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Nintendo steers back to profitability thanks to hit new 'Mario Kart'

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 29 Oct 2014 1:11 User comments (9)

Nintendo steers back to profitability thanks to hit new 'Mario Kart'

Gaming giant Nintendo has returned to profitability this quarter thanks to strong sales of the blockbuster hit "Mario Kart 8" for the Wii U.
The quarter was so good that the company is now hopeful that it can be nicely profitable for its fiscal year for the first time in four years.

For the quarter ended September 30th, the company revealed a profit of 9.3 billion yen ($86 million) compared to a loss of 18 billion yen ($160 million) last year in the same period. A weaker yen helped contribute to the profit, added the company. The surprising quarter comes ahead of the expected good holiday quarter, which is a great sign for Nintendo.

For its fiscal year, the company forecasts a profit of 40 billion yen ($370 million), compared to a loss of almost the same amount for fiscal 2013.

Mario Kart, while being a strong seller on its own, helped push new Wii U sales, as well, with unit sales doubling year-over-year to 1.1 million. By comparison, Microsoft and Sony are selling well over 1 million units of their latest consoles, per month, but Nintendo has excitedly raised their yearly forecast for Wii U sales to 3.6 million.



Investors will be happy by the results, as well. Nintendo's shares have fallen 80 percent since their peak in 2007 on the back of the wild success of the original Wii and DS handheld.

Source:
Reuters

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9 user comments

130.10.2014 00:59

one game doesn't make a console

230.10.2014 10:39

Originally posted by megadunderhead:
one game doesn't make a console
Agreed. If the profitability of the company hinges on one game, they have some serious problems.

330.10.2014 16:14

Originally posted by DarthMopar:
Originally posted by megadunderhead:
one game doesn't make a console
Agreed. If the profitability of the company hinges on one game, they have some serious problems.
IMO, I think there are a lot of holdouts waiting to buy consoles until some of the mainstay franchises have Wii U titles launched.

430.10.2014 18:16

I've said this before...

If they want to be a fiscally vibrant company... They have to get out of the hardware business and start developing their in-house titles for the other consoles. Their most lucrative properties are on the software side and if they developed them for the dominant consoles... They would sell millions of copies. Imagine Mario Ksrt for the PS4 and Xbox 1... They could sell 3 million games the first day.

530.10.2014 19:12

Originally posted by mightyzog:
I've said this before...

If they want to be a fiscally vibrant company... They have to get out of the hardware business and start developing their in-house titles for the other consoles. Their most lucrative properties are on the software side and if they developed them for the dominant consoles... They would sell millions of copies. Imagine Mario Ksrt for the PS4 and Xbox 1... They could sell 3 million games the first day.
Honestly, I think that number is about right, and it would continue selling for months and months unlike a lot of the other hit games which sellout and then stop selling after 60 days.

630.10.2014 20:40

Overall Nintendo is a smart company. I guess that is why they have survived over 125 years.. They have had their ups and downs and have had to adapt to survive but in the end they do which is all that matters.

Oh and to the people saying they should go third party I say a big fat NO! I do not get that mindset... If you know anything about Nintendo is that their hardware and their games compliment each other and are built around each other.. I do not want or expect to see a Nintendo game on a non-Nintendo console just as I do not expect to see a Microsoft published or Sony published games not on their respective consoles. You all think Nintendo is hurting enough to give up because they do not get the sales quantity that some other consoles and game makers do? Well take a look at many of them.. They blow big budgets, buy exclusive rights and lose billions and yet somehow people think they are the successful ones..

A gaming industry crash is coming and mark my words Nintendo will be one of the companies coming out of the ashes.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 30 Oct 2014 @ 8:41

731.10.2014 11:16

Originally posted by bobiroc:
A gaming industry crash is coming and mark my words Nintendo will be one of the companies coming out of the ashes.
I think you're right on this. Nintendo's consoles are typically profitable, whereas Microsoft and Sony lose money until their cutting edge technology comes down in cost.

831.10.2014 11:48

There

Originally posted by SProdigy:
I think you're right on this. Nintendo's consoles are typically profitable, whereas Microsoft and Sony lose money until their cutting edge technology comes down in cost.


Nintendo does not typically blow big budgets on their game making either where many other studios do making games that cost more develop than blockbuster movies do to film and produce. The big budget model works sometimes but often comes back to bite in the ass. Nintendo may get made fun of because they do not always have the cutting edge in terms of specs and their games do not have the realistic graphics created by face mapping and expensive technologies or add in things like A list celebrity voice acting but that keeps the game cost at a reasonable rate and higher profits overall and does not seem to interfere with the fun factor in my opinion.

So while some people are quick to count Nintendo out of the game and say they should drop their hardware because they do not sell the top quantity they do have a model that seems to make them a little money on everything they sell. There are many things Nintendo does not do right but there are just as many things that they actually do right or better. With game studios that were once top dog closing down, losing developers, or hurting financially I think the crash is coming and Nintendo has been very responsible with their money and assets and can survive the crash. If the crash does happen I honestly see Microsoft and/or Sony leaving the gaming business before Nintendo. After all Sony loses billions every year as a company and the XBOX brand has never been profitable I do not think.
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 31 Oct 2014 @ 11:56

931.10.2014 12:09

Originally posted by bobiroc:
There
Originally posted by SProdigy:
I think you're right on this. Nintendo's consoles are typically profitable, whereas Microsoft and Sony lose money until their cutting edge technology comes down in cost.


Nintendo does not typically blow big budgets on their game making either where many other studios do making games that cost more develop than blockbuster movies do to film and produce. The big budget model works sometimes but often comes back to bite in the ass. Nintendo may get made fun of because they do not always have the cutting edge in terms of specs and their games do not have the realistic graphics created by face mapping and expensive technologies or add in things like A list celebrity voice acting but that keeps the game cost at a reasonable rate and higher profits overall and does not seem to interfere with the fun factor in my opinion.

So while some people are quick to count Nintendo out of the game and say they should drop their hardware because they do not sell the top quantity they do have a model that seems to make them a little money on everything they sell. There are many things Nintendo does not do right but there are just as many things that they actually do right or better. With game studios that were once top dog closing down, losing developers, or hurting financially I think the crash is coming and Nintendo has been very responsible with their money and assets and can survive the crash. If the crash does happen I honestly see Microsoft and/or Sony leaving the gaming business before Nintendo. After all Sony loses billions every year as a company and the XBOX brand has never been profitable I do not think.
I think XBOX is a more viable brand, and having been a top dog the last go-round of consoles (with the 360) they may hang around a bit longer. Sony on the other hand, had to ditch the PS3 much sooner and jump into the next-gen faster than when they were king with PS2.

Of course all of this is opinion, but I do agree with what you've said. Also keep in mind, with other platforms such as Android and iOS, indy developers are going to make games for those devices first, as opposed to the giant financial undertaking of making and licensing a game to Xbox, PS, etc.

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