Nintendo annual profits slump 66%

[xist]

Video games giant Nintendo has seen its annual profits slump by 66%, hurt by a strong yen and a drop in sales.Net profit for the year to the end of March came in at 77.6bn yen ($945m; £570m), compared with 228.6bn yen the previous year, its results showed.The company said that while it had not suffered any direct damage from last month's earthquake, it expected it to weigh on consumer spending in Japan.Nintendo also announced that it will release a successor to the Wii in 2012.

"Nintendo is banking on [the successor to the Wii] making migration from the Wii - and potentially its rivals - a no-brainer for consumers. ”
Daniel Sloan Author, Playing to Wiin

Net sales fell 29% to 1.014 trillion yen. Nintendo also faces a growing challenge from smartphones and tablets. In a bid to fight back, it launched the 3DS, a handheld console that provides a 3D experience for users without the need to wear special glasses.The company said the device, which launched in February in Japan and in March in the US, Europe and Australia, had a "smooth start in sales", which totalled 3.61 million worldwide. In a separate statement, Nintendo said it had decided to launch a system to succeed the Wii next year.It will give a demonstration of the new model at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles in June.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/13184768

 

[ShadowSoldier]

I've never heard the words billion, and trillion in the same paragraph when talking about money for a company...

But obviously with the earthquake, each company is going to take a hit. Companies can't expect the people to put their money in electronics first.

 

[shakirmoledina]

i think they relied too much on a single console and although the DS was selling well, it was not a profit maker but a profit maintainer. This may be a good reason the wii was announced besides the rumors.

 

[Maz7006]

i think they relied too much on a single console and although the DS was selling well, it was not a profit maker but a profit maintainer. This may be a good reason the wii was announced besides the rumors.

i'd go with this

obvious Wii 2 well sell millions

not to mention games like LOZ and MArio coming to 3DS should boost sales

but is it enough ?

 

[cwstjdenobs]

Oh noes they are only doing great instead of insanely well.

 

[Slyakin]

Yeah... Nintendo on a bad day is basically a good day for everyone else. They do so extremely well that it can't really hurt them too much.

Nintendo is in that tricky migration spot; the 3DS and the Wii2 are both fairly new (the Wii2 hasn't even been seen by the public eye), and Wii and DS sales are slumping.

That's why Microsoft and Sony are waiting.

 

[leeday100196]

The reason Nintendo succeed so much is because little kids buy their products the most and boy are they demanding! Maybe the next generation of kids aren't so demanding of the great Ninty's products. The day I see a 5-year-old playing a PSP/iPod Touch, I will commit suicide for what has become of society. But you guys are right that the earthquake would have affected them badly, especially since the majority of people buying Ninty's products are the Japs. Oh well. May Ninty bring their profits back up soon with the release of OoT and other good games for the 3DS/Wii.

 

[cwstjdenobs]

The reason Nintendo succeed so much is because little kids buy their products the most and boy are they demanding! Maybe the next generation of kids aren't so demanding of the great Ninty's products. The day I see a 5-year-old playing a PSP/iPod Touch, I will commit suicide for what has become of society.

I'd say there's a lot more adults with DS's than PSP's. I've only seen 2 PSPs IRL.

And unfortunately I've seen quite a few young kids with iPhones. Probably there parents old ones without a sim card I bet(hope).

 

[Rayder]

They're still making a profit. I hate how companies act like they are losing money when they just aren't making as much profit as they expected to make. Oh, we only made 1 billion in profit instead of 1.3 billion, we're a sinking ship!

Baloney!

 

[Ikki]

Funny thing is they still have money to swim in.

 

[Fear Zoa]

Even If Nintendo did absolutely nothing for a year they could still stay afloat

 

[muckers]

They're still making a profit. I hate how companies act like they are losing money when they just aren't making as much profit as they expected to make. Oh, we only made 1 billion in profit instead of 1.3 billion, we're a sinking ship!

Baloney!

66% drop in revenue is a BIG drop, though, so it's not like it's nothing.

 

[nando]

oh how terrible, they aren't making over a billion dollars anymore? how could they possibly afford to run a business

 

[_Chaz_]

It's official, Nintendo's going the way of SEGA.

 

[Saloma]

Only reason these sales are so low is cause people stopped buying a ridiculous amount of Wiis. It's not so much losing money as it is going back to status quo.

 

[Mesiskope]

Gotta spend money to make money.
[youtube]Wp7Jv3mwbW4[/youtube]

 

[KingVamp]

I'm mean they just produce X amount of 3DS and probably spending on prototypes of wii2.

All the money going in R+D. Cost such as ones cause by problems.