Nintendo sees Switch sales sliding; hails 'Super Mario' movie success
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[May 09, 2023] By
Sam Nussey and Kiyoshi Takenaka
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's Nintendo Co Ltd on Tuesday said it sees a
further slide in sales of its aging Switch console to 15 million units
in the financial year to end-March 2024, a 17% annual drop that would
mark a third consecutive year of decline.
The Kyoto-based gaming firm acknowledged the slowing demand for Switch,
now in its seventh year on the market, even as supply chain snarls have
eased and the company bolsters its games lineup.
"It's difficult for Switch hardware and software sales to maintain the
same pace," Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa told a press
conference, adding that he still sees room for new users to come to the
hybrid home/portable device.
With Switch sales slowing, investor attention is focused on a potential
successor to the device, which has sold more than 125 million units.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/May/09/images/ads/current/culligan_sda_SFARM_2023.png)
"Based on the guidance, it is crystal clear the launch of a 'Switch 2'
or entirely new piece of hardware can be ruled out this fiscal year,"
said Serkan Toto, founder of the Kantan Games consultancy.
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![](../images/050923PIX/busine16.jpg)
People stand in front of Nintendo's logo
in Tokyo, Japan January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
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The robust appeal of Nintendo's roster of characters has been
underscored in recent weeks by the box office success of "The Super
Mario Bros. Movie", which is helping the company diversify beyond
its core console business.
The movie has outperformed expectations, Furukawa said.
On Friday Nintendo launches "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the
Kingdom", one of the most widely anticipated games of the year.
Orders for the game are progressing well, Furukawa said.
Meanwhile Nintendo said operating profit fell 15% year-on-year to
504.38 billion yen ($3.73 billion) in the year ended March. The
company forecast profit will fall 11% to 450 billion yen for the
current financial year.
($1 = 135.0500 yen)
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka and Sam Nussey; Editing by Kenneth
Maxwell)
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