Nintendo has 32 million Switch Online subscribers – Gamekult

As announced yesterday, Nintendo distributed 92.87 million Switches worldwide as of September 30, 2021, including 16.5 million Switch Lite, but we now know the number of consoles sold to consumers. Nintendo estimates that the Switch surpassed 90 million consoles sold to consumers in October, on the heels of the Switch OLED release, and Nintendo estimates that the 100 million consoles sold to consumers mark will be crossed before the release. end of the fiscal year, in March 2022. When most consoles begin to see the pace of their sales slow down from the 4th year, the Switch has instead taken on a new dimension since the spring of 2020 and the release of Animal Crossing on a containment background.

People buy Switches, but more importantly, they play them. Nintendo statistics show that the number of active users has only increased sharply since 2017. Note that to be “active” it is enough to have launched a game at least once in the year. Nintendo’s calculation includes the different player accounts on a single console, which is why the number of active players may be greater than the number of consoles sold. In this way, Nintendo had 87 million active players during the previous fiscal year (April 2020 – March 2021). A figure on the way to be beaten since Nintendo already has 79 million active players for the first half of the current fiscal year alone.

Ninendo does not intend to distribute as many consoles this fiscal year (24 million) as compared to the record of the previous year (28.83 million), but the manufacturer is relying on other factors and the launch of the Switch OLED to aim for a 6th consecutive year of growth, which will be a first in its history. Nintendo notes that many Switch OLED buyers are users who bought a Switch five years ago and have fallen for the brand new model. Nintendo is further seeing that more and more families are purchasing multiple Switches per household and believes that there is still a lot of room for growth. His end game ? That each member of the said family has their own Switch.

Of course, Nintendo emphasizes that these ambitions would be in vain without the catalog of games that goes with it. In addition to relying on these “evergreen” games that have continued to sell for years, the manufacturer recalls the upcoming release of headlines like Sparkling Diamond Pokémon and Sparkling Pearl Pokémon, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Splatoon 3, Kirby and the Forgotten World, Bayonetta 3 and of course the rest of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. As can be seen here, the game that continues to sell the best over time is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the purchase of which seems systematic for a large part of Switch buyers. With 38.74 million copies distributed, it is now the best-selling game in Nintendo history, putting aside titles sold in bundles like Wii Sports.

Nintendo had 32 million Nintendo Switch Online subscribers as of September 30, 2021. Remember that this statistic includes each individual account in the case of family subscriptions which can accommodate up to eight accounts. As promised, Nintendo recently strengthened its offer by including Mega Drive and Nintendo 64 games, but many players were disillusioned when they discovered that this expansion came with an increase in the price of the subscription.

Nintendo is also publishing a diagram that shows how its various initiatives outside of traditional video games (derivative products, mobile games, film, amusement park) are supposed to revolve around the Nintendo account, which we already know will make the trip to the future. console that will replace the Switch one day. Nintendo plans to open a new Nintendo Store in Osaka after those in Tokyo and New York. On the Super Nintendo World side, in addition to the Donkey Kong expansion expected in 2024 in Osaka, Nintendo still plans to set up in Universal Studios parks in Hollywood, Orlando and Singapore, in that order.

Notable statistics

• Switch players are aged 5 to 60 but it is the 20-30 age group that is the most represented.
• At the end of September 2021, there were 6,700 games from third-party studios available on the eShop. Record support in the brand’s history.
• 250 million Nintendo Accounts have been created worldwide.
• Nintendo is open to acquisitions (like that of Next Level Games) but its priority remains to grow organically.
• Nintendo plans to spend up to € 760 million to strengthen its own game development capacity.