Splatoon 3 delivers ink-credible results as Nintendo wraps up their second quarter for the fiscal year

In the three month period of July 1st to September 30th, Nintendo delivered four games to players around the world — one of them was developed by Square Enix, with Nintendo just publishing outside of Japan, one was a digital only title and the final two were smaller titles… nah, just kidding they were Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Splatoon 3.

Both games have gotten off to a fantastic start, with Splatoon 3 shipping an astonishing 7.9m units in its first quarter on sale – despite some rocky connection issues – and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 shipping 1.72m units. For the former, that puts it about halfway to Splatoon 2’s lifetime sales, which sit at 13.30m units shipped, and for the latter, it’s the best-selling game in the series on Switch, beating out Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition’s 1.52m units and Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s 1.31m.

In terms of Switch hardware, things are definitely slowing down a little bit. There was a total of 6.68m units shipped in the last quarter, down from 8.28m units in the same period last financial year, which is a year-on-year decrease of 19.2%. Of those sold, the OLED continues to be the most popular model for the company, with an impressive 3.53m units – 52% of all Switch consoles shipped – while the Lite continues its significant drop off, selling just 0.92m units this quarter. Old reliable OG Switch rounds it all out with 2.23m units sold-in, a 65% year-on-year decrease — though it’s worth mentioning that the OLED has almost certain eaten a pretty big portion of its lunch since its launch.

Nintendo has also revised its projections for hardware shipped for this financial year, down to 19m units from a previous projection of 21m units. That said, they do expect to make more money than originally anticipated, so it’s not all doom and gloom for investors, who will assuredly respond to this earnings report with logic and not freak the heck out over the next week.

On the software side of things, digital sales increased by 30.2% year-on-year in terms of revenue and accounted for 51% of total software sales for the company. Total software sold is also creeping right on up to 1 billion, currently sitting at a cool 917.59m units sold. It’s likely Nintendo will get to the big B by the time whatever comes next rolls around, but it’s really a waiting game at this point.

We’re still looking through the financial reports, so we’ll be sure to update this article with relevant information as we discover it.

Switch Hardware Updates

Nintendo Switch total: 114.33m (Up from 111.08m)
– Nintendo Switch: 85.67m (Up from 84.77m)
– Nintendo Switch Lite: 19.32m (Up from 18.99m)
– Nintendo Switch OLED Model: 9.34m (Up from 7.32m)

Switch Software Million Sellers Updates

Last Quarter Additions

• Splatoon 3 – 7.9m
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3 – 1.72m

Kirby’s Dream Buffet and Live-A-Live (published by Nintendo outside of Japan) both sold under a million units.

Pokémon

• Pokémon Sword and Shield – 25.37m (up from 24.50m last qtr)
• Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl – 14.92m (up from 14.49m last qtr)
• Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee – 14.81m (up from 14.66m last qtr)
• Pokémon Legends: Arceus – 13.91m (up from 12.64m)
• New Pokémon Snap – No new data (2.4m last qtr)
  • This figure only counts outside of Japan, as sales for Japan are counted under The Pokémon Company.

Evergreen Million Sellers

• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 48.41m (up from 46.82m last qtr)
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons – 40.17m (Up from 39.38m last qtr)
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – 29.53m (up from 28.82m last qtr)
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 27.79m (up from 27.14m last qtr)
• Pokémon Sword and Shield – 25.37m (up from 24.5, last qtr)
• Super Mario Odyssey –  24.40m (up from 23.93m last qtr)
• Super Mario Party – 18.35m (up from 18.06m  last qtr)
• Ring Fit Adventure – 14.87m (up from 14.54m last qtr)
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land – 5.27m (Up from 4.53m)
• Nintendo Switch Sports – 6.15m (Up from 4.84m)
• Mario Strikers Battle League Football – 2.17m (Up from 1.91m)

• Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury – No new data (Last reported 9.435m)
• Mario Party Superstars – 8.07m (Last reported 6.88m)
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD – No new data (Last reported 3.91m)
• Metroid Dread – No new data (Last reported 2.90m)
• Mario Golf: Super Rush – No new data (Last reported 2.35m)
• Miitopia – No new data (Last reported 1.68m)
• Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain – No new data (Last reported 1.59m)
• Warioware: Get It Together! – No new data (Last reported 1.27m)
• Game Builder Garage – No new data (Last reported 1.06m)
• Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes – No data given