Nintendo has sold more than 61.4 million Switch hybrid game consoles, and it has sold more than 22.4 million copies of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Those numbers aren’t a coincidence, as the Japanese company is the latest to benefit from gamers sheltering in place.
Nintendo reported the news in its earnings report for the first fiscal quarter ended June 30. Nintendo has sold more than 406.7 million copies of software for the Switch.
In the quarter, Nintendo sales hit $3.39 billion, up 108.1% from the same quarter a year ago. Net income was $1.00 billion, up 514.3% from a year ago. Software sales were up 23% in the quarter to 50.43 million copies sold.
During the quarter, Nintendo sold 5.68 million Switch units at a time when many people complained they couldn’t find the devices in stores or online. Nintendo sold 3.05 million Switch units and 2.62 million Nintendo Switch Lite units. Nintendo said COVID-19 led to difficulty in procuring parts for manufacturing Switch consoles, but the situation has almost recovered. If the impact of COVID-19 expands, Nintendo warned it could affect manufacturing again. Nintendo said there are still shortages in some regions because of the lag between manufacturing and restocking.
Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition sold 1.32 million units, and Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics sold 1.03 million units. But the star of the show was Animal Crossing, which had an enormous command of social mentions when it debuted on March 20, according to social media monitoring firm Spiketrap. In the first fiscal quarter, Nintendo sold 10.63 million units of Animal Crossing, as demand for the quirky game continued.
The game penetrated mass culture, as celebrities appeared virtually in Animal Crossing for Gary Whitta’s popular Animal Talking talk show. I even appeared in Animal Crossing on a panel for the Virtual Beings Summit in mid-July — because we all want to be like Whitta.
Meanwhile, Nintendo said that its Ring Fit Adventure game has topped 4 million units sold since its release in October 2019, despite a product shortage. Mobile game income grew 32.7% to $125 million in the quarter. Nintendo did not change its forecast for the full fiscal year ending March 31, 2021. It expects revenues of $11.36 billion and it is targeting 19 million Switch consoles sold during the fiscal year.
This fall, Nintendo plans to release The Crown Tundra, the second downloadable content (DLC) for Pokemon Sword Expansion Pass and Pokemon Shield Expansion Pass.
Author: Dean Takahashi.
Source: Venturebeat
