Nintendo Switch and Pokémon bolster GameStop’s first quarter

GameStop reported $2.05 billion in sales today at the end of its first quarter of 2017, exceeding expectations due to the high sales of the Nintendo Switch hybrid home-portable console and collectibles like Pokémon cards.

Sales of new software dipped by 8.2 percent in contrast to the uptick of new hardware, which increased 24.6 percent to $389.9 million. New hardware sales were led by the Nintendo Switch, the top-selling console each month in the U.S. since its debut in March. GameStop noted that the Switch outperformed all previous console sales. Collectibles — which include toys and games, apparel, accessories, and others — also grew 39.1 percent to $114.5 million thanks to Pokémon products.