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Nintendo said its Nintendo Switch games “Pokemon Scarlet” and “Pokemon Violet” have achieved the company’s all-time sales records. Pokemon is one of Nintendo’s longest-running and most popular franchises.
Guillaume Payen | Photo Sopa Images | Wright Rocket | Getty Images
Nintendo On Tuesday, it cut its sales guidance for the Nintendo Switch console and games, as well as its earnings guidance for the current fiscal year.
The Japanese gaming giant plans to sell 18 million Switches in the fiscal year ending March 2023, down from its previous forecast of 19 million. Nintendo also said it expects to sell 205 million units of software, down from its previous forecast of 210 million.
Nintendo has lowered its net profit forecast to ¥370 billion ($2.8 billion) from its previous ¥400 billion.
According to the company, the reason for the lower hardware sales forecast is that the Switch “didn’t perform as expected” during the holiday season.
Electronics manufacturers face a tougher macroeconomic environment.
“Nintendo has not been able to fully prevent itself from becoming a victim of the current economic environment and is likely to be disappointed this quarter,” said Serkan Toto, CEO of Tokyo-based gaming consultancy Kantan Games. He told CNBC.
Another issue Nintendo is battling is that the Switch console is nearly six years old. Sony’s rival, the PlayStation 5, has been out for a little over two years. Nintendo has released a version of the Switch with an upgraded display in October 2021. Now investors are wondering when the company will release new hardware to revive sales.
“There’s definitely new hardware in the works. The big question mark is when it will be released and whether it will be an upgraded Switch, an even beefier ‘Switch 2’, or an entirely new platform. says Toto.
Nintendo sold about 8.23 million Switch consoles during the December holiday season, down about 22% year-over-year.
Rivals as Nintendo struggles Sony This month, we raised our PS5 sales target by 1 million units to 19 million units for the year ending March.
pokemon record
There were some bright spots in Nintendo’s earnings report. Digital sales of Nintendo games rose 10.2% year-on-year to his 122.1 billion yen in the December quarter, setting a record quarterly sales for the period, the company said.
Nintendo said the new Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet games released on November 18 sold 18.2 million units in the first seven weeks after release, making it the “fastest start of any title for a video game platform exclusively for Nintendo.” Added that it was recorded.
The Japanese gaming giant is also gearing up for the May release of one of its most popular franchises, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
“Not just the next Zelda, but the next Switch upgrade can’t be coming anytime soon,” Toto said.