This information comes from Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima…
We released the Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon Special Demo Version starting on October 18th. Although the demo version only released last week, it has already passed 3.5 million downloads, the fastest start for any demo in the history of the Nintendo 3DS system. This point also shows the breadth of the audience for these games.
Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon are also showing favorable trends for pre-orders. These graphs compare pre-orders for these titles in Japan, U.S., and Europe against the last entries in the series, Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire. As you can see, pre-orders for Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon are much higher, particularly in the U.S. and European regions. The pre-order periods for Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon and Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire are different, so a straight comparison is not possible, but it is clear that the newest titles are trending at a higher level than the previous games. We will begin airing television commercials this weekend, so we expect pre-orders to continue to accelerate.
This graph shows sell-in numbers (sales from Nintendo to retailers) for figure-type amiibo in Japan, the U.S. and Europe, compared with the previous period. In the previous period, we sold many amiibo, particularly in the Splatoon series, reaching total sell-in of approximately 10.6 million units. Sell-in for this period was approximately 3.8 million units.
This graph shows the download sales of digital content for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U during the second quarter over the past three years. As a result of our continuing efforts, the ratio of consumers who purchased software digitally when a packaged version is also available has increased year-on-year. However, since Wii U software sales are down this period, and the previous period saw the release of more downloadable content, including content for Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, sales for this period were limited to 14.7 billion yen, falling short of the previous period.
Over the summer, the smart device application Pokémon GO became a major hit and a social phenomenon.
This has sparked increased interest in Pokémon related software. Previous entries in the Pokémon series playable on the
Nintendo 3DS system were Pokémon X and Pokémon Y in 2013 and Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire in 2014. We also released the original games in this series, Pokémon Red, Pokémon Green, Pokémon Blue and Pokémon Pikachu, as downloadable Virtual Console titles in February this year. These Pokémon series titles have seen an increase in sales despite having been on the market for some time already.
This graph shows the month-on-month sales of titles in the Pokémon series in Japan, the U.S. and Europe, as mentioned earlier in the presentation. As you can see, the release of Pokémon GO in July led to a major upsurge in sales, particularly for the U.S. and European markets. We can clearly see that the release of Pokémon GO has raised interest in Pokémon and contributed to a resurgence of sales for previously released Pokémon titles.
Similarly, this graph shows the month-on-month sales for Nintendo 3DS family systems. You can see that there is a peak in July for hardware as well, following the release of Pokémon GO.
We launched the Pokémon GO Plus accessory on September 16th to provide a more comfortable play experience for Pokémon GO. Demand far exceeded our expectations and production has not caught up, leading to product shortages. We apologize to the consumers and distributors affected by this. We are planning to expand production as needed, and will
continue to produce and ship additional units.
This graph shows Nintendo 3DS system hardware sellthrough in Japan from April 2016 through the second week of October compared with sell-through for the previous period. The Nintendo 3DS family had already reached an installed base of over 21 million units in Japan by the end of March this year, and sell-through for this period has continued at a comparable pace. We also introduced Nintendo 2DS to the Nintendo 3DS family hardware lineup in Japan last month, aiming to further expand the base for this platform. Nintendo 2DS is offered at an even more affordable price and children can easily enjoy playing with it as their first game system. The previously-released New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS XL systems have also continued to sell without any major slowdown and have brought in new customers. Nintendo 3DS hardware overall continues to show strong sales trends.
Note 1: Nintendo 3DS hardware includes the New Nintendo 3DS, the New Nintendo 3DS XL, the Nintendo 3DS, the Nintendo 3DS XL and the Nintendo 2DS.
Note 2: FW: Week number in the fiscal year (the first week of April is FW1)
We have significantly decreased the shipping volume for Wii U for the fiscal year ending March 2017 compared to the fiscal year ended March 2016, and we are expecting to sell 800,000 units.
These graphs show the sell-through (sales from retailers to consumers) of Wii U hardware and first party packaged software in our major markets: Japan, the U.S. and Europe. Sales from April 2016 through the second week of October are compared against sales in the same period for the last two years. Hardware sellthrough for this period is down significantly compared to the previous two years, but this is in alignment with our expectations. The sell-through for software is not as high as that for the previous period, which saw the release of major hits such as Splatoon and Super Mario Maker, but due to the increased sell-through overseas of popular titles at a special low price point under the
Nintendo Selects banner, total sales are on par with those for the fiscal year ended March 2015.Note: FY = Fiscal year (April through March of the following year)
Update: The presentation will be held at Tokyo Big Sight. Those in Japan will be able to go hands-on with Switch on January 14 and January 15 at the same venue.
Original: A special Nintendo Switch Presentation will be held on January 12, Nintendo has just announced.
According to a new press release, it “will be an event for invited media, financial analysts and trade partners in Tokyo that will be globally livestreamed”. You can expect “the launch date and pricing for Nintendo Switch, as well as a look at the lineup of games currently in development.”
Also announced today are “Nintendo Switch sampling events for invited media, partners, and consumers will take place in the U.S. and Europe after the presentation at later dates.” The public will also be able to go hands-on “around the same time”. Details will come later.
The exact time of the Nintendo Switch Presentation 2017 will be provided in the coming weeks through the company’s social media channels.
Source: Nintendo PR
Yesterday, XSEED shipped the Corpse Party: Back to School Edition to stores alongside the digital eShop version. View an unboxing video below for a closer look at the goodies.
Natsume sold out of its River City: Tokyo Rumble stock soon after launch. This was the special version of the game that includes the keychain.
Thankfully, it won’t be much longer until Natsume has more units available. The company recently wrote on its forums that a restock is expected around the second week in November. We’ll let you know when we see it return.
With next week’s North American launch in sight, Nintendo uploaded a new amiibo trailer for Mario Party: Star Rush. We’ve attached it below.
