Nintendo has a good feeling about its upcoming fiscal year. Fresh off the momentum of its most recent fiscal quarter, the company posted a rosy financial forecast through March 31, 2018. Nintendo expects its operating profit to land somewhere in the range of 65 billion yen over the next 12 months — a number it hasn’t achieved since the 2010-11 fiscal year.
The projected profit comes from Nintendo’s overall optimistic financial report for the most recent fiscal year. Through March 31, 2017, the company turned a profit of 29.4 billion yen. Although that’s a downgrade from the 2016 fiscal year, strong fourth quarter earnings have lent Nintendo some serious confidence.
The Nintendo Switch and its biggest seller, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, made waves in the last four weeks of Nintendo’s fiscal year. With Switch sales nearing 3 million — and more copies of Breath of the Wild on Switch sold than the console itself — Nintendo expects that the number will only continue to grow, thanks to upcoming titles like Arms, Splatoon 2 and Super Mario Odyssey.
Should Nintendo manage to make 65 billion yen or more by next March, that will be as big a year as the company’s seen since the days of the Wii. In March 2011, Nintendo reported that its operating profits had hit 77 billion yen. Even that was a decrease over the Wii’s heyday — and Nintendo went on to post its first annual loss the following year.
The Wii U’s poor sales performance led to years of declining profits. With the Switch, on the other hand, it’s so far, so good.
Correction: Nintendo forecasts profits of 65 billion yen for next year — not 65 million. The text above has been amended to reflect the correct figure.