Nintendo is hoping key games such as Mario and Zelda will help it keep players interested in its ageing Switch console series.
Charly Triballeau | AFP | Getty Images
Nintendo reported a fall in profit and revenue in its fiscal year driven by a drop in sales of its flagship Switch console.
For its full fiscal year, which ran from April 2022 and ended Mar. 31 this year, Nintendo reported revenue of 1.6 trillion yen, meeting its own forecast. That was a 5.5% year-on-year decline.
Nintendo reported 432.7 billion yen in net profit for the fiscal year, down more than 9% year-on-year. However, it was better than the company’s own forecast of 370 billion yen.
The Japanese gaming giant sold 17.97 million units of its flagship Nintendo Switch console series, in line with its own forecast of 18 million units for the fiscal year. That compares to just over 23 million Switch units sold in the fiscal year ended Mar. 2022, a 22% decline.
For the fiscal year ended March 2024, Nintendo forecast sales of 15 million units of the Switch.
Nintendo is contending with an aging console with the Switch, which has been on the market for six years, with fears from investors that its sales may have peaked. The company was twice forced to slash its forecast for Switch sales in the last fiscal year after a disappointing holiday season.
Over the life of the Switch, Nintendo has tried to refresh the console with a handheld version and one with an improved screen. That has helped in the short term but has done little to arrest the overall trend of falling sales.
In contrast, rival Sony reported an all-time high profit for the year ended Mar. 31. The company also sold a record 19.1 million PlayStation 5 consoles in the financial year. Sony’s PlayStation 5 has only been on sale for just over two years, so it is still in its infancy.
Nintendo shares are up 3.6% this year while Sony’s stock has risen 25%.
