Pokemon CEO Didn’t Believe in Nintendo Switch, Still Says Not to Overestimate It

The Pokémon Company and Nintendo, in the minds of most gamers, are a single entity. Many people erroneously assume that the Pokémon games are made by Nintendo, and when Pokémon Go took off, everyone assumed that it was a huge win for Nintendo. No doubt the Pokémon game in development for the Nintendo Switch will make waves, but ironically, The Pokémon Company CEO didn’t always believe in the Nintendo Switch. In fact, Tsunekazu Ishihara told Nintendo that it wasn’t going to be a success.

This, according to a recent interview with Bloomberg. The Pokémon Company CEO admits that his intuition was off, and he put a little too much stock in smartphones. Here’s the excerpt in question:

“I told Nintendo that Switch wouldn’t be a success before it went on sale, because I thought that in the age of the smartphone, no one would carry out a game console. It’s obvious I was wrong. I came to realize the key to a successful game is quite simple: software with absolute quality leads sales of hardware. Playing style can be flexible if the software is attractive enough. Currently, it’s popular among the early adopters, but there needs to be one more step to attract a wider audience. I see more potential in Switch, but one shouldn’t overestimate its potential.”

One Shouldn’t Overestimate Its Potential

Wow! Here we have the CEO of a company that drives the demand of so much of Nintendo’s fan-base saying that we shouldn’t overestimate the potential of the Nintendo Switch. You’d think that he’d want to spin the other way; you’d assume that, with a Nintendo Switch game in development, he’d want as many people to get as excited as possible for Nintendo’s innovative portable console.

There has to be something lost in translation here. I’m assuming that, in Japanese, his tone and his wording came across with a slightly different meaning and with a different tone. It seems to me very likely that what we’re reading is a direct (and I’m sure competent) translation of Ishihara-san’s words, and that certain words in the Japanese carry with them a softer or more “modest” impact. Modesty, and not doubt, is what I think he was trying to communicate. But I could be wrong.

Should we be worried about Pokémon Switch? Even Game Freak seemed a little down about it all.

“Don’t get expectations too high”

In a recent interview with Game Informer, Game Freak co-founder Junichi Masuda opened up about his thoughts and concerns leading up to the eventual launch of the Nintendo Switch game.

“What I’m really curious about and really excited to see, will be the main way that people play the Switch. Of course, it is very difficult to make the game, so I hope people don’t get their expectations up too high. We’ll do our best.”

Well, I can’t say that it’s the confidence we were looking for, but if Game Freak says they’re going to do their best, then I’m sure it will be great. It’s important to keep in mind that Game Freak has never developed a Pokémon game with HD assets before. The Nintendo 3DS boasts a resolution of 240p, and now Pokémon will be making a potential jump up to 1080p. That’s huge, and it’s going to change everything about the way the team approaches this design.

Will Pokémon be a smash hit on the Nintendo Switch?