Nintendo first-quarter net profit jumps more than 50%

Nintendo reported a more than 50% increase in net profit for the first quarter on Thursday, reaching 147.4 billion yen, or approximately $930 million, up from 77.8 billion yen a year earlier, according to the company's figures. This impressive surge was driven by heightened video game sales and a fortunate windfall related to US tariff refunds.

The success of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie also contributed positively to the company's performance, despite slower sales of its current console, Switch 2. Nintendo highlighted the strong performance of two new Switch 2 games, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream and Pokemon Pokopia, which are life-simulation titles with calming gameplay, appealing to a world increasingly stressed by modern life.

The company also reiterated its annual profit forecast of 310 billion yen. However, overall sales for Nintendo's dedicated video game platform business declined by 13.1% in the April to June period, mainly due to reduced Switch 2 sales. The company expects to sell 16.5 million Switch 2 units over the 2026-2027 financial year, a 17% drop from the previous year.

Despite the challenges, Nintendo remains optimistic about the hardware and aims to deliver both hardware and software to a broad range of consumers. The company plans to release a remake of the classic 1998 action-adventure game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Switch 2, a title highly anticipated by gamers and praised by critics for its exceptional gameplay and design.