Nintendo reports 52% profit increase due to Mario and Zelda

Latest reports have shown that Mario and Zelda have helped Nintendo soar in 2023, increasing their revenue by 50% and profits by 52% from the previous year.

Immense growth for Nintendo was certainly unexpected, with President Shuntaro Furukawa previously stating that their Switch console was predicted to decrease in sales as the six-year-old console continued to get older.

Concerns regarding this can be put to bed as the company states that the Nintendo Switch has sold 3.91 million consoles in the June quarter and is 13.9% up on 2022.

The Japanese gaming pioneer has a lot to celebrate after reporting revenue for the June 2023 Quarter of 461.34 billion yen ($3.2 billion) which is 50% higher than in 2022, not to mention the 52% profits increase.

Sales were naturally expected to decrease for Nintendo as well as its competitors Microsoft and Sony, as they focus on looking ahead to future consoles.

The genius of Nintendo’s 2023 strategy comes from building off of its iconic game franchise Zelda and its high-risk jump into the film industry with a globally released Super Mario Bros. movie.

How have Mario and Zelda increased Nintendo’s profits?

Nintendo has received a catastrophic boost from the record-breaking Super Mario Bros. Movie and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom both released in 2023.

Super Mario movie shines

Mario is the main and unexpected success. Producing a Super Mario Bros blockbuster comes at a large price tag and Nintendo doesn’t exactly have a long history in filmmaking compared to games.

The high-risk film reportedly cost $100 million to make, dramatically paying off for the company as it shocked the box office by becoming the highest-grossing movie of 2023 so far and achieving over $1.3 billion dollars in revenue.

As well as this, the movie gained high critical acclaim and tripled the licensing royalties for Nintendo.

The movie’s roaring success has blasted open a whole Nintendo Cinematic Universe to delve into which has brought a new string to the Japanese gaming giant’s bow.

Tears of the Kingdom is a resounding success

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has further supported the strong figures after the game was released on Nintendo Switch in May 2023.

The latest installment sold over 10 million copies in just the first three days, powering on to become the ninth best-selling title in Switch’s history with a total of over 18.5 million copies sold.

Both Zelda and Mario look to continue to be vital parts into Nintendo’s strategy as they look forward to their future consoles and suspected future movie releases.