Today marked the day that Nintendo released their financial earnings for the first half of 2020, which showcased massive profits for a company that is successfully profiting from the increased number of people stuck at home playing games as a result of the pandemic. The latest Q2 Nintendo financials showcase another huge jump in Nintendo Switch hardware sales and impressive sales for a number of major Nintendo titles that could make 2020 a record year for Nintendo’s hybrid console.
With the release of this latest financial information, what we now know is that a mix of the COVID-19 pandemic keeping people indoors coupled with the release of Animal Crossing has resulted in impressive figures during this financial year so far. Hardware sales for the Nintendo Switch between April and September almost doubled compared to 2019 from 6.93million to 12.53 million, a result that has led Nintendo to bump projections for this fiscal year from 19million to 24million. Notably, this now officially means that sales for the system have surpassed that of the NES, as lifetime sales for the Nintendo Switch are at 68 million compared to that console’s 61 million.
Profits, meanwhile, have over trebled from 62billion yen to 213billion yen.
Sales of Nintendo games have similarly impressed. Animal Crossing: New Horizons was cited by the company as an example of their success this fiscal year as sales for Animal Crossing increased by 14.27 million to an impressive 26.04 million sales with no signs of slowing down. These numbers are less than 2 million units away from the best-selling game on the system to date so far, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and it would be no surprise to see it surpass that. Also, in just 12 days of sale before the end of Q2, Super Mario 3D All Stars recorded sales of 5.21 million, putting it off to a strong start.
Nintendo’s financials an impressive 2020 that could put the company on course for their best year on record. Thanks to the Nintendo Switch carving its own niche in the market away from Sony and Microsoft, it’s difficult to imagine the launch of PS5 and Xbox Series X having a material impact on Nintendo Switch sales, but we’ll have to wait and see.