EA is playing the waiting game before it commits to Nintendo Switch

At the time of FIFA 18’s announcement and the news that the franchise would be coming to the Nintendo Switch, EA has been coy over the support for the console. Now it has confirmed to a journalist from the Wall Street Journal that it will wait for a full year before deciding on any further releases for the Nintendo console.

EA in No Rush to Make More Videogames for Nintendo Switch via @saraheneedleman pic.twitter.com/RrBzOBNpkZ

— Takashi Mochizuki (@mochi_wsj) November 1, 2017

Globally, the Switch is performing well having already shipped over 7 million consoles, a figure which is expected to rise to 14 million. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WIld and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe have both sold over 4 million units individually.

If we aren’t going to see another EA game for another ten months, in theory, then we’ll certainly know more about the Switch’s performance over the holiday period and if the audience is there for EA games. The biggest worry among gamers is that EA’s support for the console may go the same way as the WiiU support, which was dropped despite assurances it would continue.

It will be interesting to see how EA approaches development for the Switch, with many franchises in its arsenal being potentially good fits such as Plants vs Zombies, The Sims and even Need for Speed. EA’s recent financial pointed to a large focus on digital sales and ‘net bookings’ as well as monetisation from titles, which is arguably something the Switch is yet to gain a foothold with.

So, hopefully, this will mean the next EA title we see on the Switch will be FIFA 19, but with only 1 per cent of all FIFA sales this year being accredited to the Switch, some big holiday performance will be needed from the franchise.

(EDIT: Fe which is published by EA is due for release in early 2018 for the Nintendo Switch but does not have a full release date at this stage)