Nintendo profits fall as sales of Switch console dip worldwide

Gaming giant Nintendo has reported a drop in profits of 60% for the first half of the fiscal year as demand for its Switch console fell.

The Japanese firm said it had made 108.7 billion yen (£551 million) profit for the period between April and September, down from 271 billion yen (£1.37 billion) in the same period last year.

The company results also showed a 34% drop in sales – the bulk of which comes from Nintendo Switch hardware and software – including in Europe, where Switch sales dropped from 175.8 billion yen (£889 million) last year to 113.2 billion yen (£573 million) this year.

The Switch console has been a huge success for Nintendo since it first launched in March 2017 offering the combination of home console and remote play through a portable screen and TV-connected console docking station.

According to Nintendo’s figures, global sales of Switch machines dropped to 4.7 million from 6.8 million in the same period last year.

And despite near-constant questions and rumours about a successor to the Switch, Nintendo has not yet confirmed or announced any details on a next-generation version of the device.

But Nintendo said in a statement that Switch sales were still growing and vowed to stick to its goal of selling a Switch console to each and every individual, not just one Switch per every household.

Nintendo stuck to its earlier projection for a 300 billion yen (£1.54 billion) profit for the full fiscal year through to March 2025, down nearly 29% from the previous fiscal year.

Annual sales were forecast to drop 23% to 1.28 trillion yen (£6.5 billion).

It also lowered its Switch sales projection for the fiscal year to 12.5 million units from an earlier forecast to sell 13.5 million.