TOKYO (AP) — Nintendo on Tuesday reported an 18% increase in first-half net profit as sales continued to rise due to the hit Super Mario movie and the popularity of a range of new video game software.
TOKYO (AP) — Nintendo on Tuesday reported an 18% increase in first-half net profit as sales continued to rise due to the hit Super Mario movie and the popularity of a range of new video game software.
Nintendo’s profits for the April-September period, which are not included in the quarterly results, totaled nearly 271.3 billion yen ($1.8 billion), up from 230 billion yen in the same period last year. Sales increased 21% to 796 billion yen ($5.3 billion).
Demand for Nintendo Switch game software continued to be strong, and sales were strong due to the influence of the movie “Super Mario Bros. Movie,” starring a plumber.
Among the games that sold well due to the influence of the movie was Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which sold 3.2 million copies during the period, bringing total sales to 57 million, Nintendo said.
This year’s Super Mario movie is one of the best-selling animated films on record, second only to Frozen II, and the top animated film based on a video game.
The popularity of the game “The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom of Tears,” released in May, also contributed to boosting business results. The latest installment in the blockbuster action-adventure series that has sold his 19.5 million copies worldwide.
Hardware sales, including various Switch models, increased to 6.84 million units from 6.68 million units a year ago, for a total of 132.5 million units sold.
Nintendo expects to sell 15 million machines in the fiscal year ending March 2024, including sales during the important Christmas and New Year’s sales seasons.
Nintendo is planning to release “Super Mario RPG” game software and Pokemon games before the holiday season.
Nintendo’s software sales rose from 95 million to 97 million units in the fiscal half.
Among the recent game lineup, “Pikimin 4,” released in July, was also popular. Nintendo is encouraging each household to purchase not just one Switch console, but multiple Switch consoles so that family and friends can play together.
Kyoto-based Nintendo began selling Super Mario Bros. Wonder last month, the first all-new Super Mario series game in more than a decade to play in side-scroll mode.
The company is also hoping for inspiration from other software makers releasing games for Nintendo machines. “Nintendo will strive to revitalize the platform by continually supplementing existing titles with new titles and additional content,” Nintendo said in a statement.
Nintendo has raised its full-year profit forecast to 420 billion yen ($2.8 billion) from the May estimate of 340 billion yen ($2.3 billion). The new forecast is still 3% lower than the numbers recorded in the previous year, when home entertainment companies such as Nintendo benefited as people stayed home during the COVID-19 pandemic. .
A weaker yen, which boosts overseas earnings for Japanese exporters, is also a boon for companies like Nintendo. He said he expected the dollar to trade between 130 and 140 yen. The US dollar has been hovering around 150 yen recently.
___
Yuri Kageyama is on X (formerly Twitter) https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
Yuri Kageyama, Associated Press
