Switch hardware and software continues to deliver the goods for Nintendo, which reported an increase in both sales and profits during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020.
As highlighted in the company’s full-year financials, net sales rose by 9 percent year-on-year to 1.3 trillion yen ($12.2 billion), while profit increased by 33.3 percent to 258.6 billion yen ($2.42 billion).
That growth was partly driven by the Nintendo Switch family of consoles, with the Japanese console maker explaining that both the Switch and handheld-only Switch Lite “performed very well without losing momentum” to deliver “significant sales growth.”
For instance, Switch hardware sales rose by 24 percent year-on-year to 21.03 million units, meaning the console has now sold 55.77 million units since launching in March 2017.
It was a similar story on the software front, with Switch software sales increasing by 42.3 percent year-over-year to 168.72 million units. That upswing was driven by key titles like Pokemon Sword and Shield and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the latter of which experienced the best ever launch for a Switch title after selling 11.77 million units in 11 days.
Nintendo also underlined the steady growth of popular catalog titles, including third-party releases, and explained the impact of COVID-19 on this year’s results has been “limited” despite some manufacturing delays relating to hardware and accessories.
Sales of the aging 3DS decreased by 73 percent year-on-year to 690,000 units. 3DS software also fell, with sales decreasing by 62.3 percent to 4.99 million units.
On the digital download side, Nintendo reported “strong sales” of download-only software, add-on content, and downloadable versions of packaged software. Nintendo Switch Online revenue also rose by 71.8 percent year-on-year to 204.1 billion yen ($1.91 billion).
Finally, Nintendo’s mobile-related income rose by 11.5 percent year-on-year to 51.2 billion yen ($480.8 million) due to “many consumers” continuing to enjoy smartphone applications like Mario Kart Tour.
Looking ahead, Nintendo is forecasting net sales of 1.2 trillion yen ($11.3 billion) and profits of 200 billion yen ($1.9 billion) by the end of the next fiscal year on March 31, 2021. It also expects Switch hardware and software sales to hit 19 million units and 140 million units in that time, but notes that COVID-19 pandemic poses a number of risks, including some “that cannot be predicted.”