Nintendo has released their latest financial briefing online, which features details about the overall successes of their systems and their plans going forward for the next few years.
Sales Figures
The report opens up with information concerning the recently-recent Nintendo Labo. The initial response has been very positive, with the Labo outselling God of War in Japan during its first week, prompting Nintendo to continue developing the Labo line.
The amazing success of the Nintendo Switch has meant that games have outperformed their initial projections, with Kirby Star Allies outselling the other recent Kirby titles within the same period of sales, despite the lackluster critical response. Bayonetta 2 has also sold more copies than the Wii U version of the title had during the same time period of its release.
The Nintendo Switch has also set a record within the company for the number of digital sales when it comes to games and DLC, despite the fact that the Switch comes with a small amount of internal memory and can only be upgraded with MicroSD cards.
Upcoming Games
Nintendo has already planned out their approach for the crucial second year of sales, with the announcement of Super Smash Bros. being the first step. The fiscal report confirms that Super Smash Bros. is a temporary name for the game. We will likely know the real name at E3.
Mario Tennis Aces is also an important part of the Switch’s progression, with the game designed to appeal to multiple audiences. Mario Tennis Aces was designed to be used with both of the Joy-Cons, while also retaining the motion controls of previous Mario Tennis titles (and Wii Sports), as well as the addition of a single-player mode for more serious gamers.
Nintendo intends for Mario Tennis Aces to be one of their biggest games of the year, despite the lukewarm reception to the previous games in the series. There is even the intention of making Mario Tennis Aces popular at competitive gaming events.
Splatoon 2
The Japanese fanbase for Splatoon 2 has helped to define the path of the game’s upcoming content. This is partly due to the shortages of Nintendo Switch consoles in Japan throughout its first year of release, which only became worse when Splatoon 2 was released. The popularity of the game in Japan has led to an increased player base since its initial release, which prompted the creation of paid DLC for those who were able to acquire a copy upon release. This has resulted in the upcoming Octo Expansion for the game.
The popularity of events promoting ARMS and Splatoon 2 has also encouraged Nintendo to take a similar tact with their upcoming games.
Nintendo Switch Online
One of the biggest reveals in the financial report comes in the form of information concerning the upcoming Nintendo Switch Online, which will be the paid subscription service that will be required for online play. The September 2018 release date has been confirmed (after several delays) and more information will be revealed about the service at the beginning of May, which will likely drop next week.
The next phase of Nintendo’s expansion with the Switch involves broadening the audience of the system. This is where the Labo has been helpful, as it has helped to promote the Switch directly to children and parents, whereas the previous marketing strategy for the system has been aimed towards gamers.
The Switch has seen massive success with indie and third-party titles, which is in stark contrast to the Wii U’s business model of relying on strong first-party games. Games like Rocket League and Stardew Valley have been especially successful on the Switch, despite how popular they already are on other systems.
There Will Be More 3DS Games
The biggest surprise in the financial report concerns the fate of the Nintendo 3DS. A lot of fans and pundits assumed that 2018 would be the final year for the system, considering how popular the Switch has become and how it has essentially usurped the 3DS’ position as a handheld gaming device. This has been supported by the lack of titles coming out for the system, which hasn’t been helped by the recent announcement that the 3DS version of Dragon Quest XI will not be localized.
Nintendo has defied everyone’s expectations and announced that the 3DS is not dead yet! Nintendo has plans for more games that will be released through until 2020, despite the lack of titles currently announced for the system. It seems that they aren’t quite ready to give up that seventy-two million user base just yet.
The Nintendo 3DS’ position has also been stolen by the recent smart-device games that have been developed the company, which all have the capacity to reach a much wider audience and can easily be bought & played on newer iterations of each device.
Mobile Games
The first three major Nintendo games released for smart-devices were Super Mario Run, Fire Emblem Heroes, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. These three games have brought in a ton of revenue, with Animal Crossing managing to win a huge share of the female demographic, to the point where far more women are playing the game than men.
We weren’t given exact numbers for the money generated by Fire Emblem Heroes and Super Mario Run, but Nintendo has claimed that they have both been incredibly successful, which is more surprising for Fire Emblem, considering how it is considered to be a niche series.
Nintendo also discussed their future ventures into the smart-device market, by announcing a partnership with Cygames in order to make a brand new IP for mobile games. This new game is called Dragalia Lost and the trailer has revealed that it is an action RPG.
Nintendo is serious about the success of Dragalia Lost, to the point where they have purchased 5% of Cygames’ stock. Those of you who are sick of seeing blond spiky-haired anime characters with swords in Smash may be in for more disappointment in the future if the game does well.
Nintendo also confirmed that Mario Kart Tour will be released at some point within the next fiscal year, which ends next March.
E3 Plans
Nintendo ended the financial report with their plans for the upcoming E3 conference. It seems that they are planning on repeating their practice from the past few years, of holding a short video presentation with details for the upcoming games, with the attendees being given a chance to play some of the games on the show floor. Those attending E3 will be given the chance to try out the new Super Smash Bros. title.
It seems that Nintendo is confident in their upcoming strategy for the future, though we only have their word to take on this for the time being. The Nintendo’s Switch upcoming library is made up of ports of Wii U games, indie titles that are already available on other systems and games that don’t appear to be close to release, while the Nintendo 3DS has barely any upcoming games at all.
Nintendo has so far promised a lot, yet offered little. 2018 is young and E3 is only weeks away, so it seems like that will be the next hurdle for Nintendo to overcome in maintaining the momentum in the video game market.
