A new report from Japanese business journal Diamond Online has provided a rundown of companies with the highest average annual salaries in Western Japan for FY2024, and Nintendo is right up there with the best of them (thanks, Automaton).
According to the report, Nintendo paid an average annual salary of 9,627,000 yen in the last fiscal year (around £51,000 / $62,000 at the current exchange rate), landing the company with the second-highest average paycheck in the region — and the only entertainment company to land a spot in the top five, no less.
This comes despite the average Nintendo salary decreasing in FY2024, with the report mapping a 2.3% decline in pay compared to the previous year. Diamond Online speculates that this reduction is in line with Nintendo's drop in net sales and operating profit in FY2023, though it does note that both of these categories saw an increase in the following fiscal year — so expect to see a rise next time, we guess.
Semiconductor manufacturer Screen Holdings was crowned with the region's highest average annual salary for the last fiscal year, with Diamond Online reporting an average paycheck of 10,248,000 yen (£54,000 / $66,000).
It should be noted that these rankings look exclusively at Japan's western Kansai region (excluding Osaka), and companies with fewer than 20 employees have also been removed from the list.
With 2025 set to be the year of Switch 2, Super Nintendo World Orlando and probably a bunch more surprises, it will be interesting to see how the tables turn for the Big N this year and just how much the employees reap the rewards of the company's success.