Game On: Nintendo cuts FY25 Switch sales guidance as Switch 2 launch looms

“Game On” is The Fly’s weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks.

NINTENDO RESULTS: On Tuesday, Nintendo (NTDOY) reported results for the nine-month period ending December 31, 2024, with nine-month earnings per share and revenue dropping year-over-year. The company said, “Regarding the Nintendo Switch business during the nine months ended December 31, 2024, sales of titles released during this fiscal year increased steadily, with The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom recording sales of 3.91M units, and Super Mario Party Jamboree selling 6.17M units. In addition, we saw stable sales in titles released through the end of the previous fiscal year, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe selling 5.38M units. As a result of these factors, the total number of million-seller titles during this period reached 19, including titles from other software publishers. Hardware sales totaled 9.54M units, and software sales totaled 123.98M units. Sales of both hardware and software declined compared to the same period of last fiscal year, when sales were substantially driven by The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Even so, sales remained steady for a platform in its eighth year.”

Looking ahead, the Japanese game giant cut its net sales and Nintendo Switch hardware sales views for fiscal 2025. “Although Nintendo Switch hardware and software sales through the third quarter were below expectations, Nintendo Switch continues to be enjoyed by many people,” the company said. “Going forward, we will continue to release new offerings so even more consumers keep playing Nintendo Switch. Looking at software, we released Donkey Kong Country Returns HD in January and plan to follow up with the release of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition in March. Other software publishers also have plans to release a wide variety of titles, and we will strive to invigorate the platform by continually introducing new titles in addition to the existing titles. We have revised the financial forecast originally published on November 5, 2024, in consideration of the sales trend through the nine months ended December 31, 2024, prospects for the remainder of the fiscal year, as well as a reevaluation of the assumed exchange rate. We have also modified our Nintendo Switch hardware and software unit sales forecast for the fiscal year.” The Fly notes that the company did not mention the Switch 2 in any forward-looking statements.

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SIE NAMES NISHINO CEO: Last week, Sony Group Corporation (SONY) and Sony Interactive Entertainment, the company behind PlayStation, announced the appointment of Hideaki Nishino to the role of President and CEO effective April 1, 2025. This marks an evolution designed to maximize synergies across SIE that was announced in May 2024 in which Nishino was appointed CEO of the Platform Business Group effective June 1, 2024, alongside Hermen Hulst who was appointed CEO of the Studio Business Group. Hulst will continue to serve as CEO, Studio Business Group, SIE, reporting to Nishino. Sony Group Corporation and SIE also announced that effective April 1, Hiroki Totoki, President, COO and CFO of Sony Group Corporation, will step down from the SIE Chairman position to become President and CEO of Sony Group Corporation, and that Lin Tao, currently serving as SVP, Finance, Corporate Strategy and Development for SIE, will step down from her position at SIE to become CFO of Sony Group Corporation. Her successor at SIE will be announced at a later time.

ESA ON TARIFFS: The Entertainment Software Association, the main U.S. video game industry group, told (EA) announced that it reached an agreement to acquire TRACAB Technologies, a player in advanced sports optical tracking and analysis solutions. As they join EA SPORTS, the game publisher expects to leverage TRACAB’s technology and teams as it continues to harness advanced AI, machine learning, and real-time sports data to advance how the company createst lifelike animation and simulate real-world action. “Looking ahead, we also expect TRACAB to support how we are moving beyond games, and our vision for the EA SPORTS App to be the leading interactive sports platform in the world,” the company said. The acquisition is expected to close in EA’s first fiscal quarter of FY26. “Data is at the center of every meaningful advancement in the world of sports today, and as EA SPORTS leads the future of interactive sports experience through the use of more and more real-world data, and TRACAB will bring more best-in-class capture and data technologies directly into our portfolio,” says Cam Weber, President of EA SPORTS. “As we continue to evolve our EA SPORTS experiences into living, breathing simulations of sport, we expect TRACAB’s cutting-edge technology and expertise in live event data combined with our game engine to also accelerate groundbreaking new features in the EA SPORTS App.”

MORE VIDEO GAME NEWS:

• Along with its quarterly report, Microsoft (MSFT) said Xbox content and services revenue increased 2% year-over-year in Q2
• Meanwhile, Microsoft was the biggest games publisher globally in December, VGC reports
• Sony said that baseball sim “MLB The Show 25” will not be on any platform subscription services in 2025 after previous entries in the series launched on Xbox Game Pass day one
• Previous Xbox console exclusive “Forza Horizon 5” is coming to PlayStation 5 this Spring
• Square Enix’s (SQNXF) “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth” had a “fantastic” Steam launch, according to Circana analyst Mat Piscatella