Nintendo's Switch is a hit, but the game maker's had a rocky road getting here
Nintendo is a venerable name in the video game industry, but it's been anything but consistent.
The company's original home game machine, the Nintendo Entertainment System, which debuted in 1985, was a huge hit and helped the game industry rebound from its infamous 1983 market crash. But as the chart below from Statista shows, the company has had a rocky road since then, marked by both hits like the Wii and disappointments like the Wii U.
Many in the game industry think the company's ready for another rebound, thanks to its new Switch console,which it released globally on March 3. Nintendo has already sold 4.7 million Switch game boxes, and forecasted sales of the device keep getting revised upward.
The consoles are virtually impossible to get right now, and if Nintendo wants to meet holiday demand, it will have to ramp up production considerably. But if the company is able solve its supply issues in time for the holidays, it may have one of its biggest winners of all time on its hands.
