During their quarterly financial briefing, Nintendo gave updates on how their digital business has been progressing, and reported impressive growth on all fronts. Revenue from digital sales for financial year 2018-19 stands at 118.8 billion yen, which is the highest it has ever been in the company’s history, and also the first time digital sales have exceeded 100 billion yen.
The growth of the digital space for Nintendo is also impressive, having nearly doubled from the figures that were reported at the end of the previous financial year, when revenue from digital sales stood at roughly 60 billion yen.
“Digital sales have expanded greatly since the launch of Nintendo Switch,” said Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa. “Sales nearly doubled in the fiscal year ended March 2019 compared to the previous fiscal year, and exceeded 100 billion yen for the first time ever. The Nintendo Switch business has expanded over the previous year not only in download versions of packaged software, but also in download-only software and add-on content, plus contributions from Nintendo Switch Online.”
Nintendo Switch Online itself – the paid online subscription service that Nintendo launched for the Switch halfway through 2018 – stands at 9.8 million subscribers. Of these, Furukawa reported that 2.8 million players had played the battle royale puzzle title, Tetris 99, which has “helped boost engagement for Nintendo Switch”.
During their quarterly briefing, Nintendo also provided updated sales figures for some of the Switch’s highest selling exclusives, while also confirming that the console-handheld hybrid has now sold 34.7 million units worldwide. Furukawa has also confirmed that Nintendo has no plans to announce a new Switch model at E3 2019, contrary to recent rumours, while Nintendo has re-confirmed the 2019 launch windows for titles such as Animal Crossing and Luigi’s Mansion 3.
