Nintendo's profits jump as Switch sells 7.2 million units

There is no better place to verify Nintendo's incredible comeback than the company's own financial report for Q3, fiscal year 2018. Thanks to the success of the Switch, combined with a strong year for the 3DS family and increasing revenue from mobile games, Nintendo's total sales between April 1 and December 31, 2017, reached 857 billion yen, representing 175.5% year-on-year growth. With an operating profit of 156.4 billion yen, net profit totaled 135.1 billion yen.

Nintendo sold 7.2 million Switch consoles between October and December, sending hardware totals to 14.86 million. Consumers also bought 52.57 million games for the hybrid console, with Super Mario Odyssey in the lead with more than 9 million units sold, and there are seven additional titles that sold in excess of one million copies in 2017 (more on that here). Nintendo's board of directors have upped their expectations from 14 to 15 million consoles sold in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018. They need to sell 2.87 million units during the current quarter to meet that forecast.

"Nintendo 3DS hardware sales did not weaken after the launch of Nintendo Switch," adds the report. 5.86 million units (a 9% decrease year-on-year) sold in the period meant the portable system passed the 70 million milestone and now sits at 71.99 million, with total software sales standing around the 360 million mark. Nintendo also stated that the SNES Classic Mini is "a hit", but didn't offer any data to reveal the extent of its success.

All told it has been a great year for the company, but do you think that Switch can maintain this momentum throughout 2018?