300 for the Nintendo Switch, a platform that has Mario and Zelda and Splatoon. Going against a more limited consumer pool, a higher price point, requiring investments in other ways — 4K TVs, what have you — that is a strategy that for us, candidly, is a bit too limited.”

Furthermore, he also shed light on Nintendo’s approach to online with the Nintendo Switch, comparing it to the delay for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

“The reason we’ve delayed the full paid subscription, is we want to make sure that as we get all of our learnings, and we build all of the elements, that we launch something that is robust for the consumer. And as they consider a $20 price point, they say ‘This is a no-brainer. This is something that I absolutely need to participate in given the full range of features that it provides.’

That’s why we’re delaying it, and it really is consistent with the overall Nintendo development philosophy. We want, when we launch it, for it to be great for the consumer. And not to be something that isn’t fully-featured and fully-capable. That’s why we delayed Breath of the Wild — and look at what we were able to finally launch.”