Pretty much all of Nintendo’s fiscal year earnings release has been combed through, with all the tidbits splayed across the internet for everyone to take in. With that said, some fans have been going through every single detail line by line to see if there’s anything else worth pointing out, and one pretty interesting note has been discovered.
As part of the supplementary materials released by Nintendo in their earnings release, we see Nintendo discuss their research and development expenses. The blurb reads as follows:
Selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A expenses) increased by 28.3% year-on-year to 548.8 billion yen, due to a rise in advertising expenses associated mainly with the launch of Nintendo Switch 2 as well as a rise in R&D expenses. However, with the large growth in sales, the ratio of SG&A expenses to sales declined by 13.0 points to 23.7%.
When Nintendo talks about research and development, that usually relates to expenses tied to the exploration of new hardware. Now that’s not always the case, but it’s certainly the explanation more often than not. With Switch 2 already available, eyebrows are raising as to why Nintendo has seen an increase in r&d in their last fiscal year.
What could Nintendo be working on behind the scenes? Might they have some sort of unique expansion or accessory for Switch 2 being tinkered with? We’ve seen Nintendo released all sorts of interesting hardware accessories for their platforms over the years, such as the Wii Balance Board and the Nintendo Labo series on Switch. Whether or not this r&d uptick is pointing to something similar for Switch 2 remains to be seen, but we’ll certainly be keeping our eyes peeled.