Mario poses during the Super Nintendo World Welcome Celebration at Universal Studios Hollywood on February 16, 2023 in Universal Studios Hollywood, California.
Rodin Eckenroth | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Nintendo The company on Tuesday cut its forecast for Switch sales for the fiscal year ending in March 2025 due to weakening demand for the aging console.
The Japanese gaming giant said it expects Switch sales to reach 12.5 million units during the period. This was lower than the previous forecast of 13.5 million units.
Nintendo has been dealing with declining demand for its flagship Switch console, more than seven years after its launch.
Investors are awaiting news on a follow-up to the Switch, which they hope will revive Nintendo’s gaming business. In the past, the company explain The Switch’s successor will be released in the current fiscal year ending in March 2025.
Nintendo also lowered its sales and operating profit forecasts for the full fiscal year. The company said it now expects sales of 1.28 trillion yen, compared with its previous forecast of 1.35 trillion yen. Operating profit expectations for the period were significantly reduced from 400 billion yen to 360 billion yen.
Here’s how Nintendo’s results for the fiscal second quarter ended September 30 compare to LSEG’s forecasts:
- income: 276.7 billion yen ($1.8 billion), compared with expectations of 273.34 billion yen.
- net profit: 27.7 billion yen, compared with the expected 48.06 billion yen.
Revenue fell 17% year over year. Net profit fell by more than 69% compared with the same period last year.
“Super Mario” and “Zelda” are accelerating their decline
The Switch is the second best-selling console in Nintendo’s history, behind only the Nintendo DS. Despite recent sales declines, Nintendo has been able to extend the console’s appeal over a long period of time since its launch in 2017, thanks to its instantly recognizable characters.
In the last fiscal year, Nintendo Trying to revive sales The Switch’s success has been fueled by the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the release of the highly anticipated The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom Tears game, underscoring the appeal of its iconic characters.
But that impact is fading.
On Tuesday, Nintendo pointed to the boost the company received in the first half of its last fiscal year but said “there were no such special factors in the first half of this fiscal year and the Nintendo Switch is entering its eighth year since launch,” Hardware and Software unit sales fell significantly year-on-year. “
Switch sales in the six months ended September 30 totaled 4.72 million units, compared with 6.84 million units in the same period last year.
Faced with declining sales, Nintendo has tried to license its intellectual property for use in everything from movies to theme parks. The new “Super Mario” movie is expected to be released in 2026.
