Nintendo Switch: Fewer Consoles to Ship In Launch Month Than Wii U

2 million units expected to leave Nintendo's door.

By Joe Skrebels

Nintendo CEO Tatsumi Kimishima has said that current financial guidance leads him to expect that 2 million units of Nintendo Switch hardware will be shipped by the end of this financial year (i.e. by March 31, the new console's launch month).

Reported by the Wall Street Journal's Takashi Mochizuki at Nintendo's financial results briefing, that number is over a million units less than the Wii U's initial 3.06 million unit shipment.

Nintendo CEO says current FY financial guidance assumes 2 million units of Switch to be shipped this fiscal year ending in March

— Takashi Mochizuki (@mochi_wsj) October 26, 2016

It represents what could be seen as a more cautious Nintendo, whose expectations for the Wii U were far higher than the reality to come.

It's worth bearing in mind that a shipped unit represents hardware being sent to retailers, so this doesn't necessarily mean that Nintendo expects to sell all 2 million units immediately.

Earlier today, Nintendo revised its expected sales earnings for the financial year down by 30 billion yen.

Kimishima also addressed other questions about the hybrid home/handheld console. Regarding the console's price, he reiterated that the company will not be producing units at a loss (a tactic used by other manufacturers, who expect to make their profits through software sales).

That could raise fears of an expensive console, but Nintendo will apparently also listen to what its potential customers expect to pay for the Switch before setting a definitive figure.

On Switch: Nintendo CEO says company won't make loss by selling it; but also listening to what consumers expect from us when setting price.

— Takashi Mochizuki (@mochi_wsj) October 26, 2016

Kimishima also made clear, once again, that no announcement on the console's specs or price will be made in 2016.

The Switch, previously known as the NX, was revealed last week to be a console that can be used at home or on the move, and will be released in March 2017.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's UK News Editor, and one thing he doesn't want to carry over from Wii U is all the secret bits of Nintendo music in the OS menus. Follow him on Twitter.

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