Sales figures from the last fiscal year show that Nintendo's Asian market outside of Japan is growing at a faster rate than those in Europe and North America. This emergence has made the Asian market as valuable as its Western counterparts to the makers of Mario and Zelda.
It has been nearly three years since the Nintendo Switch took its place as the reigning new system and has gone largely unchallenged during all that time. A portable, cheaper version, the Nintendo Switch Lite, hit the market in 2019 and though it did not explode in sales like its forefather, it no doubt added to the success of the Switch era as did the bounty of quality titles that came out for the both versions. The reign of the Switch since 2017 has benefitted Nintendo dramatically on a worldwide scale.
MCV/Develop summarized a Q&A where Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa answered investor questions. One question in particular referred to Australia, New Zealand, and Asian markets outside of Japan, which are considered one region by Nintendo. Here sales grew by an impressive 152 percent in the previous fiscal year that ended back in March. By comparison, sales grew 61 percent in the Americas, 67 percent in Japan, and 72 percent in Europe. With this staggering amount of success, Nintendo has had to adjust its marketing strategy in order to cater to the demand rising in these countries.
Another important change to this market since the release of the Switch has been that it has expanded to include South Korea, Taiwan, and mainland China. This expansion has assisted in multiplying sales by 6.7 times the amount they were in back in March of 2017. Individual games have also increased profits with Furukawa specifically calling attention to Ring Fit Adventure's popularity in China. This game has in turn boosted the already impressive sales numbers for the Nintendo Switch in the area.
With all of the hype and excitement surrounding the releases of the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X, it is easy to forget that there is another titan of the industry that still commands the loyalty of many gamers. Though the Switch is over three years old, it continues to do well and, as described in this investor Q&A, has even improved in some markets. There is no doubt that Sony and Microsoft will cut into Nintendo's profits this year, but it might not be as significant as first speculated considering the delays in fulfilling orders for the new consoles. It will be interesting to see how Nintendo's profits will be affected next fiscal year due to the fresh competition.
Source: MCV/Develop