Nintendo’s revenue can fall even when its games remain popular because game sales are only one part of its business, and year-on-year results also reflect console sales, digital purchases, movies and other intellectual-property income, product mix, and what happened in the comparison period. A successful game does not guarantee that total sales will exceed a year boosted by a console launch or unusually strong releases.
What Nintendo’s revenue includes
Nintendo reports worldwide consolidated sales from its dedicated video-game-platform business, which includes hardware, software, accessories, amiibo and digital services. It also reports IP-related income, including movies and videos, smart-device content, royalties and merchandise. Because these streams rise and fall on different schedules, sales of popular games do not determine the direction of total revenue.
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Nintendo’s fiscal year ends March 31: FY2025 ran from April 2024 through March 2025, and FY2026 from April 2025 through March 2026. Figures below are Nintendo’s reported worldwide results; the fiscal-year comparisons are year over year.
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What the recent results show
| Period | Net sales | Hardware and software context | Other relevant changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025, ended March 31, 2025 | ¥1,164.9 billion; operating profit ¥282.5 billion (Nintendo, May 8, 2025) | Hardware sales fell 31.2% to 10.80 million units; software sales fell 22.2% to 155.41 million units. Nintendo cited comparison with the previous fiscal year, when sales were substantially driven by The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder. | Digital sales fell 26.5% to ¥326.0 billion, mainly because downloadable Nintendo Switch packaged-software sales decreased. Mobile and IP-related sales fell 27.0% to ¥67.6 billion, mainly due to lower revenue related to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, released in April 2023. Nintendo still had 24 million-seller titles during the year, including third-party titles. |
| FY2026, ended March 31, 2026 | ¥2,313.0 billion; operating profit ¥360.1 billion (Nintendo, May 8, 2026) | Switch 2 launched in June 2025 and sold 19.86 million hardware units for the fiscal year; Switch 2 software sales were 48.71 million units. | Digital sales rose 25.0% to ¥407.6 billion. IP-related sales were ¥73.5 billion, down 9.7%, mainly due to lower movie-related revenue. |
| April–June 2026, FY2027 first quarter | ¥517.813 billion, down 9.5% year over year; operating profit ¥142.596 billion, up 150.5% (Nintendo filing, August 6, 2026, Japanese original hosted by Japan IR) | The comparison quarter included the Switch 2 launch period. The filing reports 3.82 million Switch 2 hardware units, 9.46 million Switch 2 software units, 33.81 million Nintendo Switch software units, and 7.94 million units of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream. | Digital sales rose 90.0% year over year and IP-related sales rose 107.4%, with the latter associated with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Nintendo attributed higher operating profit to steady software sales and their greater share of sales, as well as a refund of U.S. IEEPA tariffs previously recorded in cost of sales. |
The contrast is the point: FY2025 had popular games but lower total sales than a particularly strong prior year; FY2026 rose sharply after Switch 2 launched; and the first quarter of FY2027 had lower sales than its launch-period comparison while operating profit increased. Those movements do not, by themselves, show that players stopped liking Nintendo’s games.
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Why popular games do not guarantee higher revenue
Console cycles can outweigh game momentum
A new console can bring in substantial hardware sales, while later periods are compared against the launch surge. In FY2026, Switch 2’s 19.86 million hardware units and higher individual unit price than Switch contributed to sales growth, according to Nintendo’s results and explanatory presentation (annual results; FY2026 nine-month explanatory material, February 3, 2026). The same launch effect makes a tough year-on-year comparison in the period that follows.
A hit is measured against the period it replaces
Revenue comparisons are not a popularity poll. A game can sell well and still fail to replace the sales generated by a stronger slate, more downloads, or a major hardware release in the prior period. Nintendo specifically said FY2025 hardware and software sales declined compared with the previous fiscal year, when sales were substantially driven by Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo FY2025 results).
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- Three play modes: TV, tabletop, and handheld
- Local co-op, online, and local wireless multiplayer
- Detachable Joy-Con controllers
- Nintendo Switch is the home of Mario & friends
Unit counts do not directly equal software revenue
Nintendo’s explanatory material says revenue from software bundled with hardware is classified entirely as hardware sales (FY2026 nine-month explanatory material). As a result, software unit totals that include bundled copies should not be read as standalone software revenue. Nintendo’s cumulative sales pages report hardware and software units through June 30, 2026, and title totals include bundled units; those figures are useful indicators of volume and reach, not a direct calculation of software revenue (cumulative hardware and software sales).
Digital and IP income move on different schedules
Digital sales can change with downloadable game purchases even when physical games remain in demand. IP-related income can respond to movie timing and other licensing activity rather than console or game sales alone. In FY2025, digital sales and movie-related income both declined; in April–June 2026, Nintendo reported increases in digital and IP-related sales, with the IP-related rise associated with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (FY2025 results; FY2027 first-quarter filing).
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- This model includes battery life of approximately 4.5 - 9 hours.
- The battery life will depend on the games you play. For instance, the battery will last approximately 5.5 hours for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (games sold separately)
- Model number HAC 001( 01)
Why revenue and profit can move in opposite directions
Revenue is the amount of sales, not the profit left after costs. Gross margin, operating profit, ordinary profit and net profit are distinct measures. Nintendo’s FY2026 nine-month presentation said the shift toward hardware after Switch 2’s launch reduced gross-profit margin because Switch 2 hardware had a lower margin than Switch, even as revenue and gross profit increased (Nintendo FY2026 nine-month explanatory material).
The April–June 2026 quarter illustrates a different mix of effects: sales were down 9.5%, but operating profit rose 150.5%. Nintendo cited steady software sales and their greater share of sales, along with the refund of U.S. IEEPA tariffs previously recorded in cost of sales (Nintendo FY2027 first-quarter filing). Ordinary and net profit can also be affected by non-operating or extraordinary items, so neither is a synonym for revenue.
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- 6.2” LCD screen.
- Three play modes: TV, tabletop, and handheld
- Local co-op, online, and local wireless multiplayer
- Detachable Joy-Con controllers
How to interpret a reported decline
- Check the period. Compare the same quarter with the same quarter, or the same fiscal year with the same fiscal year. Note whether the prior period included a hardware launch or unusually strong releases.
- Separate the business streams. Look at hardware, software, digital sales and IP-related income rather than treating total sales as a measure of game demand alone.
- Read unit totals with their accounting context. Check whether bundled software is included and remember that bundle revenue may be classified as hardware sales.
- Keep revenue and profit separate. A sales decline can occur alongside rising operating profit if costs, product mix or other items change.
- Use unit sales as evidence of volume, not a complete revenue measure. Nintendo’s cumulative sales data and top-selling title figures are useful for tracking hardware and game units; bundled title units do not establish how much standalone software revenue Nintendo recognized.
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