Nintendo have shed some light on the sales of its latest gaming console and announced their next one for good measure in their latest earnings report.
The company says that since its launch on March 3rd, Nintendo has sold 2.74 million Switch units.
“We are hoping to pursue every business possibility and add value to our company by actively offering Nintendo IP in a variety of different ways so that not only current players of our video games but all consumers – including those who used to play our games but currently do not and even those who have never played our video games before – can experience Nintendo IP. We will continue to flexibly transform ourselves by adapting to changing times while constantly valuing the spirit of originality based on the belief that the “true value of entertainment lies in its uniqueness” – and will endeavor to continue providing products and services that people will be surprised and delighted by”, the company says.
They say they’re aiming to sustain the high demand for the new games console and forecast that shipments of the console will surpass 10 million units by the end of 2017 (and 13 million by the end of the following financial year).
Overall, Nintendo reported revenues of 489 billion yen ($4.39 billion) and an operating profit of 29.4 billion yen ($264 million) for its 2016 financial year.
It’s a slight contraction for the company with revenue down 3 percent year-on-year, while operating profit was down 11 percent but not a hugely surprising one given the timing of the Switch’s entry into the market.
However, these shortcomings are somewhat-counterbalanced by an extraordinary 521.5% increase in the company’s overall profits for the year – mostly a credit to the company’s sale of the Seattle Mariners sports team and the unexpected success of the NES Mini Classic.
The company also took the occasion to announce a new version of its Nintendo 3DS portable gaming console called the Nintendo 2DS XL.
A slim-lined hybrid between the company’s previous Nintendo 2DS and Nintendo 3DS XL, it’ll offer improved portability and comparability for the thousands of games in the 3DS’ software library.
Nintendo Australia confirmed to Press Start that the Nintendo 2DS XL will launch in Australia on June 15th at an RRP of $199 and be available in two colors.
