Nintendo profits rise on Switch consoles, software sales

Tokyo – Japanese video game maker Nintendo saw its profits surge 34% in the first half of the fiscal year on strong sales of products for the Switch console, including paint shooter Splatoon 3, the company said Tuesday. did.

The makers of the Pokémon and Super Mario games have raised their profit forecast for the April-March fiscal year to ¥400 billion ($2.7 billion), up from an earlier forecast of ¥340 billion ($2.3 billion). I got

Even better predictions are below the ¥477.7 billion Nintendo earned last fiscal year.

Entertainment companies got a boost from the pandemic as people tended to stay home instead of going out. That advantage may be lost as coronavirus restrictions are eased.

Japanese exporters like Nintendo have also benefited from the weaker yen, boosting the value of their overseas earnings when converted to yen. The US dollar, which traded at around 110 yen a year ago, is now around 150 yen.

Kyoto-based Nintendo posted net profit of ¥230.45 billion ($1.6 billion) in the six months to September, up from ¥171.8 billion a year earlier.

First half sales increased 5% from ¥624.3 billion to ¥656.97 billion ($4.5 billion).

Nintendo said shortages of computer chips and other components caused by COVID-19-related lockdowns and other disruptions have hit production. Nintendo Switch sales decreased 19% year-on-year to 6.68 million units.

Other Japanese companies such as Sony and Toyota Motor Corp. have also been hit by chip shortages.

Other popular Nintendo game software releases in the last six months include Nintendo Switch Sports, which sold 6.15 million units, and Mario Strikers Battle League, which sold 2.17 million units.

Previously released Mario Kart and Kirby games also sold well, as did offerings from outside publishers, resulting in 15 million Switch games sold in six months.

Nintendo software sales increased by 1.6% year-on-year to 95.41 million units. Downloadable online games also performed well.

Nintendo said that the crunch of chips and other components is likely to improve gradually over the next few months. Christmas and New Year’s are important times for Nintendo’s business.

“By bringing forward production for the holiday season and choosing appropriate shipping methods, we will strive to get as many consoles as possible to consumers in all regions of the world,” the company said in a statement. .

Game software plans include Bayonetta 3 in October, Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet in November, Fire Emblem Engage in January 2023, and Kirby Deluxe in February 2023. , according to Nintendo.

Nintendo plans to sell 19 million Switch consoles this fiscal year. Previously, it planned to sell 21 million Switch machines. Cumulative sales of switches worldwide exceeded 114 million.

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Yuri Kageyama’s Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama