This information comes from Nintendo’s Tatsumi Kimishima…
Fire Emblem Heroes became available in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao, Thailand, and Singapore as of November of last year, and this February marked the one-year anniversary of the application’s release. We have been able to keep our active users while expanding the user base, and sales have continued to grow without slowing. One might expect the Fire Emblem series to be most popular within Japan, but for Fire Emblem Heroes the share of overseas sales is steadily growing. Moving forward, we will work to continually expand on measures designed to excite consumers.
This information comes from Nintendo’s Tatsumi Kimishima…
The number of Super Mario Run downloads continues to grow, despite the fact that it was released over a year ago now. This title is maintaining a base of approximately 20 million monthly active users. And as one of our evergreen titles for smart devices, we will continue to look to it as a way to maximize the number of people who have access to Nintendo IP across an expanding number of consumers worldwide.
This information comes from Nintendo’s Tatsumi Kimishima…
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp was released in October of last year, and many people have played the game since then, especially adult women. Moving forward, we will make updates to add game content and continue to hold weekly events. Television commercials will air in Japan as well. We intend to continue to improve the service in ways that make the game more fun for consumers, all the while considering how this title contributes to revenue.
This information comes from Nintendo’s Tatsumi Kimishima…
The Nintendo 3DS family of systems has reached a global cumulative series sell-in of 72 million units to a broad array of consumers.
Nintendo 3DS boasts a rich lineup of game software, with more than 1,000 titles across a wide variety of genres.
This information comes from Nintendo’s Tatsumi Kimishima…
There are also titles being released by publishers who had previously not been seen on Nintendo platforms, such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim from Bethesda Softworks. When these publishers release their titles for Nintendo Switch, their sales grow. Even for titles that were already available on other companies’ platforms, it seems that consumers are experiencing new ways to have fun when those titles are combined with the unique hardware features of Nintendo Switch. These publishers are preparing new ideas for consumers who purchased Nintendo Switch so they could enjoy these types of titles.
A wide variety of publishers of all sizes from regions around the globe including indie developers have been on
board since the release of Nintendo Switch, thanks to the early availability of a development environment. The
number of titles available for purchase on Nintendo eShop from publishers stood at over 600 titles as of the
end of March 2018. This pace of availability on Nintendo eShop is over 10 times the rate seen for the same period
after the Nintendo 3DS launch. We see this as an expression of how the new approach of Nintendo Switch
is resonating with publishers around the world. And we expect this trend to continue. Indie developers have
realized ideas that utilize the special features of the Nintendo Switch hardware, and their unique features of
gameplay and operability have won praise from consumers and the media alike.Several titles from these indie developers have remained at the top of the download rankings. One example is
Rocket League, which was released last November. This title is now also available as a packaged version in
markets outside of Japan and many people have enjoyed its game play around the world. Another example is
Stardew Valley, which is heading for global sales of 1 million units after being released last October in the US
and Europe, and then in Japan at the start of this year. And Overcooked: Special Edition, which was released last summer in Japan and other markets, has already sold over a half-million units. All of these titles were released for other companies’ platforms before ever being available for Nintendo Switch, so it seems consumers have recognized how well they fit with the “anytime, anywhere, with anyone” concept of Nintendo Switch.Titles from indie developers have a particular presence in the North American and European markets. Compared to
other parts of the world, there is still work to be done in Japan to expand awareness of titles from indie
developers. We want to give as many consumers as possible the chance to find the kinds of games they have always wanted to play. By expanding the game genres and increasing the number of game titles, we anticipate more interest from consumers who originally had littleinterest in Nintendo platforms.
This information comes from Nintendo’s Tatsumi Kimishima…
To further expand the installed base of Nintendo Switch moving forward, another important point will be to see a wider range of consumers purchase Nintendo Switch.
The response to the Nintendo Switch concept of being able to play anytime, anywhere, with anyone has been adopted by our consumers at speeds that exceeded our expectations. However, there are still consumers who do not yet know about the unique features of Nintendo Switch. The value and appeal of Nintendo Switch is becoming more broadly known as consumers take it out and play in a wide variety of scenarios. These types of experiences have the potential of broadening the Nintendo Switch installed base, even among consumers who did not think Nintendo Switch would be for them.
This information comes from Nintendo’s Tatsumi Kimishima…
In the dedicated video game platform business, the second year is all-important. The second year is when the novelty has worn off and the hardware is truly put to the test. During this fiscal year, we will take advantage of the stage we set in the first year to further expand the installed base.
To expand the installed base of Nintendo Switch, there are a number of points to consider. The first is our goal of
keeping consumers who have purchased or plan to purchase Nintendo Switch engaged and playing with Nintendo Switch.
This information comes from Nintendo’s Tatsumi Kimishima…
Nintendo Switch Online, a paid subscription service that will expand the online functionality of Nintendo Switch, will begin in September of this year. The service will provide consumers with a richness of online features that allow them to continuously enjoy Nintendo Switch. More information will be presented on our website in early May.
This information comes from Nintendo’s Tatsumi Kimishima…
Looking back at the previous fiscal year, one important aspect to highlight about Nintendo Switch during its first year was the huge growth of its digital business compared to past Nintendo platforms.
This graph compares the sales of digital content through our dedicated video game platform business over the past few years. To reflect these changing circumstances, what we used to refer to as “download sales” are now called “digital sales.” Our digital sales reached a new record high in the fiscal year ended March 2018. We are not disclosing the specific breakdown, but downloadable versions of packaged software and add-on content for Nintendo Switch did make a major contribution to growth in digital sales.
This information comes from Nintendo’s Tatsumi Kimishima…
We began releasing Nintendo titles non-stop with the launch of Nintendo Switch, and kept the new-release buzz alive through the end of the year. We are continuing to release new titles since the start of this new year as well. And we are selling more titles across a broad array of genres, from those with widely accessible characters and settings like the Kirby series, to those like Bayonetta that are well regarded by game fans, all of which gives us a real sense that our consumer base is growing.
