The Japanese video game company has reported an increase in profits for the first quarter of 2023 compared with last year.
ADVERTISEMENTNintendo’s profits increased by 52% in Q1 this year, a figure attributed to the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the first time Nintendo’s flagship IP has been adapted since the commercially unsuccessful live-action 1993 movie, has been one of the most successful films of 2023. It has made over $1.3 billion (€1.2 billion), making it the highest grossing film of the year so far.
It’s also the third-most successful animation film ever made, behind only Frozen II and the 2019 remake of The Lion King. Some sources don’t credit The Lion King remake as an animation film despite its use of computer graphics, due to its billing as a “live-action remake” of the traditionally animated 1994 film.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has also been a big success for the company. The sequel to the Breath of the Wild instalment of the popular Legend of Zelda series, the open-world setting has pushed the series into new heights.
As a result, Nintendo have seen increased demand for its Switch console. The Japanese video game maker’s April-June net profit totalled 181 billion yen (€1.2 billion), up from nearly 119 billion yen a year ago. Quarterly sales surged 50% to 461.3 billion yen (€3 billion).
Hardware sales jumped nearly 14% to 3.9 million Nintendo Switch machines, while software sales also grew, increasing 26% to 52 million games sold.
Nintendo also got a healthy boost in revenue from its intellectual property business, exemplified by the Super Mario film but also other royalties.
Nintendo has been pushing the idea of having several Nintendo Switch consoles per household, not just one, with family members each working a machine to play together.
Among the popular games for such playing was Pikmin 4, which went on sale last month. That also came in a downloadable version, an area that’s a growing source of income for Nintendo.
Nintendo, based in the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto, is planning more games in coming months including Super Mario Bros. Wonder, set to go on sale in October.
Nintendo kept its full year profit forecast unchanged at a 340 billion yen (€2.2 billion), down 21% on year.
