Nintendo has revised its fiscal year forecast downward following a 31% decline in sales, bringing revenue down to $6.1 billion
With the anticipation of the Switch 2 launch later this year, Nintendo published its financial results for the nine-month period concluding December 31, 2024. The results indicate a sustained downturn in both hardware and software sales.
Key financial figures:
Financial Performance
Nine months ending December 31, 2024
- Net Sales: ¥956.2 billion ($6.1 billion), representing a 31.4% decrease from the previous year
- Net Profit: ¥237.1 billion ($1.5 billion), reflecting a 41.9% decline from the prior year
- Hardware Sales: 9.5 million units, down 30.6% from the year before
- Software Sales: 123.8 million units, marking a 24.4% decrease year-on-year
Year-End Projections:
- Projected Sales: ¥1.1 trillion ($7 billion), a reduction of 7% from earlier projections, representing a 31.2% year-on-year decline
- Net Profit Forecast: ¥270 billion ($1.7 billion), down 10% from previous estimates and a 44.9% year-on-year decrease
In-Depth Analysis
Sales from dedicated platforms saw a 31.7% reduction to ¥895.5 billion ($5.7 billion), encompassing hardware, software, and accessories. Mobile and intellectual property-linked sales dropped 33.9% to ¥49.7 billion ($320 million), affected by the Super Mario Bros. Movie's reduced earnings.
The Switch shipped 2.74 million units, down 19.4% compared to the previous fiscal year's same period, which saw 3.4 million units sold. Sales of the Switch Lite were 1.73 million units, decreasing 20.5%, compared to 2.18 million previously. However, Nintendo noted growth in sales for the Hyrule Edition console bundle during the holiday season.
The OLED variant was the highest seller with 5.07 million units, yet this represented a 37.9% decrease from the 8.17 million units in the corresponding period of 2023.
Nintendo commented that while there was a third-quarter decline in unit sales, the figures have held "stable" levels as the Switch reaches its eighth year.
Software sales diminished by 24.4% year-on-year, tallying 123.98 million units. Newer releases like The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and Super Mario Party Jamboree showed "steady growth."
Super Mario Party Jamboree achieved a robust start with over 5.6 million units sold in its first eleven weeks, surpassing initial sales of its predecessors, such as Super Mario Party and Mario Party Superstars. By October 17, 2024, the game had reached 6.17 million units sold.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom garnered sales of 3.91 million units, while Mario & Luigi Brothership reached 1.4 million units.
A total of 19 games exceeded a million units sold during this period, with 12 titles from Nintendo and seven from other publishers.
Comparatively, significant titles from the last fiscal year such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder had boosted software sales, whereas the current year saw a "significant decline."
Digital sales fell 29% year-on-year to ¥245.8 billion ($1.5 billion) due to a decrease in sales of downloadable packaged software and add-ons. However, there was a slight increase in sales of download-only titles, and Nintendo reported "stable revenue" from its Nintendo Switch Online service.
Internationally, 76.5% of sales were outside Japan, with The Americas accounting for 43.6%, Europe for 25.3%, and 7.6% in Japan.
Looking forward, Nintendo has revised its projections for FY25, adjusting hardware sales from an expected 12.5 million units to 11 million, and software forecasts from 160 million units to 150 million.