Zinger Key Points
- Nintendo cuts its Switch sales forecast to 12.5 million units as demand slows in the console's eighth year.
- A new console is set to be announced by March 2025, with further financial targets also revised down.
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Nintendo ADR NTDOY has reduced its annual sales forecast for the Nintendo Switch, with plans to announce a successor console by the end of the current fiscal year.
The company revised its projected Switch sales for the fiscal year ending March 2025, cutting the target from 13.5 million units to 12.5 million.
The adjustment comes as the popular console enters its eighth year on the market. Nintendo also lowered its forecasts for total sales, adjusting down from 1.35 trillion yen (approx. $8,900,955,000) to 1.28 trillion yen, and operating profit from 400 billion yen to 360 billion yen, IGN reported.
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Switch Sales Slow In Its Eighth Year On The Market
Sales figures for the Switch have dropped considerably in 2024. For the six months ending Sept. 30, Nintendo reported 4.72 million units sold, down 31% from 6.84 million during the same period last year.
Software sales also declined, with nearly 70.28 million units sold—a 28% drop year-over-year. Nintendo attributed last year's strong performance to the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which boosted hardware and software sales.
“Unit sales of both hardware and software were extremely high for the first half of the previous fiscal year,” Nintendo said. "There were no such special factors in the first half of this fiscal year, and with Nintendo Switch now in its eighth year since launch, unit sales of both hardware and software decreased significantly year-on-year."
New Releases Show Steady, If Modest, Results
Nintendo's recent game releases have performed well, though overall sales remain down.
- September's The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom sold 2.58 million units.
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, released in May, sold 1.94 million units
- Luigi's Mansion 2 HD, released in June, sold 1.57 million.
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe continues to see strong sales, moving another 2.31 million copies and bringing its lifetime total to 64.27 million units sold.
Nintendo's Focus Remains On Expanding Switch Appeal
Nintendo confirmed its commitment to supporting the Switch for the near term, with several new releases in the pipeline.
Upcoming titles include Mario & Luigi: Brothership, which arrives this week, and Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, scheduled for January 2025.
"By continuing to convey the appeal of Nintendo Switch, we try to not only put one system in every home, but several in every home, or even one for every person," Nintendo said in a statement, aiming to keep the console relevant as it approaches the end of its lifecycle.
Next-Gen Console Likely To Arrive In 2025
Nintendo has provided little detail on its next console, but President Shuntaro Furukawa confirmed that an announcement is on track for March 2025, as per Eurogamer.
Analysts suggest that the company is likely to hold off on making this reveal until after the holiday shopping season, to avoid impacting current Switch sales. Toyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda added: "You would not want to divert attention to an upcoming console in the middle of the critical year-end shopping season.
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