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Sales and profits are up at Nintendo thanks to the continued success of the Switch, which has now officially outsold the Wii U.

Chris Kerr, News Editor

January 31, 2018

1 Min Read

Sales and profits are up at Nintendo thanks to the continued success of the Switch, which has now officially outsold the Wii U

According to Nintendo's latest financials for the nine months ended December 31, 2017, sales increased by 175.5 percent year-over-year to 857 billion yen ($7.87 billion), while profits rose by 31 percent to 135 billion yen ($1.23 billion) during the same period. 

Nintendo attributes a good chunk of that growth to the youngest member of its console family, and explained that Switch sales "rose substantially" during the holiday season. 

Indeed, the hybrid console sold 7.23 million units during the last quarter alone, taking lifetime sales to a cool 14.86 million units. 

Switch software has also been performing well. Super Mario Odyssey has sold 9.07 million units since launching in October, while other first-party titles like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon 2 have sold 7.33 million units and 4.91 million units respectively. 

The system also gave Nintendo's download business a shot in the arm, with "brisk" digital sales on the Switch helping to bump up the company's total download revenue by 87 percent to 43.1 billion yen ($395.7 million).

Turning our attention towards the 3DS, hardware sales decreased by 9 percent year-over-year to 5.86 million units. 3DS software sales also took a hit, tumbling by 33 percent to 31.25 million units. 

Meanwhile, over on the mobile front, Nintendo saw smart device and IP related income rise by 172 percent to 29.1 billion yen ($267.1 million). 

Looking ahead, Nintendo has made positive changes to its full-year financial forecast in light of recent sales performances, and now expects to see sales and profits hit 1.02 trillion yen ($9.36 billion) and 120 billion yen ($1.1 billion) by March 2018.

About the Author(s)

Chris Kerr

News Editor, GameDeveloper.com

Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.

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