Nintendo sales surge as COVID-wary homebound turn on videogames
Nintendo's profit multiplied more than sixfold between April and June as people stuck at home during the pandemic turned to playing video games.
The Japanese manufacturer of Pokemon and Super Mario games, as well as the Switch console, on Thursday reported earnings of $1 billion (106.4 billion yen) in the fiscal first quarter, up from 16.6 billion yen in the year-ago period. Quarterly sales at Kyoto-based Nintendo doubled to $3.4 billion.
Especially popular was "Animal Crossing: New Horizons," of which 10 million were sold during the three months, reaching cumulative sales of 20 million. Also popular was "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe."
"Ring Fit Adventure," which has players exercising while jogging in place holding a ring that works as controller, was also a hit. It has already sold 4 million units since going on sale in October.
Nintendo Switch sales, both of the handheld machines and software games, were zooming amid the pandemic.
Nintendo said various online games in its lineup, including those for mobile devices, were also drawing more people.
Although the coronavirus outbreak has swamped economies in the worst contraction since the Great Depression, some businesses like Nintendo are thriving. Japanese and electronic and entertainment conglomerate Sony Corp., which also has a game unit with its PlayStation series, also reported positive results earlier this week.
Other technology companies, such as Apple and Facebook, are reaping the benefits of people turning in droves to online activities.
Nintendo acknowledged COVID-19 had caused a shortage in parts to produce the Switch, but such problems were being gradually fixed.
The company stuck to its previous forecast for a $1.9 billion profit for the fiscal year through March 2021.
