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Nintendo Sees 7.4% Increase in Sales in Fiscal Year 2020, Sells 55.77 Million Switch Units Worldwide
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
Nintendo revealed on Thursday its year-end report for the fiscal year that ended on March 31. The company saw net sales of 1.0769 trillion yen (about US$10.10 billion), a 7.4% increase from last year. The company saw an operating profit of 300.1 billion yen (about US$2.815 billion, up 35.0% from last year), and an ordinary profit of 296.2 billion yen (about US$2.778 billion, up 25.2% from last year). The company stated it earned a profit of 210.8 billion yen (about US$1.978 billion).
Nintendo sold 21.03 million Nintendo Switch consoles in the fiscal year (an increase of 24.0% from last year). While sales of the Nintendo Switch console decreased 12.5% to 14.83 million units, the Nintendo Switch Lite system sold 6.19 million units since its launch on September 20. Nintendo sold 168.72 million Nintendo Switch software units (a 42.3% increase from last year).
The company sold 690,000 Nintendo 3DS handheld systems (down from 2.55 million units the previous year) and 4.99 million Nintendo 3DS software units (down from 13.22 million units).
Nintendo also revealed it has sold a total of 55.77 million Nintendo Switch units worldwide as of March 31, and 75.77 million Nintendo 3DS units. The console had sold 52.48 million units worldwide as of December 31.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the latest entry in the Animal Crossing game franchise, sold 11.77 million units in its first 11 days after launching on March 20. Nintendo described that number as "the best start ever for a Nintendo Switch title." The company has sold a total of 356.24 million Nintendo Switch software units, and it revealed lifetime sales data for its top-selling games on Nintendo Switch (including downloadable versions):
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: 24.77 million copies
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: 18.84 million copies
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: 17.41 million copies
- Super Mario Odyssey: 17.41 million copies
- Pokémon Sword / Pokémon Shield: 17.37 million copies
- Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! / Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee!: 11.97 million copies
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons: 11.77 million copies
- Splatoon 2: 10.13 million copies
- Super Mario Party: 10.10 million copies
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe: 6.60 million copies
Nintendo predicts it will see net sales of 1.200 trillion yen in the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2021. The company forecasts it will see an operating profit of 300 billion yen, and an ordinary profit 290 billion yen. The company expects to sell 19 million Nintendo Switch units and 140 million Nintendo Switch software units.
Additionally, Nintendo outlined the existing impacts and anticipated effects of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation on its business. The company stated that production and shipping are recovering after delays related to the pandemic. However, the company noted that there may be additional delays depending on the status of the COVID-19 situation. Nintendo noted that restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 may continue to affect physical distribution. As for its online services, Nintendo stated, "our network may be suspended in the event that we are no longer able to maintain the stability of our network systems."
In discussing the impact of COVID-19 on research and development, the company said the shift to remote work may impact development schedules if the situation is prolonged or worsens. Nintendo added that "the impact to overseas subsidiaries and other affiliated companies involved in development is anticipated to be even more difficult to predict than within Japan," and it "may not be able to proceed with the release of Nintendo products and the start of services as planned." Similarly, the company said that the COVID-19 situation may impact the releases of game software on Nintendo platforms.
