Aquamarine
Member
One thing I've noticed that's vacant from the Internet is yearly breakdowns of Nintendo console sales. That's probably because...guess what?...it's very, very hard to find data about how early consoles performed. The farther back you go, the more esoteric and vague the sales become.
Luckily, I was able to get in touch with Nintendo's Kyoto office a while ago, and they were able to supply me with some very interesting generational sales data. Hopefully, I'll be able to shed some light on the early performance of Nintendo consoles.
However, there is one caveat that needs mentioning. Nintendo informed me that there are two types of accounting when it comes to historical recording of their sales: consolidated, and non-consolidated. "Non-consolidated" sales recording refers to the recording of shipments from Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s domestic inventory in Kyoto, Japan to the inventories of their wholly-owned subsidiaries around the world.
As of March 2013, these subsidiaries consisted of:
Nintendo of America Inc. (U.S.A.)
Nintendo of Europe GmbH (Germany)
Nintendo of Canada Ltd. (Canada)
Nintendo France S.A.R.L. (France)
Nintendo Benelux B.V. (Netherlands)
Nintendo Ibérica, S.A. (Spain)
Nintendo Australia Pty. Ltd. (Australia)
Nintendo of Korea Co., Ltd. (Republic of Korea)
Nintendo said that these subsidiaries have inventories of Nintendo hardware and software. Normally, Nintendo's subsidiaries inform the corporate office about expected retailer hardware demand, and Nintendo quickly provides them with the inventory to complete a sales transaction.
However, until the Nintendo console is shipped to the retailer, Nintendo cannot register it as a "consolidated unit sale." Until then, Nintendo records it as a "non-consolidated unit sale."
Nintendo told me that the non-consolidated sales recording method was preferred initially because outside of Japan, NCL could instantly and precisely measure the exact amount of inventory leaving NCL's factories and allocated for sale across the world. Once the subsidiaries had full control over the product, it took a longer period of time for Nintendo Co., Ltd. to receive an exact amount of sales.
With the advent of the digital age, Nintendo now prefers "consolidated" sales recording. Consolidated sales recording refers to the recording of shipments from Nintendo Co., Ltd.'s various subsidiaries directly to retailers.
Nintendo now receives real-time shipment information direct to their corporate offices, so non-consolidated, while still tracked and relevant, isn't as preferred. If you go on Nintendo's website, you can see that Nintendo only provides us with a historical database of consolidated unit sales.
However, if you look closely, you can see that Nintendo doesn't disclose Consolidated unit sales prior to 1998; in addition, Nintendo lumps together Americas and Other (Europe / Australia / etc.) unit sales. Unfortunately, Nintendo only provides us with a murky and incomplete look at their sales history...but I was able to obtain a full spectrum of data.
Please note, this sales history mixes two sets of data: non-consolidated from 1982 through 2000, and consolidated from 2001 through 2013. This is due to the data I was able to collect...they won't disclose old consolidated data, presumably due to reliability issues.
This isn't much of a problem. The inventories of Nintendo subsidiaries are transient...products were meant to be sold and not stored for a period longer than the remaining fiscal year. So, non-consolidated and consolidated unit sales are very closely related. However, they do not match up exactly. For example, near the end of console lifecycles you have retailers canceling on Nintendo and leaving the subsidiaries with a surplus of stock that has to get shipped back to Kyoto. I've included on the bottom of each spreadsheet a comparison of Nintendo's "sold to retailers" total estimate, and the aggregate from the "consolidated + non-consolidated" sales blend.
Regardless, the primary purpose of this topic is to elucidate some of Nintendo's very early console shipments. Without further ado, enjoy the numbers:
Luckily, I was able to get in touch with Nintendo's Kyoto office a while ago, and they were able to supply me with some very interesting generational sales data. Hopefully, I'll be able to shed some light on the early performance of Nintendo consoles.
However, there is one caveat that needs mentioning. Nintendo informed me that there are two types of accounting when it comes to historical recording of their sales: consolidated, and non-consolidated. "Non-consolidated" sales recording refers to the recording of shipments from Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s domestic inventory in Kyoto, Japan to the inventories of their wholly-owned subsidiaries around the world.
As of March 2013, these subsidiaries consisted of:
Nintendo of America Inc. (U.S.A.)
Nintendo of Europe GmbH (Germany)
Nintendo of Canada Ltd. (Canada)
Nintendo France S.A.R.L. (France)
Nintendo Benelux B.V. (Netherlands)
Nintendo Ibérica, S.A. (Spain)
Nintendo Australia Pty. Ltd. (Australia)
Nintendo of Korea Co., Ltd. (Republic of Korea)
Nintendo said that these subsidiaries have inventories of Nintendo hardware and software. Normally, Nintendo's subsidiaries inform the corporate office about expected retailer hardware demand, and Nintendo quickly provides them with the inventory to complete a sales transaction.
However, until the Nintendo console is shipped to the retailer, Nintendo cannot register it as a "consolidated unit sale." Until then, Nintendo records it as a "non-consolidated unit sale."
Nintendo told me that the non-consolidated sales recording method was preferred initially because outside of Japan, NCL could instantly and precisely measure the exact amount of inventory leaving NCL's factories and allocated for sale across the world. Once the subsidiaries had full control over the product, it took a longer period of time for Nintendo Co., Ltd. to receive an exact amount of sales.
With the advent of the digital age, Nintendo now prefers "consolidated" sales recording. Consolidated sales recording refers to the recording of shipments from Nintendo Co., Ltd.'s various subsidiaries directly to retailers.
Nintendo now receives real-time shipment information direct to their corporate offices, so non-consolidated, while still tracked and relevant, isn't as preferred. If you go on Nintendo's website, you can see that Nintendo only provides us with a historical database of consolidated unit sales.
However, if you look closely, you can see that Nintendo doesn't disclose Consolidated unit sales prior to 1998; in addition, Nintendo lumps together Americas and Other (Europe / Australia / etc.) unit sales. Unfortunately, Nintendo only provides us with a murky and incomplete look at their sales history...but I was able to obtain a full spectrum of data.
Please note, this sales history mixes two sets of data: non-consolidated from 1982 through 2000, and consolidated from 2001 through 2013. This is due to the data I was able to collect...they won't disclose old consolidated data, presumably due to reliability issues.
This isn't much of a problem. The inventories of Nintendo subsidiaries are transient...products were meant to be sold and not stored for a period longer than the remaining fiscal year. So, non-consolidated and consolidated unit sales are very closely related. However, they do not match up exactly. For example, near the end of console lifecycles you have retailers canceling on Nintendo and leaving the subsidiaries with a surplus of stock that has to get shipped back to Kyoto. I've included on the bottom of each spreadsheet a comparison of Nintendo's "sold to retailers" total estimate, and the aggregate from the "consolidated + non-consolidated" sales blend.
Regardless, the primary purpose of this topic is to elucidate some of Nintendo's very early console shipments. Without further ado, enjoy the numbers:
