(Tokyo) The Japanese video game giant Nintendo announced on Thursday sharply higher results for the first quarter of its 2023-2024 financial year thanks to the success of the Mario film and the latest Zelda game, however leaving its annual forecasts unchanged.
Over the April-June period, the Kyoto (western Japan) company benefited from the rapid start in May of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the latest installment in its famous series of action-adventure games.
This game had the best start to date for a Nintendo title, with more than 10 million copies sold in three days, and 18.5 million units sold in total at the end of June.
The Japanese group also benefited from the success far beyond its expectations of the film Super Mario Bros released in April, which climbed to 15th place in the world ranking of films with the highest box office receipts, according to the specialized site. Box Office Mojo.
The prowess of Mario and Zelda thus fueled a sharp increase in sales of Switch consoles (13.9%) and games (26.1%), the group said in a press release.
Its “mobile and intellectual property” segment, where Mario movie royalties are counted, saw its results triple over one year.
Over the quarter, the group saw its net profit jump 52% ​​year on year to 181 billion yen (1.69 billion CAD) and its operating profit take off 82% to 185.4 billion yen. Its sales, also helped by the weak yen, soared 50% to 461.3 billion yen.
Aware that it will be difficult to replicate this exceptional performance, Nintendo has kept its 2023/24 forecast unchanged, still expecting an annual net profit of 340 billion yen (3.18 billion CAD), which would be a decline of 21% over one year.
He expects operating profit of 450 billion yen (-11%) and sales of 1,450 billion yen (-9%) over this period.
While the group has long cast doubt on its games offering beyond this summer, investors were reassured at the end of June by the announcement of several Switch titles, including Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the first new entry in the series. main Super Mario since 2017, and a game featuring Princess Peach, a famous secondary character in the adventures of the mustachioed plumber.
“We appreciate that Nintendo seems intent on releasing a steady stream of Mario games to maximize the film’s spinoff,” Mizuho analysts praised in a recent note.
Nintendo has also been cautious about the sales prospects of its aging Switch console, saying it still hopes to sell an additional 15 million units over its entire current fiscal year. This console has already sold since its release in 2017 more than 129 million copies.
These weak forecasts tend to give credence to new rumors concerning the next console of the group which circulated in the press at the beginning of the week, announcing the release of a new machine in the second half of 2024.
According to information from the specialized media VGC, this “Switch 2” would be hybrid like its predecessor, that is to say usable both as a portable console or connected to a television.
It would also have a cartridge port, without being sure that it will be able to read Switch games. It would also favor an LCD screen instead of the current OLED in order to limit costs.