After Wii U losses, Nintendo embraced mobile and bet the company on Switch

Nintendo's fiscal year ended March 31, 2014 brought net sales of ¥571.7 billion, down 10%, an operating loss of ¥46.4 billion and a net loss of ¥23.2 billion, with Wii U hardware sales falling despite strong software, per Nintendo's official results outline.

On March 17, 2015, Nintendo announced a partnership with DeNA to develop apps for smart devices and revealed it was developing a 'brand-new concept' dedicated platform, codenamed NX, the machine that became Switch. The company said it would create new play styles rather than simply port existing games to phones.

Switch launched in March 2017. In FY2021, Nintendo reported net sales of ¥1,758.9 billion, up 34.4%, and net profit of ¥480.3 billion, up 85.7%. Animal Crossing: New Horizons sold 13.41 million units in its first six weeks in 2020, per Nintendo's results and Polygon.

From a ¥46.4bn FY2014 operating loss to ¥1,758.9bn sales and ¥480.3bn profit in FY2021, with Animal Crossing selling 13.41m copies in six weeks.

The DeNA deal gave Nintendo a phone business without abandoning hardware.

Iwata publicly accepted the Wii U's failure instead of doubling down on it.

Switch merged home and portable lines, so every internal team shipped to one platform.

A single platform let Animal Crossing's pandemic moment reach its full audience.

When the old model fails, change it: Iwata admitted Wii U's failure, opened Nintendo to mobile, and built one console for home and portable play, letting every game feed a single ecosystem.

The Switch became one of the best-selling consoles in history, and Nintendo's net profit rose 85.7% in FY2021. The mobile partnership never produced a mega-hit, but it opened a licensing and content pipeline while Switch carried the company; by the early 2020s Nintendo's share price and profitability were at decade highs.