Investor Briefing (Oct. 2016): Kimishima talks about Nintendo 3DS sales

During the usual meeting with investors, which always follows the presentation of the latest financial results, Nintendo talked about Nintendo 3DS sales. First, a graph was shown:

It shows hardware sell-through for April through the second week of October in Japan, in 2015 and 2016. By April, the Nintendo 3DS had already sold 21 million units. At first, sales were pretty comparable, but the gap began to widen, as you can see on the graph. The release of the Nintendo 2DS, in September, has helped a lot (sales are up Year on Year on a weekly basis), while the (New) Nintendo 3DS (XL) models just keep on selling steadily.

The second graph shows sell-through trends for first and third-party Software in Japan, on the same period:

Unlike Hardware, Software sales are down significantly Year on Year. One of the reasons for that is the release of popular titles such as Fire Emblem Fates, Rhythm Paradise Megamix, Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, and Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon, last year. This year did have its own popular titles, but not only there was less of them, but quite a few of them (severely) underperformed (such as Yo-kai Watch 3).

The third graph shows hardware sell-through for April through the second week of October in the United States, in 2015 and 2016:

As you can see, sales began to increase sharply during the second half of the first quarter, and there are several reasons for that:

• the most obvious one is the release of Pokémon GO, which led to a massive increase of sales (with players wanting to play previous games in the series);
• the price drop of the Nintendo 2DS;
• promotional activities aimed at children and parents.

The holiday period this year looks pretty good for Nintendo and its handheld, especially with Pokémon Sun and Moon right around the corner.

The fourth graph shows sell-through trends for first-party Software in North America, on the same period:

Just like Hardware, there’s a clear increase in sales, and for more or less the same reasons:

• promotional activities aimed at children and parents were effective in increasing sales;
• evergreen titles and the Nintendo Selects games enjoyed solid sales;
• the release of Pokémon GO led to an increase in sales for Pokémon games (especially Pokémon Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire).

The fifth graph shows hardware sell-through for April through the second week of October in Europe, in 2015 and 2016:

Just like in North America, the release of Pokémon GO led to a noticeable increase in sales.

The sixth graph shows sell-through trends for first-party Software in Europe, on the same period:

Naturally, the release of Pokémon GO had a noticeable impact on sales of Pokémon games, but that’s not the only reason sales were significantly better than last year during the same period. The release of Kirby: Planet Robobot, Fire Emblem Fates, and Monster Hunter Generations also contributed. And of course, evergreen and Nintendo Selects titles also enjoyed solid sales.

Source: Nintendo