It prints money, etc

Nintendo has released its Third Quarter Results for this financial year, and the big headline is that in less that a year on sale the Switch has managed to surpass the lifetime sales of its forerunner, the Wii U.

The figures show a company in rude health, with net sales up 175.5 percent year-on-year at ¥857,012 million. Operating income also takes a big bump, rising a whopping 494.6 percent year-on-year to ¥156,462 million. Profit - arguably the most important figure - sees a more modest jump, rising 31.3 percent to ¥135,165 million.

The success of Switch is the key driving force behind the results, as you might imagine. Nintendo sold 7.24 million consoles during the last quarter - that's 12.13 million in this financial year to date (2017/2018) and a staggering 14.86 million in total since it launched in March last year. In terms of distribution, 3.72 million consoles have been sold in Japan, 5.94 million in the Americas and 5.2 million in "other", which includes Europe. Nintendo has increased its hardware sales forecast to 15 million units, up from 14 million.

In terms of software sales on Switch, 25.08 million games were sold in the last quarter, bringing total sales to 47.1 million (in this financial year) and 52.57 million to date. Again, Nintendo has increased its projections, stating that it expects to sell 53 million games this financial year. It's worth noting that these figures only count digital software that has a retail version.

The top-selling Switch games so far are as follows:

Elsewhere, the 3DS continues to tick over nicely despite being old enough (in console years, at least) to claim its pension. 3 million systems were sold in the last quarter, bringing the total for the financial year to 5.86 million. Total lifetime sales of the machine now stand at an impressive 71.99 million. Software-wise, 17.43 million 3DS games were retailed during the last quarter, bringing the financial year's total to 31.25 million. Lifetime software sales on 3DS now stand at 390.5 million units since launch.

The top-selling 3DS games so far are as follows:

Total eShop sales are unsurprisingly up too, reaching 43.1 billion Yen, which represents a 87% increase on a year-on-year basis.

Smartphone revenue is also detailed, with Nintendo's range of mobile games bringing in ¥11,176 million for the quarter and ¥29,101 million in the financial year to date. Pokémon Go remains a cash cow, despite the fact that Nintendo only sees a small amount of the total profits; it generated ¥2,217 million for the quarter and ¥8,646 million during this financial year.

Mention was also made of amiibo, which shifted 9.30 million figures and approximately 5.00 million cards.

[source resetera.com, via nintendo.co.jp]