As the world holds and A coronavirus epidemic, Nintendo released its most recent financial statement. In it, a game developer based on Kyoto discussed how the virus had affected the company and possible predictions of the future.
According to Nintendo, covid-19 has caused delays in the production and shipping of the switch, Ring Fit Adventure, The Joy-Cons and other accessories during February and March. However, this has had a "limited impact" on business results, added Nintendo, with hardware and software sales surging last year & # 39;numbers for healthy marriages. Hardware sales increased 24 percent year-on-year, while software sales rose 42.3 percent.
Going forward, Nintendo discussed how the covid-19 spread could affect the company. Nintendo noted that delays in production and shipping are improving, but may have problems with procurement. There are other concerns, such as how closing doors can affect the sale of games and hardware in retail stores, and concerns in general the global decline in consumption.
The disease can have an impact on the development of the game in Japan and abroad. "If the COVID-19 results are prolonged or worsened, development schedules may be affected by variations in home and work development conditions," Nintendo wrote in its latest consolidated financial statement.
“In particular, the impact on overseas companies and other joint venture companies is expected to be more difficult to predict than Japan. Due to these factors, we may not be able to continue the release of Nintendo products and the start of operations as planned. This is also true for some software publishers, so it may not be possible to offer game content on Nintendo platforms as planned. "
This is a real concern. In the March issue of Famitsu, Smash Brothers Composer Masahiro Sakurai discussed how Coronavirus covid-19 was it's tricky game development process.
Nintendo also expressed concern that its online network might have been affected by the disaster, writing, "… it is possible to provide those services provided through our network that could be suspended if we could no longer maintain the integrity of our network systems."
In a footnote, Nintendo said that these are projects that are currently being implemented information available. Obviously, they can change. The company seems optimistic, but cautious.
"About the impact of covid-19 on earnings forecasts, production and sales figures may decline for some time, but we expect that production and sales will be able to meet the demand for the full year and that we will be able to release software titles now in development. as planned. That being said, there are a lot of uncertainties, so if there is a need to analyze the forecasts we find in the future, we will immediately disclose that review. ”