Today Nintendo announced its financial results for the fiscal year between April 2022 and March 2023 and published an update on the number of Switch units shipped worldwide since the console’s release.
Thanks to the data published by the manufacturer, we learn that 125.62 million Nintendo Switch units have been shipped to retailers as of March 31, 2023. This means that 17.97 million units were delivered on the shelves during the whole fiscal year. For the sake of comparison, Nintendo's own prediction was 18 million units (albeit it was lowered twice during the year), while Sony shipped 19.1 million PS5 units during the same period. This is the first year since the PS5 was launched in which Nintendo's console is outsold by the rival. The company cites shortages of semiconductors and other components that impacted production until the end of summer 2022 as a factor in the lower hardware sales.
We also get an update on Switch software shipments, which are now at 1,036.15 million units. Annual playing users were 114 million, up from 103 million in the previous fiscal year.
We also get a forecast for the current fiscal year (between April 2023 and March 2024), with Nintendo predicting to ship 15 million Switch units and 180 million software units. Once again, to compare with Sony, the house of PlayStation has set a 25 million PS5 units target for the same period.
Speaking of the company's financial results, sales were 1,601.6 billion yen, down 5.5% year-on-year, while operating profit was 504.3 billion yen, down -14.9% year-on-year.
The financial forecast for the current fiscal year is 1,450 billion yen in sales (down 9.5% year-on-year), and 450 billion yen in operating profit (down 10.8% year-on-year). The company mentions that "by continuing to convey the appeal of Nintendo Switch, we try to not only put one system in every home, but several in every home, or even one for every person." By continuously releasing new games, the Kyoto-based manufacturer also hopes to extend the lifetime of the console, maximizing hardware sales.
Last, but not least, Nintendo has shared estimated sell-in and sell-through figures for several games, as you can see in the slides below, alongside an update on million-seller titles and a year-on-year comparison in hardware and software shipments. Specifically, we learn that Pokemon Scarlet & Violet has shipped 22.10 million units, while Splatoon 3 has shipped 10.67 million units.
If you'd like to compare, you can take a look at our article dedicated to the financial results for the first nine month of the fiscal year, announced in February.
