For now it’s a case of watch this space – hopefully there will be some good, clearer news on the horizon.
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Sales for Nintendo’s other ventures, like its amiibo figures, also dropped in the last six months.
Sales of profitable games for Nintendo’s core Wii U console are down.
Reviews were mixed, but some described the console as disappointing.
“They have the Switch coming out, but nothing else”, said Serkan Toto, founder of Tokyo-based consultant Kantan Games Inc.
A couple of days before Nintendo launched the Switch, Nintendo Japan released another gameplay video that featured the weather changes in “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild“. Previously, it forecast a net profit of Yen35 billion, an operating profit of Yen45 billion and revenue of Yen500 billion.
It said it now expects the US dollar to average 100 yen and the euro 115 yen, rather than the 110 yen and 125 yen it previously forecast. That’s a significant dent to earnings from overseas, where the company gets more than three-quarters of its revenue.
The company only managed to churn out a net profit thanks to a sale of its majority stake in Major League Baseball’s Seattle Mariners, which netted 62.7 billion yen. Pokémon Go has apparently caused a spike in 3DS sales, which were up 19%, and was responsible for a surge in popularity for some of the older Pokémon games.
Nintendo’s earnings have suffered from the disappointing sales of the Wii U and the 3DS handheld. There are too many unknowns for any reasonable person to make a definitive statement on the viability of Nintendo’s new hybrid console in a rapidly changing marketplace.
In addition to the 3DS, there’s a wearable device created to be used with the Pokemon Go smartphone app. Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima is optimistic that a successful debut for Super Mario Run will drive purchases of the Switch when its released. Mochizuki also reported that Nintendo’s current financial guidance is estimating to ship two million units in the first month (March 2017).
That said, as one analyst told Mochizuki, this forecast doesn’t mean much if we don’t know the exact release date of the Switch.
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And judging from the largely positive reaction Nintendo fans had to the initial reveal of the Switch, it’s certainly possible the new console will generate Wii-like levels of hype, leading to similarly strong sales out of the gate.
