Nintendo Will Pay Its Workers 10% More

Nintendo plans to raise its employees’ base pay by 10% this year in the wake of inflation. Reuters reported that Nintendo plans to raise salaries even as it reduced its profit expectation for the year. Nintendo previously cut its operating profit forecast from a projected 582 billion yen to 480 billion yen ($3.6 billion).

Nintendo also amended its projected software and hardware sales. It projects that the Switch will sell 18 million units this year, as opposed to the prior forecast of 19 million. Similarly, it dropped the software sales forecast from 210 million units to 205 million. Nintendo re-affirmed that it does not currently have plan to raise prices for its consoles or games.

As inflation continues to hit the global market, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urged companies to pay more to offset the rising cost of living. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said, “It’s important for our long-term growth to secure our workforce.” He declined to comment when asked about a Switch successor. More details about the company’s upcoming games and plans for the year may be shown at the upcoming Nintendo Direct, the first one of 2023.

In 2022, Nintendo of America faced criticism for its treatment of contracted QA workers. Anonymous employees alleged that female contractors suffered sexual harassment. Nintendo also settled a lawsuit with one former contractor, who claimed she was fired for asking about unionization.