Speaking during a New York Gaming Awards Twitch stream, Reggie Fils-Aime said after the “poor performance” of Wii U, one of his lasting memories of being with Nintendo was the release of Switch.
Calling Wii U the “worst-selling platform,” Fils-Aime said the Nintendo Switch became a “make or break: product for the company (thanks, Nintendo Life). “You know, Nintendo has done so many innovations in the space. I think what Nintendo did with the Switch, after the poor performance of Wii U, I think to me and what I was part of, that’s my lasting memory,” said Fils-Aime. “People forget, when the Wii U launched, the performance over that life cycle was so poor, I mean it was the worst-selling platform, I think maybe Virtual Boy was a little bit worse, but Wii U underperformed pretty radically in the marketplace. And when your only business is video games that next had to be successful and the Switch continues to be a dynamic platform - selling exceptionally well. “And the ability for the company to come up with the concept, to bring it to life, to bring it to the marketplace, to have not only great first-party content but a great third-party and independent developer content - that is going to be something I will always be proud of. Along with so many of the other things I was part of, but the Switch really was a make or break product for the company and luckily it was a hit.” Wii U sold 13.56 million units, which is low compared to other Nintendo offerings let alone its predecessor, Wii, which sold 101.63 million units. Switch, which launched in 2017, has sold 68.3 million units as of September 2020. You should give the stream a watch as it also features Jack Tretton (Sony) and Robbie Bach (Microsoft).
