Nintendo Switch Sales Reach New Heights, As President Retires

Nintendo today reported earnings for the latest fiscal year, and there was a few big pieces of news to share. First off, the Nintendo Switch has now sold 17.79 million units worldwide as of March 31, with some 68.97 million software units shipped for the same period.

Nintendo added that it predicts it will sell 20 million more Switch units this fiscal year and 100 million games for the same period. That's a lot, and it speaks to Nintendo's strong ambition for the year, which makes sense given a new Smash Bros. game is on the way.

Additionally, Nintendo announced that president Tatsumi Kimishima--who took over for Satoru Iwata after his passing--will retire on June 28. Replacing him is Shuntaro Furukawa, who previously held high-level titles across marketing and corporate planning among other things. Just 46 years old, Furukawa joined Nintendo in 1994. Current Nintendo of Europe president Satoru Shibata has also stepped down from his role to take a senior position at Nintendo headquarters in Japan. No replacement has been announced.

In 2012, Furukawa became Outside Director for The Pokemon Company (which Nintendo has a stake in but does not own). In July 2015, he became general manager of corporate planning, and in June 2016, he became a director, managing executive officer, and supervisor of corporate analysis & administration. In September 2016, Furukawa was put in charge of Nintendo's global marketing team.

Going back to the earnings report, Nintendo said it shipped a total of 15.05 million Switch units during the fiscal year ended March 31. Over that period, Super Mario Odyssey moved 10.41 million units, while Mario Kart 8 Deluxe shifted 9.22 million copies. Splatoon 2 shipped 6.02 million copies during the fiscal year. Including games from other publishers, the Switch has 12 games that have sold more than 1 million units.

The 3DS stayed "solid" for Nintendo during the country, despite its age and going up against the Switch, Nintendo said. It sold 6.40 million units during the fiscal year, with Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon shipping 7.51 million units for the year. Life to date, the 3DS has now sold 72.53 million units, with some 364.89 million games sold.

Also in the report, Nintendo said digital sales were "very good," specifically for Nintendo Switch. Digital sales on Switch made up ¥60.8 billion, rising 87 percent year-over-year. Another bright spot for Nintendo was the SNES Classic Edition, which Nintendo said "proved to be a hit in every region." For the fiscal year, the SNES Classic sold 5.28 million units. Additionally, Amiibo sales improved during the fiscal year, with 10.3 million physical figures sold and 5.8 million cards. In terms of Nintendo's smartphone business, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp shipped this fiscal year, and it--combined with Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem Heroes--helped "smart devices and IP related income" hit ¥39.4 billion, which is up 62 percent year-over-year.

Overall, Nintendo's sales for the fiscal year ended March 31 came out to ¥1.05 trillion, up sharply from last year. Additionally, operating profit was 177.5 billion yen, which was also a significant increase from last year.

"Consumers have been very receptive to the new concept introduced by Nintendo Switch as a home gaming system that they can take with them to play anytime, anywhere, with anyone, which helped it maintain its favorable momentum during this fiscal year," Nintendo said. "Looking ahead, we plan to leverage this momentum to reach an even broader range of consumers and expand the installed base of the hardware."

We'll have more from Nintendo's earnings report in the days ahead.

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