Nintendo needs to introduction; it is one of the most successful consoles and video game brands. Although the company has seen significant success through various titles, it is only in the financial report that we know the truth. So today, we will discuss the First Quarter Report of the Fiscal Year Ending on March 2023.
Nintendo Hardware and Software Sales.Hardware
Switch Hardware sales were 3.43m in Q1, and total sales account for 111.08m. The Switch Software sales, on the other hand, brought 41.41m, while the total Switch Software Sales make up 863.59m.
The numbers may seem reasonable, but hardware sales have declined. Since March 2017, the total Switch Hardware sales have grown to the point of closing in on Game Boy’s sales, which stand at 118.69m. But it will need additional 43m sales to surpass Nintendo DS.
The decline in hardware is no surprise, as they have already seen a 26% year-on-year decline in their previous fiscal year report. Some reasons for the decline include a shortage of semiconductors and issues with collecting the parts for the console.
The pandemic hasn’t shown mercy to anyone, and Nintendo is no stranger to that. They somehow still have the demand for the console. Maybe the supply is not meeting the demand. Their biggest sale was the OLED model, which stands for 1.5m units sold; the standard version followed it with 1.3m. OLED overall has now sold around 7.3m since the launch.
Software
The software side is looking better, as Nintendo has reported that their units sold into retail declined year on year, but the sell-through has increased. To put it into scale, this is their 2nd highest Q1 sales of Nintendo’s titles since Switch was launched. The 1st highest Q1 was in April 2020, when Animal Crossing took over, and the pandemic only further fueled the trend.
This quarter’s highest selling game was Nintendo Switch Sports, which brought 4.84m units since April. In addition, three other titles broke the 1m barrier; Mario Strikers: Battle League (1.91m), Kirby and the Forgotten Land (1.88m), and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (1.48m).
Nintendo has confirmed that the new Kirby game is the most-selling Kirby game in the franchise’s history, with 4.53m units sold overall. Mario Kart is now their biggest seller having over 46m units sold.
There have also been reports that the sales for Nintendo Switch Online and the Expansion Pack tier grew, although the figures have not been given in the report.
Net Sales
Consolidated Financial Highlights.The Net Sales have declined year on year by 4.7% to 307.4 billion yen. The Operating Profits have also reduced by 15.1% to 101.6 billion yen. Ordinary Sales have increased by 29.6% to 166.7 billion yen. The Net Profit also increased by 28.3% to 118.9 billion yen.
The Net Sales include Dedicated Video Game Platform(includes hardware and software), Mobile IP Related Income, Playing Cards, etc. Dedicated Video Game sales have declined by 4.3% year-on-year. It made up 295.6 billion yen sales in Q1.
Some factors contributing to this are the vulnerable situation of the current yen and the introduction of the Nintendo Switch – OLED Model with the high price. The production of this was also impacted due to the shortages mentioned earlier.
The Mobile and IP Related Sales remain stable, but the smart-device sales declined overall by 16.8%. They make up 10.9 billion yen in Q1 Net Sales.
Nintendo Comparison to other Successful PlatformsTL;DR
Net sales: ¥307.5 billion ($2.3 billion), down by 4.7% year-on-year
Operating profit: ¥101.6 billion ($762.7 million), down by 15.1%
Ordinary profit: ¥166.7 billion ($1.3 billion), up by 29.6%
Gross profit: ¥184.5 billion ($1.4 billion), down by 4.3%
Switch units shipped: 3.43 million, down by 22.9%
Software sold into retail: 41.41 million, down by 8.6%
Digital sales: ¥88 billion ($660.7 million), up by 16%
Mobile and IP-related income: ¥10.9 billion ($81.8 million), down by 16.8%
Forecast
Net sales: ¥1.6 trillion ($12 billion), down by 5.6%
Operating profit: ¥500 billion ($3.8 billion), down by 15.6%
Ordinary profit: ¥480 billion ($3.6 billion), down by 28.4%
The company’s forecast has been the same since May. Nintendo further added that they would;
Continue to convey the appeal of all three(Switch) models to maintain sales momentum and expand the install base.
Moving forward, Nintendo hopes to boost their sales, similar to the launch of Xenoblade Chronicles 3, their most significant launch in the UK. They can do so with Splatoon 3 in September and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet in November. Further information on them will be given in due time.
Overall, they still have some cards they can pull to boost these numbers. Considering the hype for some of their upcoming games, we might be surprised with the numbers they bring. Their sales of first-party titles have already reached the highest level for the June-April quarters in Switch history.
If you love these statistics, you can also look at our analysis of Microsoft and Sony quarterly reports for the fiscal year, as they also saw a decline in some of their sales.
Here is a Similar Read: An Insider Leaks the Potential PlayStation Showcase Date.