Nintendo Recorded More Profit in Switch Era Than In 1981-2016

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Abdullah Waseem

At T4G, my task is to cover the latest news around the gaming globe ASAP and with the utmost precision. I adore all the games and respect all the devs behind the amazing games that we get all year. So, whether it’s a PC or a Console game, I got it all covered. 

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Whether it be the Wii or the Game Boy, Nintendo’s consoles have always sold like hotcakes.

However, with the addition of the Switch, the company’s hardware lineup reached heights never seen before. According to a report, Nintendo made more profit from 2017-2024 than it did from 1981-2016 combined.

Why it matters: Considering the industry is more expensive than ever, such results are unheard of. This makes Nintendo unique among the competition.

According to a chart via Pierre485, thanks to the Switch, Nintendo recorded humongous numbers in terms of revenue. The net profit from 1981-2016 was ¥2376 Billion, whereas the profit in just the last seven years was ¥2576 Billion.

Granted, the 3DS also contributed to the profit during this era. However, even if we remove this console, the profits exceeded ¥2500 Billion. It should be noted that this chart doesn’t account for inflation, but the same trend holds when inflation is accounted for.

This shows how massive the Switch is. Nintendo’s recent fiscal year report revealed that the Switch has now sold over 140 million units. Meanwhile, 80% of the company’s recent revenue came from first-party software.

This is practically unheard of in the industry since both PlayStation and Xbox rely heavily on third-party titles. Nintendo is also unlikely to leave behind its tried-and-true approach of a locked ecosystem because of these strong results.

Nintendo has recently announced plans to reveal its next-gen console before March 2025. This means the Switch will still be their sole console for at least another year, with the company projecting over 10 million sales this fiscal year.

The next console will have a huge legacy to live up to after everything its predecessor achieved. Nintendo rarely fails to hit the mark, so expectations from their upcoming hybrid device are also very high.

Abdullah Waseem

News Reporter

Abdullah is an avid gamer who primarily plays single-player titles. If you can’t find him anywhere, he’ll probably be at his desk playing The Witcher 3 for the millionth time. When he isn’t playing games, he’s either reading or writing about them.