Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Japanese game maker Nintendo's profits hurt by chips crunch

A traveller walks past a Nintendo poster at Narita airport, near Tokyo, on Jan. 23, 2020. (Eugene Hoshiko / AP) A traveller walks past a Nintendo poster at Narita airport, near Tokyo, on Jan. 23, 2020. (Eugene Hoshiko / AP)
Share
TOKYO -

, as shortages of computer chips hurt production, the Japanese video game maker behind the Super Mario and Pokemon franchises said Thursday.

Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. recorded a 367 billion yen (US$3.2 billion) profit for the period, down from 377 billion yen the previous year. Its sales in the same period fell 6% to 1.3 trillion yen ($11 billion).

Game makers have reaped windfall profits from more people staying home during the pandemic. But sales of Nintendo Switch consoles had more momentum in the previous fiscal year, driven by its hit "Animal Crossing: New Horizons."

Console sales are often driven by hit games, although the devices tend to sell better early on and then slowly decline in popularity.

Nintendo cut its forecast for Switch console sales for the fiscal year through March to 23 million machines. It had forecast 24 million units, previously slashed from an projection of 25.5 million units.

President Shuntaro Furukawa has said the dearth of computer chips has hindered output, complicating planning for the next fiscal year and beyond.

The problem has also slowed the design process for its next game machine. Nintendo is developing a device to follow the Switch.

Despite the setbacks, more than 100 million Switch machines have sold so far globally. Its most popular games for the latest period were "Pokemon Brilliant Diamond" and "Pokemon Shining Pearl," and new Mario Kart and Mario Party games.

"Pokemon Legends Arceus," which went on sale last month, and the latest Kirby game, set for release in March, are expected to boost sales in the final fiscal quarter, according to Nintendo.

Nintendo faces stiff competition both from longtime rivals such as Microsoft Corp. and Sony Corp. and from newcomers like Netflix and Google.

Microsoft recently announced it's acquiring Activision Blizzard, the maker of Candy Crush and Call of Duty, for $68.7 billion, turning the maker of the Xbox into one of the world's largest game companies.

Sony, which makes the PlayStation series of consoles, is acquiring Bungie Inc., known for its Halo and Destiny games, for $3.6 billion. Such acquisitions add game titles under their wings and in effect dwarf Nintendo.

Nintendo expects to post a 400 billion yen ($3.5 billion) profit on 1.65 trillion yen ($14 billion) sales for the fiscal year through March.

------

Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

04:23ET 03-02-22

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

A B.C. condo owner who was blamed for a cockroach infestation in her building and charged thousands of dollars for the cost of eradicating the bugs must be refunded, the civil resolution tribunal ruled.

Local Spotlight

On Saturday night at her parents’ home in Delaware, Ont. the Olympic bronze medallist in pole vault welcomed everyone who played a role in getting her to the podium in Paris.

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.

Stay Connected