Nintendo's profits fall to $4.9 billion as the company gears up for the release of the Switch 2

Nintendo has disclosed its financial results for the fiscal year, showing reductions in both net sales and profit margins as it gears up to release the Switch 2 next month.

Within these results, Nintendo shared projections for its forthcoming console, predicting hardware sales of 15 million units and software sales of 45 million units. In Japan alone, 2.2 million individuals have already signed up to pre-order the Switch 2.

Back in 2018, Nintendo anticipated sales of 10 million units for the original Switch, with software expected to reach 35 million. Looking forward, with the Switch 2's introduction, the company forecasts a 63% increase in net sales for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026.

Financial Overview

Year Ended March 31, 2025

• Net sales: ¥1.2 trillion ($8.3 billion, a decrease of 30.3%)
• Operating profit: ¥282.5 billion ($1.9 billion, a reduction of 46.6%)
• Ordinary profit: ¥372.3 billion ($2.5 billion, down 45.3%)
• Gross profit: ¥710.1 billion ($4.9 billion, down 25.5%)

Full-Year Projections

• Net sales: ¥1.9 trillion ($13.1 billion, an increase of 63.1%)
• Operating profit: ¥320 billion ($2.2 billion, up 13.3%)
• Ordinary profit: ¥380 billion ($2.6 billion, up 2.1%)

Key Points

The revenue from Nintendo's hardware, software, and accessory sales on its dedicated platforms fell by 30.3% to ¥1.6 trillion ($11 billion). Specifically, the Nintendo Switch sold 3 million units, reflecting a 22.4% decrease from 3.86 million the prior year.

The OLED model spearheaded these sales with 5.96 million units but saw a 37.2% reduction compared to the 9.32 million from FY24. The Switch Lite sold the least, with 1.95 million units, which is a 22.7% decline from last year’s 2.53 million units.

In the software sector, Nintendo moved 155 million Switch games, marking a 22% decrease from about 200 million in the earlier fiscal year.

Nintendo sold 1.27 million consoles and 31.43 million games in the three months up to March 31, 2025, compared to 1.96 million consoles and 35.72 million games in the previous period. Over the fiscal year, 24 new games were launched, with 15 being first-party titles. Upcoming titles include Pokémon Legends and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Notably, Super Mario Party Jamboree sold 7.48 million copies, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold 6.23 million, and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom sold 4.09 million copies.

Nintendo's recent releases, such as January’s Donkey Kong Country Returns HD and November’s Mario & Luigi Brothership, crossed one million sales with 1 million and 1.6 million copies sold, respectively.

The company’s digital sales decreased by 26.5% to ¥326 billion ($2.2 billion), largely attributed to digital games, downloadable content, and subscriptions to Nintendo Switch Online. The mobile and IP-related revenue fell by 27% to ¥67.6 billion ($468 million).

Nonetheless, Nintendo plans to "expand the number of people who have access to Nintendo IP" through ventures like the new Nintendo San Francisco and Super Nintendo World at Universal Epic Universe in Orlando. Moreover, the live-action adaptation of The Legend of Zelda is scheduled for release on March 26, 2027, along with the Nintendo Today smart app.

Looking ahead to FY26, Nintendo anticipates selling 4.5 million hardware units, a drop of 58.3%, while forecasting a 32.4% decline in software sales to 105 million.