With 19 million units sold, including 8.2 million in the last quarter, the Switch was by far the best-selling console in 2022, including in France. It is ahead of the PlayStation 5 by more than 4 million units, but the growth of its marketing is running out of steam.
Admittedly, the performance of Nintendo’s flagship console launched in 2017 remains exceptional. With more than 122 million units, it is now the third best-selling console in history. However, its sales fell by 20% last year, which does not fail to raise some concerns within the staff of Nintendo. For the Japanese giant, the main reason for this poor performance would be none other than the shortage of electronic components which has disrupted the industry since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Profits down 22.5%
In this context, Nintendo has revised its ambitions downwards for its staggered fiscal year which will end at the end of March. After having seen its net profit fall by 5.7% over one year, to 346.2 billion yen (2.4 billion euros) during the first three quarters, the company anticipates an equally complicated last. Indeed, Nintendo expects a 22.5% drop in net profit over its entire fiscal year, to 370 billion yen (2.6 billion euros), or 300 million less than its forecast. November 2022. As for operating profit, the main indicator of profitability, it should fall by 19%.
Faced with slowing growth, Nintendo lowered its annual sales forecast for the Switch console to 18 million units instead of the 19 million initially expected. On the games front, Nintendo anticipates 205 million units sold over 12 months, or 5 million less than before.
The Kyoto group will however be able to console itself with the sales of Pokemon Scarlet And Purple, two titles released in November, which marked the best start in Nintendo’s history with 20.6 million units sold. In the good news section, there is also Mario Kart 8 Deluxethe first Nintendo game — excluding Wii Sports (offered with the Wii in the West) — to exceed 50 million units sold, as the notice journalist Oscar Lemaire. This will not have been enough to avoid a decline in game sales of 4% over the first nine months of the Japanese giant’s staggered fiscal year.