Although surpassing 111 million units sold just this month, Japanese video game company Nintendo reports a staggering 23 percent decline in console sales due to the continuing global chip shortage.
According to a report from The Verge, sales of the Nintendo Switch Lite dropped by over 50% to 0.59 million units, while sales of the normal Nintendo Switch fell by 60% to 1.32 million units in the quarter. With sales of 1.52 million Switch OLEDs, which only launched in October, the shortage was partially replaced. Additionally, software sales fell by 8.6 percent to under 41.5 million units.
Despite the 23 Percent Dip in Sales, Nintendo Expects 21 Million Consoles Sold Next Year
Despite these dips in sales, Nintendo foresees an eventual recovery as the company expects to sell 21 million more consoles until March of next year.
Many factors are considered in looking at these new numbers. Still, the multinational company singles out the global shortage of semiconductors to be the primary reason for hardware shipment caps, leading to an eventual drop in sales. Semiconductors are important components for building Nintendo's hardware, with a drop in chip supply also comes with challenges for the tech giant.
Nintendo clarifies that this shortage of materials is just temporary. The multinational video game company assures in its sales report that semiconductor supply will eventually recover. Nintendo reports that chip procurement will "gradually improve from late summer towards autumn."
ALSO READ: Believe it or Not: Gaming Industry Slows Down as US Gamers Spend Significantly Less on Video Games
Recently, Gamenguide also tackled the dip in sales that companies Microsoft and Sony are also facing. The recent Gamenguide article reports that US consumer spending on video game products has declined by $1.78 billion in the second quarter of this year. Following this trend, the overall video games sales so far in this year have accounted for a 13 percent fall year for year. These findings are both referenced from Microsoft's and Sony's reporting revenue declines as the pandemic growth slows.
Gamers should just not worry because various temporary causes are to blame for these sales drops. Due to the limitations imposed by the pandemic, certain gaming businesses cannot handle new game releases. Additionally, some corporations are capping the supply of consoles due to the pandemic and the current state of the economy.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Is Nintendo's Highest-grossing Game
Even with this year-to-year decline, Nintendo still managed to post a net profit of 118.9 billion yen (USD$ 893 million) for the first two quarters of the current year according to reports, this number is due to a weakening value of the yen. Despite this, the company is still confident in its 340 billion net profit projection in the first quarter of 2023.
Gaming news informer Gematsu said that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still Nintendo's highest-grossing game, listing 46.82 million sales just last year. Then followed by Animal Crossing: New Horizons with 39.38 million, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with 28.82 million in sales. Following the list are other Mario Bros. titles and newly released Pokemon games like Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield.
Regardless of the decline in sales in the second quarter of this year, the future still looks very promising for Nintendo, with more game releases expected to come out this month. Many fans are already on the lookout for the nearing release of Splatoon 3 and Xenoblade Chronicles 3, which are really classic fan favorites for the US and Japanese gamers.
RELATED ARTICLE: Gaming Time Unlikely To Impact Wellbeing According to Oxford Institute
