Nintendo Reached an Important Milestone

The Japanese gaming giant sold 103.54 million units of the Switch console since its release in early 2017. As a result, sales of the Switch console surpassed the Wii. Still, the global semiconductor shortage forced the company to cut its forecast for the device. In total, Nintendo sold 101.63 million units of the Wii since its release in 2006. Nintendo no longer produces the Wii. 

Undoubtedly, it is a big milestone for the Switch, as the Wii was one of the company’s most popular consoles. Nintendo sold tens of millions of units of the Switch console. However, the Switch still trails sales of the original handheld Gameboy as well as Nintendo DS.

Nintendo and its results 

This week, Nintendo said that in the nine months to the end of December, it sold 18.95 million Switch units, which includes the handheld Switch Lite. Unfortunately, that marks a 21.4% year-on-year fall.

The Japanese gaming giant added that it now expects to sell 23 million Switch units in its fiscal year which runs to the end of March, down from a previous forecast of 24 million. 

Nintendo, like many companies, has been grappling with a shortage of components, in particular semiconductors which power its devices. Hence, the company can’t produce enough consoles to meet the demand for the Switch. 

Sony is also struggling to cope with a shortage of components. Two days ago, the company slashed its full-year PlayStation 5 sales forecast from 14.8 million units to 11.5 million. 

For the last quarter of the year, Nintendo reported revenue of 695.94 billion yen ($6.06 billion), a 9.6% year-on-year rise. Its operating profit jumped nearly 10% year-on-year to 256.6 billion yen. 

Despite Switch hardware sales falling, customers are still buying games online, which helped to increase revenue and profit, nevertheless.