Nintendo Labo Reportedly Fails To Extend Switch Console’s Market Life

Looks like Nintendo’s gimmicky cardboard accessory for the Switch console is a failure. A report fresh from Japan says Nintendo Labo did not spark Switch sales contrary to what the video game company initially hoped.

Nikkei Asian Review reported Wednesday that sales of the Nintendo Switch console are starting to slow down despite the launch of the Nintendo Labo gaming and construction platform in April. The cardboard accessory kit was expected to revive consumer interest in Nintendo’s hybrid of a console, but that is clearly not the case here.

Nintendo has already posted its second quarter report. In spite of an 88 percent jump in its quarterly operating profit, it is evident that its Labo platform has failed to prolong the market life of the Switch console.

It is worth noting that the Switch started with a bang by helping Nintendo bounce back from the Wii U fiasco. However, the company only sold a total of 1.88 million units for the April-June period. This is 1.97 million units lower than its sales a year earlier. Nonetheless, the Japanese video game giant recorded $272.6 million for the quarter ending on June 30. This means the company has seen a 9.1 percent increase in its overall performance.

In December 2016, Nintendo revealed that its Wii U console sold 13.56 million lifetime units. In Nintendo’s latest report, the Switch has already exceeded this by selling 19.67 million units. As of writing, it’s possible that Switch sales have already achieved the 20 million milestone.

Despite the disappointing Switch hardware sales during the second quarter, TechCrunch says the slip was made up for by the sales of Switch games. In the most recent quarter, Nintendo managed to sell 17.96 million games — a huge jump from last year’s 8.1 million units.

Looking at the situation from another perspective, it’s easy to see that the Switch fever has died down even though Nintendo introduced Labo this spring. Nintendo wanted Labo to reignite Switch sales, but the cardboard construction platform did very little to attract more consumers.

When Nintendo launched Labo products in Japan, the platform documented combined sales of 120,000 units in its first week. But by July, Labo products only sold 2,000 units a week. Clearly, this wasn’t what company executives were expecting since they said early this year that Labo would carry Switch sales to the next level.

Nintendo Labo was designed to win over new kinds of clients, mostly families with small children. Unfortunately, its new play style isn’t really something that many people are attracted to. In fact, many have criticized Labo games as being too simplistic and boring.

The news also does not come as a surprise. Early this year, IBTimes predicted that the Nintendo Labo might fail due to several reasons. One of which has to do with its high pricing despite being made of cardboard materials. The Variety Pack debuted with a $69 price tag, while the Robot Kit came with a $79 price tag. Also noted was the lack of compelling software to back it up.