Nintendo president hints at “wide array” of add-on hardware for Switch

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Immediately after announcing that further Nintendo Switch announcements would have to wait until January 12, Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima let slip a few more details about the system in an interview with Bloomberg.
Chief among those tidbits: a promise that Nintendo is working on a good deal of physical add-ons for the Switch. "It may be appropriate to call them accessories. Or it might be better to call them add-on hardware," Kimishima said. "It’s probably more correct to call them accessories. You can assume that there will be a wider array."

We can only hope that this cryptic statement is referring to customized Joy-Con controllers that can replace the standard detachable Switch controllers, as seen in this fan concept from back in August. Then again, maybe Nintendo is planning on plug-in additions that add directly to the power of the console, à la the old Famicom Disk System or 64DD. Or maybe it just means boring stuff like expanded battery packs and carrying cases.

Elsewhere in the interview, Kimishima also restated that Nintendo is still "interested in VR," but it seemed more cautious than enthusiastic about the technology. "If you ask us whether there are any possibilities, we can’t say no," he said. "It may be that we will build VR software titles, I think that opportunity is available to us."
Kimishima reiterated his promise for a worldwide Switch launch in March of 2017, saying the company plans to ship 2 million systems before the month ends (still no details on the specific day in March that launch is planned for). After the disappointing sales of the Wii U, though, Kimishima seemed to stress the importance of the Switch selling well right out of the gate.

"In terms of how many units will sell, we’re looking at past examples where competitors, and our own Wii, had a lot of momentum, and that means the first year after it goes on sale will be extremely important," he said. For context, the Wii sold 5.84 million systems in its first fiscal year on shelves, while the Wii U only shipped 3.45 million in its launch year.

In an investor presentation last night, Kimishima said he's pleased with the 23 million views the Switch trailer has received across Nintendo's official YouTube accounts, noting that self-selected reactions have been "95% Positive." But speaking to Bloomberg, Kimishima stressed that there is still much more to talk about.

"By no means was that everything," he said of the trailer. "One thing we still can’t show is the software lineup. We want people to touch the device in January and experience the software for themselves." That statement lines up with comments from earlier this week, when a Nintendo spokesperson said that trailer viewers "shouldn't assume what you saw on the video represents actual game footage."