Nintendo has released its financial results for the second quarter of 2023, inclusive of April-June, which saw increased sales of Nintendo Switch consoles, and revealed very strong performance for two key titles released during this time, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
The company reported 3.91 million Nintendo Switch hardware units sold during this three-month period, an increase of 13.9% year-on-year, and pushing the console’s lifetime hardware sales to 129.5 million units. The Switch remains the third-best-selling console in history, behind the PlayStation 2 (155 million) and the Nintendo DS (154.02 million).
Nintendo revealed that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom had sold 18.51 million copies as of 30 June 2023 (a period of 1.5 months from its launch), and that sales across its hardware, software, and accessories division, including mobile software, were up 44.6% year-on-year.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie was reportedly viewed by 168 million people worldwide as of 30 July 2023, according to Nintendo, after it was released in several markets during April 2023. The company remarked that it was the highest-grossing film based on a video game, and the second-highest for animated film more broadly, pulling in US $1.34 billion in box office revenue as of July 26.
The company also suggested that release of the film ‘positively impacted sales of Mario-related titles’ during this period.
Prior to the financial results, reporting from news outlet VGC suggested that a Nintendo Switch successor was slated for 2024, with sources suggesting that development kits were already with Nintendo‘s key development partners, and that the new console would continue to be a hybrid machine capable of both portable and docked TV play.
Read: Nintendo to Release New Switch Successor Due in 2024, Reports Say
Per reporting by GamesIndustry.biz, Nintendo made remarks that assured investors of its commitment to the current Nintendo Switch. ‘For hardware, by continuing to convey the appeal of Nintendo Switch, we try not only to put one system in every home, but several in every home, or even one for every person. Another objective is to continually release new offerings so more consumers keep playing Nintendo Switch even longer and we can maximize hardware sales.’
Nintendo has several significant titles still planned for release on the Switch in 2023, including Super Mario Bros. Wonder and a remake of Super Mario RPG, and could have several more in the works, considering the company’s penchant for secrecy.
