Nintendo Cuts Profit Forecasts as Chip Shortage Hits Switch Sales

AFP-Jiji

9:30 JST, February 9, 2023

TOKYO (AFP-Jiji) — Nintendo cut its full-year profit forecasts on Tuesday, saying the global chip shortage had dampened Switch sales, with analysts warning of waning momentum for the hit console nearly six years after its release.

New games have performed well, the company said, including “Splatoon 3” and “Pokemon Scarlet and Violet,” which in November scored the highest global sales in the first three days for any Nintendo software.

Switch hardware sales by unit declined 21% year-on-year in April-December, “mainly due to a shortage of semiconductors and other component supplies that impacted production until around late summer.”

The Kyoto-based gaming giant now expects net profit in 2022-23 of ¥370 billion ($2.8 billion), down from its previous forecast of ¥400 billion.

It also trimmed its operating profit outlook, and the annual hardware sales forecast for the Switch to 18 million units from the previous target of 19 million.