While Smash fans have been generally pleased with Nintendo’s E3 2018 Direct, the reception on the stock market was different. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime went on Bloomberg to put Nintendo’s case forward, and did so with an interesting stat: the fact that Fortnite has already passed two million downloads on the Switch.
The interview started by pressing Fils-Aime on whether Nintendo had run out of surprises, and the Nintendo of America president explained the company’s strategy. “For us, we believe there’s a lot more value for the consumer to tell them about content and launch it – and Fortnite already has two million downloads on the Nintendo Switch. So by surprising the fans and driving this type of excitement, we’re able to move the business forward, and that’s what is most important to us.”
Fils-Aime emphasised that a key part of Nintendo’s strategy was pacing major titles apart, so there was consistent momentum across the year.
The interview also touched on Nintendo’s stance on loot boxes, which the NoA president said had “gotten a bit of a bad rap”. “The game mechanic of buying something that you’re not quite sure what’s inside is as old as baseball cards,” Fils-Aime said.
“What we believe, for example, at Nintendo is that a gameplay mechanic that offers to consumer something to buy that they’re not sure what’s inside can be interesting, as long as that’s not the only way you can get those items.”
You can see the full interview over at Bloomberg Technology.
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