Published , by Donovan Erskine
Published , by Donovan Erskine
While most may know Nintendo as the company behind gaming’s most beloved franchises, or the architect of 2023’s highest-earning film, few may recall the company’s humble beginnings as a toy company. Before the days of the Nintendo Switch or the Super Mario Bros. Movie, Nintendo sold toys, trinkets, and Playing Cards. In fact, Nintendo still distributes Playing Cards to this very day. It’s proven to still be a worthy aspect of the company, too, as Nintendo Playing Card sales were up 147 percent in Q1 2024.
The Playing Card earnings can be found in Nintendo’s Q1 2024 earnings report, which was released earlier today. The Big N tallied 1.9 billion Yen in Playing Card sales over the previous quarter, which translates to a solid $13.3 million USD. This also represents a sizable 147 percent increase in sales year-over-year. Nintendo Playing Cards are primarily sold in Japan, and still bring in a decent chunk of change.
Nintendo doesn’t offer any further elaboration or information on the performance of its Playing Card business, so it’s unclear if the large jump in sales is the result of a popular new set, a promotion, or simply an enduring interest from consumers. This also represents some sequential growth, as Nintendo Playing Card sales were also up when we last reported them in May.
Nintendo’s Q1 2024 earnings report featured some fascinating new metrics beyond the sustained success of its Playing Cards. This includes the fact that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has already sold 18.51 million units, and that Nintendo enjoyed a sharp revenue increase from mobile and IP related ventures. Stick with Shacknews for the latest Nintendo news.