Nintendo has revised its annual forecast for sales of the Nintendo Switch console due to a larger drop in demand than the company expected. It is reported by Bloomberg.
The company lowered its operating profit forecast by 10% to 360 billion yen (USD 2.4 billion) and said it now expects to sell only 12.5 million consoles (one million less than originally). And this is considering that the holiday season and sales are ahead.
“The Switch is at the end of its shelf life, and even software sales are weak,” said Toyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda. “If this trend continues, the Switch’s momentum will drop even further.”
It would seem that it's time to announce the next console, but instead, Nintendo is launching spin-offs to monetize its intellectual property. Among them are Alarmo, a $99 alarm clock with Nintendo music, and the Nintendo Music smartphone app.
The company is also investing more resources in big-screen promotion. After the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Nintendo has teamed up with Illumination to create another animated film based on the popular franchise. The company is also developing a feature film based on The Legend of Zelda.
“Nintendo overestimated the appeal of their 2024 software pipeline, which has no real blockbusters but several filler games,” said Tokyo-based analyst Serkan Toto. “Looking at the software still coming out this fiscal year, I believe the adjusted hardware and software sales forecast is still too high.”