If gaming is heading towards a future where user numbers for online services become increasingly vital, though, Nintendo will no doubt continue to review its approaches. The Switch now has a more modern infrastructure than when it launched, but there’s plenty of scope for improvement. Nintendo’s output (and that of third-parties on its hardware) also lags behind in DLC and microtransactions; while the latter aren’t always popular, the former can make games better in many cases, like they did in MK8, Animal Crossing: New Horizons and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It’ll be interesting to see how Nintendo aims to boost its digital revenues, and whether this’ll include more frequent add-on content for its own releases.
It’s a tricky conundrum, but trends suggest that the gaming scales will continue to tip towards the non-physical in the future. While Nintendo can still keep fans happy with physical media, the need to capitalise of the market for those that want more download and online services won’t go away. Whether that’s in new or amended subscription offerings, more DLC content, an eShop shake-up or a mix of all three, it’ll be interesting to see where Nintendo’s ever-shifting strategy takes it next.
