Nintendo has announced a positive financial outlook on Switch sales, with a projection of 50 million units sold by the end of the fiscal year. Just last month, Nintendo shares dropped amidst reports of poor Nintendo Switch Lite sales. It seems the Japanese owned company has cornered the market of handheld game consoles in recent years, however.
Although the base model Nintendo Switch operates as a home console/mobile hybrid, its newer model the Switch Lite is only able to play on the go. Aside from smartphones, the most recent competitor in mobile gaming was Sony’s PlayStation Vita. But in 2018, Sony stopped physical production of games for the device, leaving the market wide open for Nintendo’s hybrid device to cement itself as the de facto choice.
The positive sales projections for Nintendo Switch were made in the company’s six month Earnings Release and Financial Highlights. In the full report, Nintendo states that lifetime sales of the Switch have reached nearly 42 million. The company projects that they will sell a majority of remaining units by the end of the fiscal year in March, 2020. Nintendo estimates the 3rd and 4th quarter sales will bring the lifetime total to over 50 million, which is consistent with prior expectations.
In addition to hardware sales, Nintendo also reported substantial software sales. 11 separate titles sold more than 1 million units within the fiscal year, a 39% increase on a year to year basis. Among the titles that reached the threshold are Super Mario Maker 2, Super Mario Party, and the recently released The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. Nintendo also posted the games that they currently have in internal development for the Switch. These games include Bayonetta 3, Metroid Prime 4, and the auspiciously dubbed “the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (temp).”
It’s great to see the Nintendo Switch near 50 million units sold. After the failure of the Wii U, it seemed unlikely that Nintendo could climb its way out of the hole it dug itself and compete for sales with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The Nintendo Switch is a unique console with strange and delightful games. It’s paid off for Nintendo too, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has sold more units than the Wii U ever did. The Switch still has a long way to go if they hope to catch the PS4’s 100 million units sold mark, but in a time where gaming is making more and more money, the opportunity is certainly there.
The Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite are available now.
