Nintendo president says he’s “concerned” about the generation after the Switch

destructoid.com:

So what’s happening with the console generation after the Switch? Internally, only Nintendo knows for sure. But company president Shuntaro Furukawa is definitely concerned about it.

Speaking to investors during a Q&A session following Nintendo’s recent earnings report (as translated by VGC), Furukawa conveyed Nintendo’s pensive emotions going into the generation after the rip-roaring success of the Nintendo Switch.

He noted that it was important to create “long-term relationships” via subscribers (which is something they need to step up a bit when it comes to adding value to Switch Online), then provided this salve to investors and fans alike:

“We have already announced a portion of our software roadmap releasing up to next spring. Unlike the past, we continue to have a large variety of games scheduled to be released, even beyond five years of release. This is because the Nintendo Switch has had such a smooth launch, allowing us to focus all of our development resources on a single platform. However, the question of whether we will be able to just as smoothly transition from the Nintendo Switch to the next generation of hardware is a major concern for us. Based on our experiences with the Wii, Nintendo DS, and other hardware, it is very clear that one of the major obstacles is how to easily transition from one hardware to the next. To help alleviate this risk, we’re focusing on building long-term relationships with our customers. While we will continue launching new software on the Nintendo Switch, we will also provide services that also use Nintendo Accounts and other IP outside of gaming software. We intend for this to help build a lasting impact with our customers.”

It’s pageantry, but the fact that Furukawa admits