While the Nintendo Switch 2 is definitely quite a massive upgrade over its predecessor, especially in terms of the raw horsepower to run games, investors of the company have been concerned about how this might lead to rising costs in game development. In a recent investor Q&A, president Shuntaro Furukawa explained that Nintendo is combating higher development costs by going for shorter development periods for its titles.
It is worth noting, however, that shorter development cycles for games is just one of the ways the company is looking at in how it can cut down on development costs. Furukawa noted that the gaming business has always been a high-risk one, while also acknowledging that costs going up also increase that risk. However, he also mentioned that the various internal development teams at Nintendo are exploring ways to cut down on these costs.
“Recent game software development has become larger in scale and longer in duration, resulting in higher development costs,” said Furukawa when asked about the possibility of rising development costs. “The game business has always been a high-risk business, and we recognize that rising development costs are increasing that risk.”
“Our development teams are devising various ways to maintain our traditional approach to creating games amidst the increasing scale and length of development. We believe it is important to make the necessary investments for more efficient development.”
Furukawa noted that Nintendo still plans on exploring different ways it can cut down on development time. Also, he seemingly believes that shorter development periods could only really potentially work for more “novel” games.
“We also believe it is possible to develop game software with shorter development periods still offer consumers a sense of novelty. We see this as one potential solution to the concern about rising development costs and software prices, and we will explore it from various angles within the company.”
In the same Q&A, Furukawa also addressed another investor’s concerns about the new Game-Key Card system potentially driving away third-party publishers from the platform if it doesn’t do well enough.
“This is one of the new software distribution methods we have introduced to accomodate the larger game data sizes on Nintendo Switch 2 compared to Nintendo Switch,” he explained. “Software can be released in various formats, and we will continue to work closely with software publishers on many fronts to ensure that they actively support our platforms.
As for the higher price point of the Nintendo Switch 2 and it potentially driving away younger audiences that can’t afford the system or its games, Furukawa noted that he believes that the console is priced appropriately for the experiences it provides. However, he also notes that Nintendo is also looking to expand on ways young children can engage with the company’s various IPs outside of just the games.
“It is true that Nintendo Switch 2 has a hire price point than our past gaming systems,” he said. “We are creating various opportunities outside of our gaming systems for young children to engage with Nintendo characters and game worlds, with one of the ultimate goals being that they will eventually play on our gaming systems. We are closely monitoring to what degree the price of the system might become a barrier.”
The Nintendo Switch 2 was officially launched just last month to record-breaking success. Check out our review of the console for more details.
