Nintendo annual profit biggest since 2001

Ultrapopular DS, weak yen dumped $807 million of net income into the Mario factory's coffers last year.

When Nintendo first unveiled the DS in January 2004, many people in the game industry were skeptical. The so-called "innovative machine" was unlike anything that had been seen before, and a lot of detractors laughed off its dual screens as a gimmick.

Two years later, it's the executives at Nintendo who are laughing. Today, the company reported its biggest annual profit since 2001. For the financial year ending March 31, the company took in a whopping 95 billion yen ($807 million) in net income--an 8.7 percent rise from the previous financial year. The earnings beat Nintendo's own forecast, which called for a 14 percent drop in earnings for the year.

In its report, Nintendo cited two main factors for the better-than-expected earnings. First was a weaker than estimated yen, which allowed software and hardware sales in Europe and the US to boost its bottom line more than they normally would. The second factor was sales of the DS in Japan, which Nintendo deemed "favorable." That term smacks of Japanese understatement, as the handheld has been a sensation in the country, selling more than 5 million units and sparking the ongoing brain-training game craze.

Today's news was especially good if you owned a piece of a Nintendo. Instead of the 270 yen ($2.29) per-share payout stockholders were expecting, the company will now dole out 370 yen ($3.15) per share.

226 Comments

  • MatthewNintendo

    Posted Apr 23, 2006 4:32 pm PT

    Awesome stuff. I had my DS from the release day but I have to admit the games available were new and different but were all short lived, but I had heard the games that were going to come out and I new nintendo would dominate the handheld console war once again.

  • pepechidoone

    Posted Apr 23, 2006 2:07 pm PT

    nintendo deserves it no one could think that DS would be better than PSP

  • krs_bg

    Posted Apr 23, 2006 11:56 am PT

    Nintendo has almost always done things their own way. Its nice a company that doesn't follow the pack and is still able to make good money.

  • Higamason

    Posted Apr 23, 2006 9:54 am PT

    Awesomeness

  • vwgti3

    Posted Apr 22, 2006 2:28 pm PT

    What Goes around comes around.

  • lizarrd32801

    Posted Apr 21, 2006 5:32 pm PT

    ds lite rocks

  • Jshaw71

    Posted Apr 21, 2006 2:38 pm PT

    sony's pricing themselves out of the market, of course a cheaper machine sell better, DUH, oh well

  • squashy

    Posted Apr 21, 2006 8:46 am PT

    Yeah Rock on nintendo! i can't wait for revlolution (i picked up a remote control and waved at the tv nothing happened and i felt like a dumbass) but i need a ds lite!

  • Cerza

    Posted Apr 20, 2006 7:00 pm PT

    Go Nintendo! It's nice to finally hear some good news for them.

  • nintendogamer64

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 6:25 am PT

    *this message is for game spot*
    UPDATE UR WEB SITE THIS STORY HAS BEEN HERE FOR WAY TO LONG

  • mariogamer

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 7:30 pm PT

    go nintendo

  • nintendogamer64

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 6:50 am PT

    ds light is probly going to be near november or maby july

  • panosl

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 12:56 am PT

    nintendo's the best!ds lite.....when??-i hope revo will have better third
    party support than gc

  • nintendogamer64

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 7:40 pm PT

    is it just me or has this story been here for an unussualy long time.Time for an update game spot!

  • gamer1

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 5:55 pm PT

    Good news for nintendo and and their stock holders!

  • nintendogamer64

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 9:00 am PT

    ageed

  • bobreturns

    Posted Apr 17, 2006 2:25 am PT

    cool go nintendo

  • Synchro456

    Posted Apr 16, 2006 6:06 pm PT

    "I think in 5 years nintendo will be a third party developer "
    ITS never going to happen u dumbass because Nintendo said themselves that they will never be a thirdy party. And please Nintendo shall pwn the ps3 and the 360.

  • nintendogamer64

    Posted Apr 16, 2006 3:58 pm PT

    i like golden eye for 64 much more than halo

  • willps3

    Posted Apr 15, 2006 5:40 pm PT

    Tylerbbadd1 I suggest you leave Halo out of this, that is the greatest multiplayer shooter of all times. And it will remain the greatest shooter no matter what anyone says. I think Nintendo is great but they haven't done good in that genre lately. They have Metroid, but it's so limited in gameplay. Nintendo needs a shooter with the gameplay that Halo has, with vehicles, turrets, rocket launchers and snipers!!!!!!! Ok, I'm gona go play Halo2 now.

  • tylerbbadd1

    Posted Apr 15, 2006 7:57 am PT

    Good for Nintendo. It's nice to see some good, quality gaming gaining some profit, instead of those stupid shooter games on PS2 and XBox. Take that, Halo!

  • freakykidd

    Posted Apr 15, 2006 5:30 am PT

    Wow. Nintendo pwns Sony, thats always good to hear! I own both consoles *shot by fanboys*, theyre both good although the DS has better games!

  • patjuan

    Posted Apr 14, 2006 4:56 pm PT

    Nintendo's profits will continue to soar . Final Fantasy 3 will have wifi support according to Famitsu.

    www.cubed3.com/news/4913
    ds.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=3547

  • willps3

    Posted Apr 13, 2006 8:18 pm PT

    Nintendo DS rules!!!!!!!!!! And so will the PS3. Oh, um, does anyone want to buy my PSP cause it's collecting dust. 250$ with Metal Gear Acid, Need for Speed and I Robot UMD. All in mint condition. Includes pouch and earphones.Oh, and can't wait for PS3!!!!!!! Sorry guys, I'm a DS fan but I had to throw in PS3 in there.

  • sentay0

    Posted Apr 13, 2006 5:19 pm PT

    Yeah, I'm so glad that I stayed with the DS instead of the PSP.

  • nintendogamer64

    Posted Apr 12, 2006 4:35 pm PT

    never send sony to do nintendo's job (hand helds)

  • nintendogamer64

    Posted Apr 12, 2006 4:33 pm PT

    I AGREE MARIO MAN SONY DOSE SUCK

  • singhapan

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 11:53 pm PT

    Iwata is my man

  • Mario-Man

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 7:23 pm PT

    Nintendo just rules in general PERIOD

    (playstation sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!)

  • drollia

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 5:48 pm PT

    things are about to get even more interesting with the release of Brain Age. If it does any where near the numbers that Nintendo Dogs did then i think that they are going to be doing well

  • DurhamNC

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 4:51 pm PT

    I need to get me some Nintendo stock

  • nintendogamer64

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 3:57 pm PT

    THATS RIGHT DELUXUSERNAME

  • DeluxeUsername

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 2:54 pm PT

    GO NINTENDO, GO NINTENDO, GO NINTENDO GO!

  • nintendogamer64

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 2:40 pm PT

    um psp is not all that good for movie/music
    ipod good for music
    LAB top good for movies plus wal mart has quit selling umds cause none byes them and thats the truth

  • sonic_spark

    Posted Apr 10, 2006 10:50 pm PT

    Nintendo made money off the Gamecube.. Nintendo made lots of money with the DS, and will make even more money with the Revolution.

    MS eats 300$ per 360.. Sony stands to lose equal or more than that.

    Nintendo makes profit per system..

    That's why Nintendo is so far from dead that it seems like they were just born.

  • Hero_of_Time3

    Posted Apr 10, 2006 5:37 pm PT

    "...nintendo has been around from 1889??? wtf... i thought it had been made a century later, take a few years...wow. wonder what nintendo did back then made innovative hopskotch games?"

    Yes, people, Nintendo has been around since 1889. It was originally a company that sold "Hanafunda" cards, (a Japanese card game sometimes called President) which were handmade by Fusajiro Yamauchi. He was the original president and the great-grandfather of the current president of Nintendo. Hanafunda consisted of 48 cards divided into 12 suits representing the 12 months of the year. The company sold these cards in the Kyoto and Osaka regions of Japan.

  • kai7991

    Posted Apr 10, 2006 2:46 pm PT

    im sick of the "ONOS HE SAID NINTENDO HAVE SLIGHTLY BETTER GAMES OMG U FCKIN FANBOYYYYYYYYYYYYY" Nintendo HAVE been making more progress because they are trying something NEW, PSP is good for a movie/music player, but gaming seems more like a feature than the main focus, and apparently the DS was a "test" to see how the revo would be accepted by the public, and by the looks of things (in japan especially) the result was an A+

  • makumba

    Posted Apr 9, 2006 2:26 pm PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • Kratos_Aurion56

    Posted Apr 8, 2006 4:48 pm PT

    Nintendo will never die!!!

  • boo_dat

    Posted Apr 8, 2006 4:02 pm PT

    pat yourself on the back Nintendo, but beware! The Revolution may bring losses like you've never seen before!

  • saberwolf102002

    Posted Apr 8, 2006 10:48 am PT

    wow this is awesome news! i knew Nintendo would pull thru^^ a lot of ppl now-a-days say "o well Nintendo sux!" just b/c that Nintendo doesn't have a cool console like the Xbox or the graphics aren't as great as both the PS2 and Xbox...i swear...sum ppl now-a-days...o well im a huge Nintendo fan and grew up playin all sorts of games from them and i'll admit i luv the Gamecube its awesome and now with the DS Nintendo is truly changing the gaming world 1st with the DS's Touch Screen and pretty soon the Revolution's controller,gameplay and internet access 2 download our fav classic games from the NES all the way 2 the N64(at least thats wut i've heard) lets c Sony and Microsoft beat that!!....don't get me wrong but i like the PS2 as well...the Xbox is ok and all...just can't get over the fact that every1 has it b/c of Halo 2...its gotten boring 2 me now and its annoying!!! every1 talks about it almost everyday!...well all i can say is that im sticking mainly with Nintendo and Sony but 4 Nintendo i hope they'll have as much luck with the Revolution as they did with the DS^^

  • thepeter

    Posted Apr 7, 2006 11:17 pm PT

    vote with your dollars/yen

  • mrzog7346

    Posted Apr 7, 2006 11:15 am PT

    i think nintendo is the best of the best

  • Gamespotvic

    Posted Apr 7, 2006 11:10 am PT

    Can anyone say... "W00t for Nintendo"??

  • samekila

    Posted Apr 6, 2006 6:15 pm PT

    my psp has been collecting so much dust i cant find it bring on the DS games

  • tylerdurden2621

    Posted Apr 6, 2006 3:19 pm PT

    Does anyone know aprox. how much the revo is going to cost. I have a soft spot for nintendo because they have been around longer then sony and microsoft. I kind of hope its hella cheap and just blows sony and microsoft away. Nintendo first, microsoft second, and sony...ehh who cares about them.

  • REVOLUTIONfreak

    Posted Apr 6, 2006 12:50 pm PT

    Nintendo doesnt tell people what they want, but instead gives people what consumers demand/request. This is definitely a big factor of their income, they know what the people want, so they deliver it. Good job Nintendo!

  • barnold81

    Posted Apr 6, 2006 12:19 pm PT

    I was just telling one of my friends a few weeks ago that Nintendo would be a good investment right now. Though I checked the ADR and the price didn't really respond to any news. I think this information was already incorporated into the price the minute everyone realized what a phenomenon the original DS was in Japan, and the anticipation of what the DS Lite would be in Japan.

    I expect similar favorable results in the US. I'm going crazy waiting to get a DS Lite.

  • foxhound421

    Posted Apr 6, 2006 11:00 am PT

    hells yeah! i'm not a fanboy of any one system in particular, but i LOVE hearing good news about Nintendo. Viva la Revolucion!

  • deepdreamer256

    Posted Apr 6, 2006 9:09 am PT

    No-one cares about your opinion, troll.

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