A new year means new financial reports across the industry, and it seems Nintendo had a particularly strong showing in 2016. According to a financial highlights and consolidated results report published on Jan 31, Nintendo saw 102,969 million yen in total profit over the past nine months.
The report, which covers the financial period from April through December, reveals that Nintendo saw a 153.9 per cent growth in profit over its last nine month period: Back in 2015, the company only made 40,558 million yen in profit from April through December. To compare Nintendo’s income to the US market, Nintendo closed the year with approximately $900 million USD total in profit over the nine month period, up from approximately $355 million USD during 2015. That’s quite the uptake for the company.
According to Nintendo’s summary of their operating costs and profit, games such as Pokémon Sun and Moon encouraged high sales numbers, with Pokémon Go‘s success leading to more overall excitement about the Pokémon brand. The report notes that this “drove Nintendo 3DS family hardware sales growth, particularly outside of Japan,” for that matter. So it’s safe to say that Nintendo’s profit partly stems from Pokémon’s success over the year as a franchise.
Dec 31 reports from Nintendo on Wii U and 3DS sales also reveal a bit more information about Nintendo’s software sales for the year. The company’s Wii U report reveals that Mario Kart 8 is Nintendo’s top selling Wii U game, with 8.26 million sales. New Super Mario Bros. U follows with 5.62 million, with Super Mario 3D World landing 5.47 million, Nintendo Land clocking in at 5.16 million and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U scoring 5.16 million sales. Meanwhile, Nintendo’s report on Nintendo 3DS sales reveals that Pokémon X and Y sold 16.06 million pcs, Mario Kart 7 held 14.82 million, Pokémon Sun and Moon clocked in with a combined 14.69 million, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire came with 13.68 million sales and Super Mario 3D Land scored 11.17 million sales. It’s safe to say that the Nintendo 3DS’s titles vastly outsold the Wii U’s, with Pokémon X and Y holding practically double the sales that Mario Kart 8, Nintendo’s best-selling Wii U game, has available.
Nintendo seems optimistic about Nintendo Switch sales, but it’s hard to say for certain how the console’s hardware and software sales will perform at the moment. But it’s safe to say Nintendo had a strong year in 2016 nonetheless. Check back as more news develops.
