But while that’s a huge milestone - already 6m more than the Wii - Nintendo admitted its consoles sales were down 20 percent on last year, and blamed “shortages of semiconductor components and other parts”. Last year’s results were also boosted by the breakout popularity of Animal Crossing, Nintendo noted. Nintendo Switch game sales saw no such slowdown. Software sales were up 1.8 percent year-on-year to 235m, meaning the past 12 months were the highest annual game sales figure ever recorded for a Nintendo platform. The past year has seen the launch of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, which sold a combined 14.65m copies, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which sold 12.64m. Mario Party Superstars (6.88m) and Zelda: Skyward Sword HD (3.91m) also sold well, alongside evergreen hits Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (another 9.94m, up to 45.33m total) and Animal Crossing: New Horizons (another 6m, up to 38.64m total). Looking ahead, Nintendo forecasted a conservative outlook for the current financial year, with slightly lower estimates for both hardware and software. It expects to shift 21m Nintendo Switch consoles this year (down 2m) and 210m games (down 25m). “If Covid-19 interferes with production or transportation in the future, this might impact the supply of products,” Nintendo cautioned. “Other unpredictable risks to the development and marketing of products and services also continue to exist. “In addition, the production of products might be affected by obstacles to the procurement of parts, such as the increase in global demand for semiconductor components. The consolidated earnings forecast is based on the premise that we will be able to secure the parts needed for the manufacture of products in line with our sales plans.” Nintendo’s biggest upcoming releases include Xenoblade 3 (July), Splatoon 3 (September) and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet at the end of the year.
