Source: KAZUHIRO NOGI / Getty
Well, this news shouldn’t really surprise anyone, due to COVID-19 keeping our butts in the crib, Nintendo is reporting some staggering profit numbers.
The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic forced us all to find different means of entertainment to keep ourselves entertained while being stuck in the crib, and it appears video games are king. Nintendo reported that its profits skyrocketed amid the coronavirus situation, reportedly a whopping 400% percent, according to the company.
Sources close to Nintendo report profits rose 428 percent in Q1, surpassing initial predictions from analysts highlighting astronomical growth compared to last year’s numbers. The Japanese-based company reported approximately $3.4 billion in net sales in Q2, which is a 108 percent leap. That all came from Nintendo Switch sales, which became a much-needed necessity as folks began isolating at homes during the COVID-19 pandemic leading to 167 percent growth in sales. The insanely-popular hybrid console and its scaled-down model, the Nintendo Switch Lite, were hard to find at one point. Plus, the arrival of the phenomenon that is Animal Crossing also helped boost those numbers, as of today the game has moved a staggering 22.4 million copies.
Sony, who is currently prepping the release of the PS5, also saw some high numbers due to COVID-19. According to the company’s second-quarter financial earnings for 2020, sales for games almost doubled. An astronomical 94 million PS4 games were sold between April till the end of June. If you do the math that is an 83 percent increase, this time last year, Sony just saw 49.8 million in sales, which at the time was nothing to cough at. 74 percent of those sales were, of course, digital being that no one was walking into a GameStop or Target out of fears of catching COVID-19.
It also helped that Sony had a STRONG lineup of first-party titles for PS4 owners to look forward to. The Last of Us Part II, which faced some serious issues ahead of its launch and Ghosts of Tsushima, accounted for 18.5 million of those digital sales. Sony’s premium subscription service, PlayStation Plus, saw an increase in subscriptions jumping from 41.5 million users to 44.9 million.
PS4 console sales did decrease due to the slowing economy, but if you actually went and searched for a PS4 or PS4 Pro, you would be hard-pressed to find a brand new one to purchase. Despite that news, Sony is expecting the PS5 to sell exceptionally well and has even ramped up production to meet the high demand for its next-generation system.
Despite COVID-19, it’s definitely been a good year to be a gamer. If you’re still looking for games to play during the ongoing pandemic, be sure to check out our list here.
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Photo: KAZUHIRO NOGI / Getty
