A game someone wants to play can give them a reason to buy a system. At its May 2026 briefing, Nintendo described attractive titles as an important factor encouraging the move to Switch 2. Software has a role in expanding the hardware base on which more games can be sold (Q&A p.1, Q1).
Nintendo’s stated business approach
From hardware ownership to games to play
Nintendo sells the system
Hardware on which to play games
Buy a system→
Players with hardware
Choose games they want to play
Buy software→
Sales of games to play
Packaged and downloaded versions
Two generations sell software in the same year
Actual sales in the year ended March 2026
Switch software
Long-selling titles and new releases
Switch 2 software
Titles for the new system
The upper row shows company strategy; the lower row shows overlapping sales in one fiscal year. This does not measure repeat purchases by the same people or show universal software compatibility.
As the new system reaches more players, software for the established system remains on sale. The results for Switch 2’s launch fiscal year show that overlap.
DATA VIEW
Two generations of software sold in one fiscal year
Full-year sell-in for the year ended March 2026, in millions of units. Actuals include hardware and other bundles. Both bars share a scale starting at 0.
Nintendo Switch136.91 million
Nintendo Switch 248.71 million
The unit totals exclude download-only games and add-on content. For Switch 2 Edition titles, Nintendo counts packaged versions as Switch 2 software and downloaded versions as Switch software; upgrade-pass-only sales are excluded. The bars therefore show software units under Nintendo’s classifications, rather than buyer counts or the systems on which people played (results material pp.5, 12 and 26).
The forecast for the following year, ending March 2027, excludes bundles, so comparing it directly with these actuals would mix scopes. Nintendo says it set the combined two-generation forecast close to the previous year’s actual sales excluding bundles (Q&A p.4, Q8).
A hardware generation and a game have different lifespans
Part of that accumulated catalog consists of titles that keep selling years after release.
For titles released near the fiscal year-end, Nintendo also reported early sales over periods extending into the following year.
Digital revenue includes more than the counted game units
The distinction between packaged and downloaded games also changes what is counted. Digital revenue includes products and services that fall outside the software unit totals above.
Worldwide sales and the scale of play
Headquartered in Kyoto, Nintendo supplies hardware and software to players around the world. Regional revenue and annual playing users describe that reach through different measures.
New development continues alongside long-selling games
New games also give people reasons to choose Nintendo’s systems. The company acknowledges that software development takes longer than it used to and says it is adjusting development structures and processes. Keeping existing titles on sale and preparing the next releases are parallel jobs (Q&A p.4, Q7).
DATA VIEW
R&D spending exceeded advertising
FY2026. Both were large, but R&D was about ¥33.2 billion higher.
R&D expense¥177.8bn
Advertising expense¥144.6bn
Nintendo also disclosed plans for development facilities. Annual R&D expense and planned capital investment spanning several years are different measures.
Films, merchandise and physical experiences add other points of contact
Nintendo also reaches people through films, merchandise and visitor experiences. Separating revenue from facilities helps put that expansion in context.
THE VIEW AFTER THE NUMBERS
What the numbers suggest
Nintendo expands hardware ownership and sells games for those systems. In the year ended March 2026, Switch 2 adoption overlapped with original Switch software sales, while a title released in 2017 continued selling.
Nintendo considers both generations as a software business, keeps established games on sale and develops the next releases. As development takes longer, its software sales and R&D figures show those two jobs continuing side by side.
TOMY develops toys and creates opportunities for people to discover, try and compete with them. In the year ended March 2026, group advertising expenses were ¥19.133bn and R&D was ¥6.723bn. BEYBLADE provides a concrete example through interchangeable top parts, store events, tournaments and online play. Brand-level costs and returns for individual activities are not disclosed, so audience reach cannot be translated into a profit contribution.
