Nintendo has confirmed that it will announce its next-generation game console during the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2025.
In a statement released with the results, company president Shuntaro Furukawa said the company would hold another Nintendo Direct in June of this year, but insisted that it would not include information about new consoles, He indicated that news regarding Ware would be announced later.
“This is Nintendo President Furukawa. We plan to announce a successor to the Nintendo Switch within this year.''
“More than nine years have passed since we announced the existence of the Nintendo Switch in March 2015. Please note that we are planning to hold a Nintendo Direct in June of this year regarding the Nintendo Switch software lineup for the second half of 2024. Please do not mention anything about the Nintendo Switch successor in that presentation.
In its financial results for the year ending March 2024 released on Tuesday, Nintendo confirmed it sold 15.7 million Switch consoles, slightly higher than the expected 15.5 million units, bringing the total to date to 100 million. The total was 41.32 million units.
The company expects console sales to fall 14% to 13.5 million units for the current fiscal year ending March 2025, and net profit to fall 38.9% (490 billion yen to 300 billion yen).
Best-selling Switch games
*As of March 31, 2024 (compared to December 2023)
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 61.97m (+1.39m)
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons – 45.36m (+0.57m)
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – 34.22m (+0.55m)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 31.85m (+0.24m)
- Super Mario Odyssey – 27.96m (+0.31m)
- Pokemon Sword/Shield – 26.27m (+0.1m)
- Pokemon Scarlet & Violet – 24.92m (+0.56)
- Super Mario Party – 20.66m (+0.32m)
- The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom of Tears – 20.61m (+0.33m)
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe – 17.45 (+0.45m)
If the Switch achieves these sales goals, it will surpass the Nintendo DS (154 million units) and PlayStation 2 (approximately 160 million units) as the best-selling game console in history.
Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of Tokyo-based gaming industry consulting firm Kantan Games, told VGC that based on hardware sales forecasts, the Switch may have some powerful software planned for later this year. He said there is.
“I don't know about Nintendo, but it seems like they're treating 2024 as a transition year until a new console comes out,” he said. “The 13.5 million unit target is a very aggressive target for late-life-cycle hardware sales, so we expect some shocking products to be released this financial year or at some point in the near future. Either that will eventually drive down the price.
“It's a strange move on the brand for Nintendo to announce new hardware via X, but it also shows that the company understands that fans have been wanting at least some news for quite some time. Nintendo I'm still surprised that President Furukawa officially acknowledged the existence of the device, even though there is a lot of work to do to sell the current model until at least March 2025.
In a typical statement covering its expectations for the next fiscal year (ending March 2025), Nintendo said that in order for consumers to continue using Nintendo Switch, they would “convey the appeal of Nintendo Switch” and “continue to introduce new products.” He said he would continue to release the product.
The Switch is currently in its seventh year of release, and Nintendo is expected to release a successor early next year.
For the 12 months ended March 31, 2024, Nintendo reported operating income of 528.9 billion yen, an increase of 4.9% compared to the previous year. Net sales increased 4.4% from 1,601 billion yen to 1,671 billion yen.
Sales of Switch consoles in FY24 decreased by 12.6% compared to the previous year. Japan accounts for 28% of hardware sales, lagging behind North America (35.15%) but ahead of Europe (24.8%).
While this remains an unusually strong performance for a console that is certainly nearing the end of its lifespan, Switch hardware sales have been slow, particularly in key markets outside of Japan (where sales have actually increased this year). It is clearly decreasing.
In terms of software, Princess Peach's first appearance on Showtime! sold 1.22 million copies, and Mario vs. Donkey Kong sold 1.12 million copies. Sales of “Super Mario Bros. Wonder'' increased by approximately 1.5 million units to 13.44 million units, and “Super Mario RPG'' sales increased by approximately 170,000 units to 3.14 million units.
Regarding the future, Nintendo has the following to say: “We have other titles scheduled for release, including “Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door'' (May) and “Luigi's Mansion 2 HD'' (June). Other software publishers also plan to release various titles. We are committed to revitalizing the platform by continually supplementing our existing titles with new titles and additional content.”
The company also confirmed that the Kyoto Nintendo Museum, which was originally scheduled to open in the spring, will open in the fall.
