TOKYO – Japanese video game maker Nintendo said Tuesday it will make an announcement about a successor to its Switch home console before March 2025.
When releasing its financial results, Nintendo did not give details about the announcement, including whether it would launch the successor product during this fiscal year or just announce its plans for it.
“We will make an announcement about the successor to the Nintendo Switch this fiscal year. It has been more than nine years since we announced the existence of the Nintendo Switch in March 2015,” said company president Shuntaro Furukawa in a statement.
Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. reported a 13% increase in profit in the fiscal year ending in March, driven by solid demand for Switch software like “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.”
Nintendo’s net profit for the fiscal year through March 2024 totaled 490.6 billion yen ($3 billion), up from 432.7 billion yen in the previous fiscal year. Annual sales rose 4% to 1.67 trillion yen ($11 billion), nearly 80% of which came from outside Japan.
In addition to “The Legend of Zelda,” whose global sales in the fiscal year totaled 20.6 million units, “Super Mario Bros. Wonder” sold 13.4 million units and “Pikmin 4” sold almost 3.5 million, according to Nintendo.
The release of the film “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”, a year ago, also helped with sales.
The yen’s weakness against the dollar, which raises the yen value of the foreign profits of Japanese exporters like Nintendo, also helped. The US dollar averaged about 151 Japanese yen in the last fiscal year, up from 133 yen in the previous fiscal year.
Nintendo, which has not released quarterly numbers, was less optimistic about its financial results for the fiscal year to March 2025, predicting net profit would fall to 300 billion yen ($1.9 billion).
Nintendo sold more than 141 million Switch machines, 15.7 million of them during the fiscal year that just ended.
These sales tend to gradually decline over the years, so offering a steady stream of fun games is crucial.
“Endless Ocean Luminous,” which went on sale this month, takes the player on a virtual diving adventure, complete with whales, colorful fish and other sea creatures. “Luigi’s Mansion 2”, featuring the plumber’s brother Mario, will go on sale next month.
Nintendo is also planning a new film for a worldwide release in April 2026. It is counting on the opening of Donkey Kong Country at Universal Studios Japan, as well as a Nintendo museum in Kyoto, both scheduled for later this year, to attract more fans for your franchise.
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Yuri Kageyama is on X:
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