Booming Switch sales – buffed by big launches for Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Pokémon Sword and Shield – have provided a stonking set of new financial figures for Nintendo.
But there’s a cautious feeling for the second half of this year – as game development schedules “may be impacted” due to remote working, Nintendo told investors, while a weaker software release slate will make for tougher year-on-year comparisons without a new Pokémon or Animal Crossing this Christmas.
Nintendo shifted a further 21m Switch consoles worldwide, up 24 per cent year on year, boosting the Switch’s lifetime hardware sales total to 55.77m.
Software-wise, 169m Switch games were sold over the past year – up 42 per cent year on year. Total Switch game sales now stand at 356m.
Pokémon Sword and Shield sold a combined 17.37m copies – one of the best sales totals for any pair of Pokémon launches. As we reported in January, the games are on track to eventually become the second biggest Pokémon titles to date behind Game Boy classics Gold and Silver.