Mario poses at the “SUPER NINTENDO WORLD” welcome celebration held at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California on February 16, 2023.
Rodin Eckenroth | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Nintendo The company on Tuesday lowered its Switch sales forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2025 due to declining demand for its aging console.
The Japanese gaming giant said it expects Switch sales to reach 12.5 million units during the period. This was down from the previous forecast of 13.5 million units.
Nintendo is battling declining demand for its flagship Switch console, which has been on the market for more than seven years.
Investors are awaiting news on the Switch’s successor in hopes of reinvigorating Nintendo’s gaming business. The company has said in the past that a Switch successor would be announced in the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2025.
Nintendo has also downwardly revised its full-year sales and operating income forecasts. The company said it expects sales to be 1.28 trillion yen, compared to its previous forecast of 1.35 trillion yen. The operating profit forecast for this term has been lowered from 400 billion yen to 360 billion yen.
Nintendo’s financial results and LSEG’s forecast for the second quarter of the fiscal year ending September 30 are as follows.
- revenue: 276.7 billion yen ($1.8 billion) compared to the forecast of 273.34 billion yen.
- Net profit: 27.7 billion yen compared to the forecast of 48.06 billion yen.
Sales decreased by 17% compared to the same period last year. Net profit decreased by more than 69% compared to the same period last year.
Super Mario, Zelda boost fadeout
The Switch is Nintendo’s second best-selling game console in history, after the Nintendo DS. Despite recent sales declines, Nintendo has relied on its well-known characters to keep the console’s appeal long-lasting since its launch in 2017.
However, that effect is waning.
Nintendo on Tuesday noted the boost the company received in the first half of the previous fiscal year, but said, “There are no such special factors in the first half of this fiscal year, and the Nintendo Switch is now in its eighth year of release.” Ta. , hardware and software unit sales decreased significantly compared to the same period last year. ”
Switch sales were 4.72 units in the six months ended September 30, compared to 6.84 million units sold in the same period last year.
Faced with declining sales, Nintendo is looking to license out its intellectual property for use in everything from movies to theme parks. The new Super Mario movie is scheduled to be released in 2026.
