This information comes from Nintendo’s investors briefing as stated by president Tatsumi Kimishima…
The driving factor behind Wii U hardware sales over the fiscal year ended March 2016 was Splatoon, released in May of last year. Strong sales have continued into 2016, leading us to ship 4.27 million units worldwide in this fiscal year. This title started off with early appeal among core gamers and has gradually spread to the young consumer and female demographics, providing an excellent illustration of Nintendo’s strengths.
The number of participants for the in-game events called “Splatfests” has been steadily increasing since the first such event.
The 13th Splatfest, held from April 23rd to the 24th in Japan, saw around 790,000 participants, a record number.
With a total sell-through of 1.49 million units in Japan at the time the 13th Splatfest was held, this means that more than half of the software owners participated in this event. It is no small feat for so many users to be playing a title almost one year after launch, not only in Japan, but across the globe.
We have already expanded this IP beyond the game with a variety of products and events, and we will continue to take advantage of Splatoon’s massive popularity to support products and events and create tie-ins with external partners.
This information comes from Nintendo’s investors briefing as stated by president Tatsumi Kimishima…
The number of Wii U systems sold worldwide has surpassed 12 million.
Although this installed base is not as large as we have seen with past home consoles, we had a major hit in 2015 with Splatoon, and we have continued to sell units in Japan.
This graph shows the Wii U software sell-through in Japan from the start of the year through last week, compared with the same period over the last two years. Splatoon has continued to sell well since the start of the calendar year, and we launched The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD on March 10th and Pokkén Tournament on March 18th, spurring higher sales in this period than in the same period in the last two years.
This information comes from Nintendo’s investors briefing as stated by president Tatsumi Kimishima…
This slide shows the major Nintendo 3DS titles and the total units shipped worldwide. The amounts shipped over the fiscal year ended March 2016 are indicated in the red boxes.
Even titles that were released quite a while ago have seen sales of around one million units this year. The Nintendo 3DS has a rich selection of evergreen titles that are popular with consumers, and we believe that the lineup offers plenty to enjoy for consumers who have purchased the hardware recently as well.
This information comes from Nintendo’s investors briefing as stated by president Tatsumi Kimishima…
At the last financial briefing, we discussed the strong performance of the Nintendo Selects discount titles, which were launched in October in the European market. This sales performance has not seen much impact from seasonal variation, as these titles have continued to sell well since the start of the calendar year.
The red bar in the graph shows the total sell-through for the eight Nintendo Selects titles, while the gray bar represents the total sell-through for the same titles over the same period one year before.
The Nintendo Selects titles have achieved total sell-through of over 700,000 units. By changing the value prospects for the consumer, we have been able to reach a wider audience, even for titles that had seen a lull in sales.
We have also launched similar promotions in Japan and the U.S. In Japan, the title is “Happy Price Selection.” Compared to the sell-through for the same period in the prior year, sales have increased greatly and the ratio of female and young consumers has risen, expanding the audience for these titles.
Nintendo feels it is important to provide good value to our consumers without devaluing the overall price of our software. Therefore, we will not overuse these types of promotions, but we do feel these discounts can provide an excellent chance for consumers to find fresh discoveries among our rich back catalog. These promotions will be part of our efforts to maintain the popularity of the Nintendo 3DS platform in 2016 and beyond.
This information comes from Nintendo’s investors briefing as stated by president Tatsumi Kimishima…
This graph shows the Nintendo 3DS first-party software sell-through in Europe, compared with the same period over the last two years.
In Europe, Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon was released in February, and Nintendo Selects was kicked off last October. These titles continue to perform well, but the sales trends for first-party software as a whole remain slightly under the trends for 2014. We plan to release Fire Emblem Fates in Europe in May.
Tomodachi Life has been a major title that recently surpassed two million sales in Japan. In the European market, this title was localized into various languages, and was launched in June 2014.
Since then, we have seen excellent long-term performance from this title, and it has gradually closed the gap over the last two years, recently surpassing the sales in Japan.There are few titles competing in this space within the industry, and we believe that bringing out the full potential of this kind of title, which appeals to female consumers, will help our products be enjoyed by wider consumer demographics.
This information comes from Nintendo’s investors briefing as stated by president Tatsumi Kimishima…
With respect to Fire Emblem Fates released in February, this graph shows a comparison between the total sell-through in the U.S. market and the total sell-through in the Japanese market, where the title launched earlier. The week of each launch is counted as Week 1.
Sales surpassed the 500,000 mark in the U.S. in Week 6 and have continued without losing momentum. Recently, sales caught up to Japan and are even maintaining a pace slightly higher than in the Japanese market.
This graph adds a comparison with the previous entry in the series, Fire Emblem Awakening. As you can see, there are major differences in the trends in the Japanese and American markets.
In Japan, most of the demand is filled within the first few weeks after launch, but the Fire Emblem series continues to perform well over a long period in the U.S.In the past, the Fire Emblem series did not sell as well in the U.S. as it did in Japan. However, Fire Emblem Awakening greatly expanded the user base for the series, and the current entry, Fire Emblem Fates, has been popular abroad as well since launch.
This information comes from Nintendo’s investors briefing as stated by president Tatsumi Kimishima…
The worldwide sell-through for Nintendo 3DS systems has surpassed 56 million, reaching an installed base that is sufficient to provide profits for the software business.
There is some variation by region, but we have seen an increase in the percentage of young consumers and female users in Japan, North America, Europe, and other regions.
As for our recent situation, we have been seeing positive signs in Nintendo 3DS software sales in all regions since the start of the calendar year.
This graph shows the Nintendo 3DS software sell-through in Japan from the start of the year through last week, compared with the same period over the last two years.
The sell-through since the start of the calendar year has been lower than in the past two years, but titles that have launched in March and April, such as Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 from SQUARE ENIX and YO-KAI SANGOKUSHI (Japanese title) from Level-5, have increased play activity for young consumers over the spring break and the start of the new school year, leading to a rise in sales.
Super Mario Maker’s latest costume is now available. After completing the “Metal Resistance” Event Course, players can unlock an outfit based on the Japanese metal idol band Babymetal.
Here’s a description of the level:
Say hello to Babymetal, the metal dance unit taking the world by storm! To celebrate the worldwide release of their latest album “Metal Resistance,” which has been making a splash on charts all over the globe, they’re joining us right here in Super Mario Maker! They even recorded unique voice clips just for us!
In non-gaming news, Nintendo of America has announced the planned sale of a majority of its interest in the Seattle Mariners to other members of the current ownership group. Nintendo of America will hold on to a 10 percent stake in the team, while the remainder of its holdings will be sold to other members of First Avenue Entertainment LLLP (FAE). To clarify, FAE is the limited partnership that owns the Seattle Mariners, and a majority interest in ROOT Sports NW. Before the transaction closes, it’ll be subject to the finalization of legal contracts and approval from Major League Baseball. Nintendo expects this to happen in August.
CEO Howard Lincoln, who was once chairman of Nintendo of America, will be retiring day-to-day operations. John Stanton will replace him as Chairman and CEO, as well as as the designated Major League Baseball Control Person. Lincoln will remain a part of the FAE Board of Directors, representing Nintendo’s ownership interests.
Howard Lincoln said in a statement today:
“From the first day of our involvement nearly 24 years ago, Nintendo has had two goals for its investment in the Mariners. First, we wanted to assure the permanence of the team in this great city. And on that count, I am proud and gratified that this agreement further solidifies that goal. On the other hand, I’m equally disappointed that we have not been able to host a World Series game for our fans.”
John Stanton added:
“My goal and the goal of the entire Mariners ownership and management team is to win a World Series. I believe that the Mariners are well positioned to achieve that goal and it will be my honor to lead the organization. I want to thank Howard for his leadership for the last 17 years and thank the members of the board and ownership for giving me this opportunity.”
Source: Nintendo PR
