Nintendo Switch records record sales
- Nintendo has announced plans to announce a successor to its Switch console by March 2025.
- The success of games like The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom of Tears has extended the Switch’s lifespan and raised expectations for the next console.
- Nintendo expects to sell 13.5 million Switch units this year, and Nintendo aims to maximize sales of its current device.
Japan’s Nintendo announced on Tuesday that it plans to announce a successor to its long-running Switch gaming console during the fiscal year ending March 2025.
Nintendo has extended the lifecycle of its Switch devices with hit titles such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and the market is eyeing the prospect of a smooth transition to next-generation hardware.
The Kyoto-based gaming company said it expects to sell 13.5 million Switch units this fiscal year as it tries to squeeze more sales out of its aging device.
Microsoft signs 10-year contract with Nintendo for Call of Duty
Nintendo did not provide further details about the new hardware, saying it would not be revealed at its Nintendo Direct presentation in June.
The logo of Japanese video game company Nintendo is displayed at the Nintendo Tokyo Store in Japan on November 19, 2019. Japan’s Nintendo announced on Tuesday that it plans to announce a successor to its long-running Switch game console by November 19, 2019. (Reuters/Issei Kato/File photo/Reuters photo)
“Many users will refrain from purchasing the current Switch because they know the new model will be released in 2025,” said Serkan Toto, founder of consultancy Kantan Games.
Last year, Nintendo sold 15.7 million units of the hybrid home portable device, which was launched in March 2017. Nintendo raised its full-year forecast to 15.5 million units in February.
The company has been making incremental changes to its Switch devices, with sales of OLED models increasing year-over-year, even as broader hardware sales continue to decline year-over-year.
Nintendo expects its operating profit to fall by about a quarter to $2.6 billion this year.
CLICK HERE TO GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO
The company is expected to have a thin pipeline as it prepares to release blockbuster titles for successor consoles, such as “Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door” later this month and “Luigi’s Mansion 2” in June.
Nintendo expects to sell 165 million pieces of software this year, which would be a 17% decrease from last year.
When asked how the market has changed since the release of the Switch, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said, “Game development has become more sophisticated, long-term, and complex.”
Operating profit for the fiscal year ended March increased by 4.9% to 528.9 billion yen.
Nintendo shares closed up 2.4% ahead of the earnings release and are up 5.4% this year after recent declines.
“FY2026 is a very slow time for new hardware launches,” Toto said.
