It's been quite some time since we've heard good news from Nintendo's accountants. The company has been posting operational losses for four years in a row, but this time around it seems that fortune is smiling upon our favourite company from the land of the cherry blossom.

According to their latest financial report, Nintendo has posted an operating profit of 24.8 billion yen ($208 million) for the fiscal year, a huge improvement from last year's $390 million operating loss. Although their revenue continues to decline, the company seems to be recovering from a four-year long rut.

The Time attributes these good results to Nintendo's recent high-profile releases including Super Smash Bros. 4, Pokemon ORAS and Mario Kart 8, the current Wii U best-seller. I myself would like to add that Amiibos turned out to be big money-makers for the company and they probably helped Nintendo turn over a New Leaf, pun intended. Here's for hoping Nintendo continues on their road to recovery and becomes consistently profitable once again.

Source

 

[luney]

I'm willing to bet that taking an active role in fighting piracy has at least something to do with this. I'm glad they are profitable again. It would be a very terrible loss to the gaming community to see Nintendo walk away from gaming. No company can continually post losses and continue in the same direction for long. Yay Nintendo!

 

[Foxi4]

I'm willing to bet that taking an active role in fighting piracy has at least something to do with this. I'm glad they are profitable again. It would be a very terrible loss to the gaming community to see Nintendo walk away from gaming. No company can continually post losses and continue in the same direction for long. Yay Nintendo!

What is that active role, if I may ask? Nintendo's the only company whose current gen systems are affected by piracy, their active role as of today is "spectacularly failing at preventing piracy". Of course this only matters if we assume that piracy hurts manufacturers of hardware in any significant way, which it doesn't, but that's a whole different discussion.

 

[raulpica]

What is that active role, if I may ask? Nintendo's the only company whose current gen systems are affected by piracy, their active role as of today is "spectacularly failing at preventing piracy".

LOL

You have to admit that a big part of their revenue was software sales and that they must've benefitted from the fact that the 3DS piracy isn't a super-easy affair as it was with the DS - if it was you could've expected WAY lower sales, since there's no way the WiiU could've contributed much to that amount considering that there are only 10 million units WiiUs out there.

 

[Foxi4]

LOL

You have to admit that a big part of their revenue was software sales and that it must've benefitted from the fact that the 3DS piracy isn't a super-easy affair as it was with the DS - if it was you could've expected WAY lower sales, since there's no way the WiiU could've contributed much to that amount considering that it has some good games but only 10 million units out there.

What do you mean by "not super-easy"? With a Sky3DS it's just plug and play, it could only be easier if the cartridge came with a sexy assistant that does file management for you.

 

[luney]

Nice try Foxi, heh. I see that worm wiggling there on that shiny hook. I have to walk away......just walk away Jim... walk away.....

 

[Foxi4]

Nice try Foxi, heh. I see that worm wiggling there on that shiny hook. I have to walk away......just walk away Jim... walk away.....

My hook brings all the girls to the yard.

 

[raulpica]

What do you mean by "not super-easy"? With a Sky3DS it's just plug and play, it could only be easier if the cartridge came with a sexy assistant that does file management for you.

Whoops, I had totally forgot of the Sky3DS and I was just thinking of the Gateway. Look, I just became part of the uninformed public for a while. Not many know of the Sky3DS

 

[FAST6191]

If I found myself less lazy I would see what is available as far as Nintendo's books -- I am drawn to wonder if this loss/profit stuff is not just the quirk of an accountant or three.

Anyway meh. Nintendo is leaving me further and further behind even though I still enjoy some of their older stuff.

Edit. As for failing to prevent piracy. Technically the DS and Wii were basically wide open for most of their lifetimes when all was said and done. The 3ds is at least marginally annoying and the Wii U has not quite fallen yet on the current stuff. It is the same as those threads with the "200% increase on bugger all sales" type thing going on but it is still an improvement.
Also it is not the only current gen setup to sport piracy -- there is the PC.

 

[Osha]

So much for all the idiots parroting "Nintendoomed".

 

[Walker D]

Of course this only matters if we assume that piracy hurts manufacturers of hardware in any significant way, which it doesn't

I hate when people think that they know the worldwide market that much to assume that this is truth...

...if you knew enough about how 3rd-world countries, like Brazil, Chile and China, pirate games (and how much of a contingent it really was in the Wii and DS era), you would think different.

 

[endoverend]

Personally I think Super Smash Bros. 4 and like Foxi said, amiibos were the driving forces behind this profit. Smash releasing on the 3DS was a stroke of genius. The 2DS costs only $100 nowadays and Smash Bros. isn't terribly expensive either. At this point it's rare to find someone who has a 3DS or 2DS and not Smash Bros. .

And while I think it's stupid to discuss piracy, let's be stupid and talk about how it affects sales. It was only recently that 3DS games became able to be pirated easily with SKY3DS, and the Wii U still stands uncracked. The only possible entrypoints for the Wii U are browser exploits, which can likely be patched with one line of code in an update. I could see how the lack of easily available piracy for almost 4 years on the 3DS could drive sales up compared to the DS days where piracy was rampant and anti-piracy measures had to be implemented into every major release. However, I mostly attribute this profit to a good year for Nintendo in terms of releases, which is something they haven't had in a long time.

 

[CathyRina]

I'm willing to bet that taking an active role in fighting piracy has at least something to do with this. I'm glad they are profitable again. It would be a very terrible loss to the gaming community to see Nintendo walk away from gaming. No company can continually post losses and continue in the same direction for long. Yay Nintendo!

Piracy is a service problem and Nintendo's service ain't great.

 

[Black-Ice]

Yeah that's right
Where are all you Ninten-doomed douches at now ;O;

 

[p1ngpong]

The question is other than Amiibo's is there anything on the horizon in the next year that can generate anything even close to the amount of money SSB and MK8 did? We also had the launch of the New 3DS and Majoras Mask too. Off the top of my head I cant think of anything now that Zelda is delayed. This profitable year could easily just be a blip, expect them to sink back into a loss when they announce this years earnings unless they pull off something spectacular and unexpected with their upcoming mobile games.

 

[Foxi4]

So much for all the idiots parroting "Nintendoomed".

Nintendo is doomed if they don't get their s*it together. It's nice that they were profitable again after the four-year money-draught, but that doesn't mean they're out of the pit just yet, it just means that they're making attempts at stepping up their game, which is good.

The question is other than Amiibo's is there anything on the horizon in the next year that can generate anything even close to the amount of money SSB and MK8 did? We also had the launch of the New 3DS and Majoras Mask too. Off the top of my head I cant think of anything now that Zelda is delayed. This profitable year could easily just be a blip, expect them to sink back into a loss when they announce this years earnings unless they pull off something spectacular and unexpected with their upcoming mobile games.

That's a big issue indeed. It took a string of high-profile releases for Nintendo to claw their way out of the money-shredding rut they were in, what's there to look forward to in 2015? Not much, seeing that Zelda U was pushed back to 2016. You're absolutely right, Nintendo will have to live off of Amiibo fumes for the whole year.

 

[Monado_III]

The question is other than Amiibo's is there anything on the horizon in the next year that can generate anything even close to the amount of money SSB and MK8 did? We also had the launch of the New 3DS and Majoras Mask too. Off the top of my head I cant think of anything now that Zelda is delayed. This profitable year could easily just be a blip, expect them to sink back into a loss when they announce this years earnings unless they pull off something spectacular and unexpected with their upcoming mobile games.

Splatoon, XCX, that mario dragons puzzle game that I forget the name of, Star Fox, E3 games (a Metroid by Retro anyone?), Mario Maker, Fire Emblem if (Japan release) etc. While I don't think any one of those will single-handedly match SSB4 or MK8 sales wise, together they could certainly sell 10 million combined.

 

[Foxi4]

Splatoon, XCX, that mario dragons puzzle game that I forget the name of, Star Fox, E3 games (a Metroid by Retro anyone?), Mario Maker, Fire Emblem if (Japan release) etc. While I don't think any one of those will single-handedly match SSB4 or MK8 sales wise, together they could certainly sell 10 million combined.

Splatoon is not going to be a "best-seller" because it's a brand-new IP with no brand recognition whatsoever, Xenoblade Yawnicles X will bomb worse than the Hindenburg, the yearly Mario game is obviously obligatory, but that doesn't mean it'll be good, Metroid isn't happening, Star Fox is going to be episode-based last time I checked and that's totally a sign of quality, Mario Maker is a minigame at best, Fire Emblem is Japan-only as you've mentioned and the "etc." you're talking about is "nothing else". To be fair though, at least SMT X Fire Emblem is coming out... maybe... who the hell knows, there's next to no info on that title, it's in vaporware hell. Anywho, I'm not seeing any "high profile" releases on your list, nothing that could be even remotely compared to giants like Smash or Pokemon.

 

[JulietStMoon]

Splatoon is not going to be a "best-seller" because it's a brand-new IP with no brand recognition whatsoever

Since when does being a new IP mean no chance of being a best-seller? I think Splatoon is shooting itself in the foot for other reasons, but that's a different story.

Xenoblade Yawnicles X will bomb worse than the Hindenburg

Why?

Metroid isn't happening

According to who? If anything, Nintendo has said at least a couple times that they're actively looking into multiple Metroid games in the future. That doesn't mean it's happening this year, but "it's not happening" is a pretty big stretch. Besides, there's also Retro's secret project. Granted it was DKC last time they said that, but that means that the chances of it being DKC this time is essentially nonexistent, leaving only Metroid, or something else entirely. Personally, I'll be very surprised if we don't hear anything about Metroid this year, even if it doesn't release until later.

Star Fox is going to be episode-based last time I checked and that's totally a sign of quality

Most Telltale games say "hi." Besides, iirc Miyamoto said that the storyline might be episodic in nature ("like a serial"), not that the game itself would be released episodically.

the "etc." you're talking about is "nothing else".

What part of "we have unannounced games coming out this year" is considered "nothing else"?

I'm not the most optimistic person about Nintendo'c current state of affairs either, but it honestly sounds like you're reaching for much more negativity than there actually is on that front.

 

[Foxi4]

Since when does being a new IP mean no chance of being a best-seller? I think Splatoon is shooting itself in the foot for other reasons, but that's a different story.

We'll wait and see then. New IP's don't tend to be massive best-sellers right out of the gate, they have to build a reputation before they start being gems in someone's crown. Even if it does well, it won't do "as well" as Pokemon or Smash which are the two games that helped Nintendo make a profit, can we at least agree on that?

Why?

Because my crystal ball says so. Seriously though, it's because XC bombed, XC 3DS is currently bombing and XCX will probably come out accompanied by the sound of tumbleweeds.

According to who? If anything, Nintendo has said at least a couple times that they're actively looking into multiple Metroid games in the future. That doesn't mean it's happening this year, but "it's not happening" is a pretty big stretch. Besides, there's also Retro's secret project. Granted it was DKC last time they said that, but that means that the chances of it being DKC this time is essentially nonexistent, leaving only Metroid, or something else entirely. Personally, I'll be very surprised if we don't hear anything about Metroid this year, even if it doesn't release until later.

The context of this conversation is 2015. I would be very happy to see a Metroid game on either the Wii U or the 3DS, but it's not happening in 2015, the year we're talking about.

Most Telltale games say "hi." Besides, iirc Miyamoto said that the storyline might be episodic in nature ("like a serial"), not that the game itself would be released episodically.

Telltale games are exceptions from the general rule, but I'll give you that. We'll wait and see.

What part of "we have unannounced games coming out this year" is considered "nothing else"?

If they're unannounced, they're not arguments in a debate. Don't waggle a schrodinger's cat in front of my face saying that they totally have content ready for 2015 - we don't know if they have any and even if they do, we don't know if it's quality content.

I'm not the most optimistic person about Nintendo'c current state of affairs either, but it honestly sounds like you're reaching for much more negativity than there actually is on that front.

I'm sorry for being a realist. They're all pooped out of their best-sellers and I'm yet to see any advanced work on any of their other best-selling franchises, so I can assume the worst for this year.