Japanese publisher Nintendo has released its financial numbers for the 2022 fiscal year, and they paint an interesting picture of the company’s fortunes.
Despite a very slight downward trend in several key areas, including net sales, operating profit, and net profit compared to 2021, the Switch and its best-selling games continue to offer the publisher strong and steady revenue.
However, conservative estimations compared to other publishers continue to ensure that things don’t appear too alarming for Nintendo from a financial perspective.
Nintendo Switch Hits 100 Million Units Sold
Starting on a positive note, the Nintendo Switch forms one of the main headlines, having hit 107.65 million unit sales worldwide since its release in 2017, courtesy of averaging just over 20 million in sales per year.
In 2022 alone, the console sold 23 million units, which marks a decrease of 20% compared to 2021, when the console sold 28 million units, though this is something that the company has seemingly factored into its future Switch sales forecast for 2023, predicting sales of 21 million units in 2023, which would represent an 8.9% decrease.
However, David Gibson, a Senior Analyst at MST Financial, pointed out that Nintendo’s relatively grounded forecasts could serve it better than the optimistic forecasts of publishers like Sony, by allowing the company to avoid making promises it might not be able to deliver on, depending upon how outside factors play out.
This attitude is also reflected in the bigger numbers included in the release, with net sales being forecasted to decrease by a further 5.6% in 2023, following a 3.6% drop from 2021 to 2022, with this trend as a whole seeing the number drop from 1.75 billion yen in 2021 to 1.6 billion yen in 2023 if it comes to pass.
Nintendo’s operating and gross profits are expected to see similar trends according to the company, with the former forecasted to decrease from 640 billion yen to 500 billion yen from 2021 to 2023, and the latter predicted to fall from 480 billion yen to 340 billion yen in the same period.
In terms of games, the numbers highlight strong years on Switch for Pokémon Brilliant Diamond/ Pokémon Shining Pearl and Pokémon Legends: Arceus, in addition to a great start to life for the recently released Kirby and the Forgotten Land, which sold over 2.1 million units in just two weeks.
Beyond this, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe remains the Switch’s bestselling title overall, with 45 million units sold, trailed by Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
The console also has several big releases tabbed for its near future, with titles including Splatoon 3 and Bayonetta 3 slated to arrive soon.
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