From PC Mag: The Switch is exactly what Nintendo needed after the disaster that was the Wii U, but the hybrid console is starting to falter as sales forecasts have just been downgraded by millions of units.
As Bloomberg reports, Nintendo's profits for the last three months of 2018 were great. Analysts predicted $1.34 billion, but the Japanese company achieved $1.5 billion. However, the near future is looking a little less bright. Nintendo originally forecast that it would sell 20 million Switch consoles before the end of March, while analysts predicted a more conservative 18 million. Nintendo's own forecast has now been revised down to just 17 million.
The problem Nintendo has is one of audience and reduced scope to sell hardware. The purely handheld 3DS is now eight years old and there's no signs of a successor appearing beyond the odd hint. At the same time, the Switch is both a home console and a handheld, meaning Nintendo is trying to cater to both markets with a single device and needs to expand its appeal beyond the core audience of both.
According to David Cole, founder and chief executive officer of DFC Intelligence, "Nintendo needs to expand the audience reach of the Switch ... That is really a marketing challenging."
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