Nintendo Investor Briefing: January 2020 Q&A now available in English

Last month, on January 31st, the usual Nintendo Investor Briefing was held, following the presentation of the latest financial results of the company. The briefing is made of two parts: the presentation by the president, and a Q&A session with investors.

For details about the presentation from the Investor Briefing, you can check out the full thing in this post! For the Q&A itself, you can find the official English translation of the transcript on this page. Again, nothing really new was revealed during this Q&A, but it still makes for a pretty interesting read (provided you have time for it, and can stomach the very corporate-style answers from the Nintendo executives!).

Question 1: Now that the holiday season is over, what changes have there been to the ratio of consumers who purchased Nintendo Switch Lite as their second system in the Nintendo Switch family? Is the overall Nintendo Switch user base expanding favorably?

Questions 2: What are your thoughts on the business cycle, based on the trends for Nintendo Switch at the end of its third holiday season? Do you believe the Nintendo Switch lifecycle will be different from past cycles? And if so, do you think the business can expand even after growth in unit hardware sales has plateaued somewhat, or do you intend to prolong the lifecycle by diversifying the family with more hardware variations like Nintendo Switch Lite?

Questions 3: You shared (during the presentation) the idea of launching different hardware variations to match changing lifestyles. Now that the way people play games is changing, and the hardware is changing accordingly,I’m wondering if the way you make games is also changing. I’d also like to hear whether “ways to play” is also the focus of your hardware development, which isn’t much related to performance or specifications.

Question 4: I’d like to hear about your IP development strategies for things like a movie and theme parks. Many companies are landing on the idea of using their IP to increase the number of people who interact with their content, which I think is intensifying the competition within the IP-based content industry. I do think that Nintendo’s content is unique because it has evolved along with how the world of the game and “the feel of the game” have evolved. I’d like to know how Nintendo’s IP expansion strategy differs from that of other companies.

Question 5: The touchpoints that consumers have with Nintendo IP, especially Mario IP, are currently Nintendo Switch, smart devices, and the like. I understand this will expand to theme parks, a movie, and so on, but what lines separate these different media? I expect each medium probably has some certain set themes, not just introducing the Mario character anywhere. I would like to know what will be different about eachtouchpoint, and what will be the same.

Question 6: Regarding the Chinese market and the launch of Nintendo Switch in December 2019, please explain the growth potential and how you are planning to increase sales going forward.

Question 7: I thought that monetization would accelerate with the release of Mario Kart Tour, but while the number of players has increased, it does not seem to have greatly increased sales. Is your mobile business mainly focused on expanding the number of people who have access to Nintendo IP, with not as much emphasis placed on short-term monetization? And can we expect multiple anticipated titles for smart devices to be released in the next fiscal year onward?

Question 8: I would like to hear about what the positioning of the next fiscal year (ending March 31, 2021) is for Nintendo as other companies are planning to launch their new hardware. Given that Nintendo Switch is soon entering its fourth year, do you see the next fiscal year, including changes in the environment, as something of a threat or a major opportunity? Please describe your direction in terms of positioning and strategy.

Question 9: How does concentrating development on the Nintendo Switch platform impact your gross profitratio? Are you conducting development to reduce the cost of sales ratio of the hardware? And, with respect to software, will continued sale of evergreen titles contribute to improved gross profitratio?