Nintendo ramping up Switch productions for 2018, reports say

Nintendo website
The Nintendo Switch

Reports say Nintendo Co. is planning to make more Switch units starting 2018, following the gaming consoles' high sales this year.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Kyoto-based company is showing deepening faith in the console, and is planning to make 25 million to 30 million Switch units in the next fiscal year, which starts April 18. Sources said the plan is still in its early stages, and numbers could still rise, depending on the demand for Switch by the end of the 2017 financial year.

Looks like Nintendo is maximizing the positive response for Switch, following the flop Wii U. In the Switch's first six months alone, it has reportedly sold more than half the total number of units sold for its predecessor's five-year run.

The Japanese gaming company earlier increased its sales forecast for the fan-favorite console. From 10 million units, Nintendo now hopes to ship 14 million consoles by the end of March 2018. Combined with the 2.74 million units shipped on its first four weeks, that's a total of 16.74 million units for its first year — over three million more than all the Wii U units ever sold.

As of September, Nintendo Switch was the top-selling gaming console for the third month in a row, well above major competitors Xbox One and PlayStation 4, according to the market research company NPD, as reported by GameZone. 

Gaming experts put the console's success on the selection of games available to play. The action adventure "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild," team-based third person shooter "Splatoon 2," and the latest addition "Super Mario Odyssey" have all received great reviews.

Its upcoming games are also getting lot of buzz, particularly those that are part of the "Pokemon," "Metroid Prime," "Yoshi" and "Kirby" franchises.

With the holiday season just around the corner, the future for Nintendo Switch looks very bright indeed.