By Kosaku Narioka
Nintendo raised prices for the Switch 2 console and projected a softer year ahead following strong annual earnings, underscoring the challenging business environment consumer electronics giants face amid soaring memory-chip prices.
The Japanese videogame maker nearly doubled revenue and sharply increased net profit for the fiscal year ended March, thanks to the new device, which features a larger, more responsive screen with enhanced graphics performance.
Nintendo began selling the Switch 2 console in June, hoping to build on the success of its predecessor, whose popularity was amplified by a pandemic-driven videogame boom. That strong run is now under threat as the needs of artificial-intelligence companies crowd out other buyers of memory, causing a supply crunch and driving prices higher.
Nintendo said Friday that it will raise Switch 2 console prices in Japan, the U.S. and some other regions. The device will cost about $500 in the U.S. from September, up from about $450 currently.
The company projected Switch 2 sales to fall this fiscal year, citing the price increase and strong first-year sales. It said its new Pokémon title, "Pokémon Pokopia," released in March, helped boost console sales.
The Kyoto-based company has been trying to diversify its revenue streams beyond videogames. It has expanded into movies, theme parks and other forms of entertainment by leveraging its popular characters and game titles.
"The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," its second animated film based on the popular videogame series, proved a big success this spring, grossing more than $800 million in the four weeks since its April 1 global release.
The previous Super Mario movie, released three years ago, grossed $1.36 billion worldwide.
A live-action film based on Nintendo's popular game series "The Legend of Zelda" is scheduled for 2027.
The stock gained 3.6% on Friday before the earnings release, trimming year-to-date losses to 28%. Shares have been weighed by concerns about higher costs for console components such as memory chips and by weaker consumer sentiment amid the Middle East conflict.
The Japanese videogame maker's net profit rose 52% to 424.06 billion yen, equivalent to $2.70 billion, for the 12 months ended March. That beat the estimate of Y418.6 billion in a poll of analysts by data provider Visible Alpha. Fiscal-year revenue nearly doubled to Y2.313 trillion.
For the current fiscal year, which began in April, it projected net profit to fall 27% to Y310.00 billion on a likely 11% drop in revenue to Y2.050 trillion.
The company expects to sell 16.5 million Switch 2 consoles, down from the 19.9 million sold in the previous fiscal year. It forecast selling 60.0 million software copies for the new device, up from 48.7 million in the year prior.
Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 08, 2026 08:49 ET (12:49 GMT)
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