COVID-19 won't delay first-party Switch games, Nintendo says

Nintendo assures shareholders, consumers, and fans that upcoming Switch first-party games haven't been delayed by COVID-19 work-from-home measures.

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Nintendo says its new first-party games won't be pushed back by coronavirus precautions and asserts its current Switch software lineup will release as planned.

In a recent briefing with shareholders, Shinya Takahashi, senior vice president and executive officer said delays did occur, but the more immediate slate of titles hasn't been affected.

"Regarding product development, there are some delays due to the impact of this new coronavirus infection, but at his point, there is no impact on the software release schedule for this term. However, if the impact of the new coronavirus infection becomes longer than more serious in the future, the software may not be released as planned."

Nintendo's current slate includes the newly announced Paper Mario: The Origami King alongside Bravely Default II. Other games are rumored for 2020 like a bevy of Mario remasters and possibly even a Pikmin re-release.

COVID-19 has disrupted the hardware side of Nintendo's business, however.

Forced plant closures across the globe stalled manufacturing Switch hardware processes, which led to massive shortages in all markets. Right now Switch supply is still constrained and the company is only starting to recover from the disruptions. Nintendo says manufacturing and shipments will start to normalize in the summer months.

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For games-makers like Nintendo, Software is where the real money is made. The company sold 168 million units of software last fiscal year, which contributed strongly to a big $3.2 billion operating income spike. Nintendo sells every Switch at a profit, but it's software that makes many times more than hardware sales revenue by virtue of continued purchases, monetization, and subscriptions like Switch Online.