Nintendo sales slide 40%, profits plummet 60%

Slowing hardware market, lack of hit new releases, currency fluctuation batter Mario maker's first fiscal quarter; worldwide Wii total tops 52 million.

Nintendo's successful strategy to expand the gaming audience with the Wii and the DS has accounted for much of the industry's growth over the past few years. So it should come as little surprise that when the industry as a whole suffers a multi-month malaise, it would be reflected in the console maker's sales figures.

Wario doesn't like the look of these numbers.

Nintendo today reported its financial results for its first fiscal quarter, the three months ended June 30, and the numbers weren't pretty. Nintendo's revenues were down a full 40 percent from ¥423 billion ($4.45 billion) for the same period last year to ¥253 billion ($2.66 billion) this year, while net profits for the same periods were down a steep 60 percent, from ¥107 billion ($1.12 billion) to just ¥42 billion ($442 million).

The publisher attributed the slide to a number of factors. First of all, Nintendo said it was hurt by a weaker lineup of software titles. The company's previous first fiscal quarter saw the international releases of Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii, compared to this year's first quarter slate headlined by the Japan-only debut of Wii Sports Resort. The DS couldn't pick up the slack, as Nintendo lamented that "there were few popular new titles," with Pokemon Platinum being the only game singled out for selling well during the quarter.

With no hit new games to sell the hardware, Nintendo also saw those figures drop significantly. For the quarter, Nintendo sold 2.23 million Wiis worldwide, just 43 percent of the 5.17 million it sold for the prior year's first quarter. The DS line of systems fared significantly better thanks to the international launch of the camera-equipped DSi, but still fell short of last year's mark. Consumers worldwide purchased 5.97 million DS systems over the quarter, down nearly 14 percent from 6.94 million sold in the previous first quarter. To date, Nintendo has sold 107.75 million DS systems worldwide and 52.62 million Wiis.

Much like Sony explaining its own disappointing financial figures today, Nintendo also pointed to foreign currency exchange rates thanks to the strong yen. Despite the numbers, Nintendo did not change its financial forecast for the year.

465 Comments

  • xtremeflem2day

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 12:23 pm PT

    well so many people bought a wii, eventually the majority of the people who want one will own one, so im not surprised to see the downfall in sales. Definitely not one for people who want online shooters, but it has its share of kickass games, i should pick up mario galaxy sometime soon.

  • MetallicFPSNut

    Posted Oct 8, 2009 5:54 am PT

    @hatieshorrer

    Perhaps those adults you refer to are part of the 35+ demographic. Cause there certianly aren't more Wii owners in the 18-34 demographic than in the 12 and under demographic.

  • summber

    Posted Aug 30, 2009 6:42 pm PT

    it awesome game .

  • ico92

    Posted Aug 8, 2009 11:05 am PT

    @supahshnipa

    why do i get the feeling they were serious with friend codes?

  • SupahShnipa

    Posted Aug 3, 2009 11:33 am PT

    Maybe it's time they started taking Online gaming seriously.

  • lightwarrior179

    Posted Aug 3, 2009 11:05 am PT

    2009 is going to be a rough year for the gaming sales-wise and financially. Not only most of the gaming countries are in the middle of a "hopeful-early-recovery" from the recession but 2009 is slowly turning out to be a very bland year for games as well especially when compared to last 2 or 3 years.
    Many of the games we expected to release in 2009 were announced for 2010 release at E3 or somewhere else.
    And some with a tentative 2009 release date like BioShock 2,StarCraft II have been delayed to 2010.

  • KingNabster

    Posted Aug 3, 2009 5:26 am PT

    I personally hate the WII. It barely has a handful of good games, so I hope it keeps falling futher. It's success has unfortunately meant Sony and MS have sold less, and even worse, it's forced those two to waste R&D resources on the Motion Arms race, money that should've been spent making new amazing games.

  • Xaviersx

    Posted Aug 3, 2009 3:45 am PT

    Agreed, wakeup call for Nintendo. I didn't count them out when they announced the Revolution, I won't count them out now, but they have to pull themselves out of the niche especially now that they have the user base.

  • Thirdrail1

    Posted Aug 3, 2009 2:18 am PT

    Awww, they ONLY made $440 million in three months. That is so sad. I can't stop crying. This is just like when they shot Old Yeller... with the wiimote that fires gold plated diamonds.

  • Mr_Versipellis

    Posted Aug 3, 2009 2:15 am PT

    No surprises. People just buy Wii sports and Wii fit and are done. It was a bad strategy.

  • hollow_prozak

    Posted Aug 3, 2009 12:22 am PT

    Nintendo has become the "Disney" of the gaming industry... just for kids and affraid of making games for real gamers...

  • maxgil2

    Posted Aug 2, 2009 7:09 pm PT

    Not surprise...its a wake up call for Nintendo ...NEED MORE GAMES with depth!!! ...not just simplistic ones for casuals..

  • lanmanna

    Posted Aug 2, 2009 6:36 pm PT

    And I'm no crazy Nintendo fan. I have a 360, PS3, PS2, and PSP(which I dislike).

  • lanmanna

    Posted Aug 2, 2009 6:35 pm PT

    LOL at people saying Nintendo is a goner. The Wii and DS are still doing better than the other systems. Oh yeah, for every dumb game like Wii Music, we get Mario Galaxy.

    I guess Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid Other M, Professor Layton 2, Mario and Luigi 3, Zelda Wii, Spirit Tracks Golden Sun, WarioWare DIY and more really show Nintendo is giving up on the "hardcore" huh? Fanboys make me laugh.

  • Jhedan

    Posted Aug 2, 2009 10:09 am PT

    Well i kinda expected that, sooner or later people is going to be tired of the same shovelware Nintendo tries to feed the Wii fanbase.
    Tons of poor quality titles, lack of hardware to run better games, no HD, etc...
    I just think of the Wii as an upgraded Gamecube with a fancy controller...

  • sothca

    Posted Aug 2, 2009 8:04 am PT

    @giddyupgroudon

    my list is longer!WHERE'S MY KIRBY, STARFOX, F-ZERO, PHANTASY STAR, SONIC (with all the 'tude and fast motion goodness!), MEGAMAN (X), TY THE TASMANIAN TIGER, CHAOS FIELD (don't think they're gonna make more), VIEWTIFUL JOE .... aww man thats all i can think of now...

  • sothca

    Posted Aug 2, 2009 7:48 am PT

    well i stuck with nintendo from the beginning my consoles have been: NES, SNES, dreamcast (not nintendo), gamecube, wii...

    now i have pretty good amount of experience and i remember playing 3rd party (capcom) on par with 1st party (nintendo) now-a-days i don't see much of 3rd party (megaman went handheld, and sonic,R.I.P., died in my book *you don't give him a sword!!TT_TT*) and those where the games that released in quality and at a good rate.

  • hatieshorrer

    Posted Aug 2, 2009 5:23 am PT

    @junor69

    Thats an interesting theory when the Wii turned the video game industry upside down because there were and are more adults playing it then kids.

  • ColdGen

    Posted Aug 2, 2009 4:35 am PT

    Wow and every top 10 game is a Nintendo title?

  • junor69

    Posted Aug 2, 2009 3:38 am PT

    Wii was always going to get massive sale why think of all the parents buying this systems for kids.


    Problem is parents think if they kids play Wii is more healthy then playing 360 or PS3, and that’s how you sell substandard product for top $$.


    Now with new control systems for X360 and PS3 I think tables will turn badly for Wii, about time free ride is over .

  • beardrewz

    Posted Aug 2, 2009 1:10 am PT

    The PS3 will fall before the Wii does and already has.

  • bennae66

    Posted Aug 1, 2009 10:40 pm PT

    the big n gets cred for achieving what it has done so far. i dont use my wii much but they turned the industry around. i prefer my 360 and to a lesser extent, my expensive bluray3, but nintendo gets kudos nonetheless.

  • forhekset

    Posted Aug 1, 2009 8:03 pm PT

    Bout time they were punished for their stubborn unacceptance of modern gaming archetypes. Of course that's not all there is to it, but I like to emphasise that.

    True they're taking the biggest hits cause they're hitting the widest market, and not people that will still buy games regardless of economic climates (eg hardcore), but it does (or did?) show how well they were doing what they were doing.

  • alien100000

    Posted Aug 1, 2009 3:49 pm PT

    The Wii has crap games for little kids and fat people trying to lose weight, no games for hardcore gamers. Thats why it fails and thats why I bought a PS3.

  • dwd_27

    Posted Aug 1, 2009 1:46 pm PT

    They need to publish a game that everyone like's more games like wii sports resort not games like the conduit

  • MetalCore84

    Posted Aug 1, 2009 1:05 pm PT

    hatieshorrer

    What I'm saying is that the Wii has the worst bad game to good game ratio and how the hell did you think that I said the 360 and the PS3 have too many AAA titles and the Wii is bogging them down?
    I meant all three of them are spewing out a lot of garbage (though the Wii happens to have the most). If anything, the Wii's bad lineup is helping the other consoles with more hard core gamer purchase's.

  • Inconnux

    Posted Aug 1, 2009 12:52 pm PT

    lol @ fanboys... the Wii still outsold the PS3 2:1

  • hatieshorrer

    Posted Aug 1, 2009 5:19 am PT

    @ZookGuy

    So kiddy games are scaring adults away from the Wii. Its funny youd say that about the home console that currently has highest number of adult gamers.

  • Scarshi

    Posted Aug 1, 2009 3:05 am PT

    Profits rise and fall all the time too, especially since its a freakin' recession. Unless they go down and keep going down I think its too early to abandon Nintendo ship. I don't have stock so why care? There are already tons of games for all consoles I haven't played. Since when is the "latest" game any that much better than the ones from earlier that were also the "latest" at launch?

    Need to stop thinking now and just be a gamer. Bring on the ice-coffee and chips, I'm ready to play!! (browses through 30 console games ...)

  • Scarshi

    Posted Aug 1, 2009 2:54 am PT

    Maybe those figures are reflected also in the fact anyone wanting a Wii has got one already and those without aren't interested or just play on a friends, or can't afford it? How many families are there in the world that still want gaming systems? Most that buy a console are happy with one, but don't find the need to buy another and another (PS, XBOX360, Wii, *PC* - not console i know).

    Also, a very important point, is the extra costs of hardware on top of the Wii as well as the games themselves. All the bits you buy to play the games aren't cheap and add up in the long term. Many already add up the costs of this before purchasing and probably think its just not worth it, or think buying a different console is better value (graphics, bluray, etc) ... and ... I have a headache!

  • YoJim8obaJoe

    Posted Aug 1, 2009 1:09 am PT

    can anyone remember when nintendo used to make.....wait for it....games.Man it seems so long ago now

  • abosh1

    Posted Aug 1, 2009 12:17 am PT

    thats a shame

  • runefa

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 11:45 pm PT

    o, and i hope that nintendo dont let us ds lite owners without games just because they made the nintendo ds!, THAT will be really a let down, cuzz come on, just making exlusive games because it can download some ware games and has cameras, that isnt a very god reason.

  • runefa

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 11:41 pm PT

    to drivinggod2005: well first of all hello, and then yea they should, but as far as i know being a developer isn´t always easy, you know, god games take much time because of the details that they need to be that special, i wish they were faster, but if they become faster they will surely make crappy games, i somewat understand a little the developers, afterall, a character that they make in a week or two for a game, just a character, im shure it will take me forever to make a crappy looking character if i didnt knew about what does it takes to be a developers, and the little details that they have to chek every move they make, nice to meet you all and.... pleas dont take it with me.

  • LindBergh2007

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 9:30 pm PT

    Tracey8969. You dream is a delusion. It will not happen. Besides despite the economic downturn and the fact that SegaSammy too annouced both a quarter loss and a gain, they are preparing to re-enter the 1st party market for 2010.

  • phil-_-meh

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 7:36 pm PT

    so much for "it prints money " quote fanboys used to say about the WII

  • xblane

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 6:00 pm PT

    @ZookGuy: there is alot of trash on the Wii, but remember, the same thing happened with the PS2. Cheap devs will just try and cash in on the highest selling console.

  • ZookGuy

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 4:20 pm PT

    The problem is the Wii is putting out a lot of kiddie games, scaring away the 20-30 year old market buyers for the Wii because they notice that with every "No More Heroes" the Wii gets 20 stupid third party kiddie games. Yet when they look at the 360, they see Halo and Gears of War, and with the PS3 they see Resistance and Infamous. Not saying the Wii is a bad console, but Nintendo needs to think about the 20-30 year old and hardcore gamer market.

  • Killingspree303

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 4:14 pm PT

    I hate the new Nintendo. Before Wii they created games for gamers. Now... Well, they're not as good as Microsoft and Sony with gamer games. Sorry Nintendo, but I have totally lost my interest for your products because of this.

  • giddyupgroudon

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 4:12 pm PT

    About the lack of titles, WHERE'S MY KIRBY, STARFOX, F-ZERO, ICE CLIMBERS, AND NEW POKEMON Wii GAME? That'll raise sales!!!! AND!!!! Where the hell are resident evil archives 0,2 & 3?!

  • drivinggod2005

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 3:43 pm PT

    To me, this is kind of a good thing that this has happened. It is basically telling Nintendo to start releasing much more bigger releases a lot more frequently. If they keep just releasing major releases every few months or so like they have done recently, then they will be in big trouble. I am not slating the Wii or Nintendo in any way. I think that they are a great company and have made a fantastic console. I just wish that they would start making much bigger releases more often, rather than letting all these 3rd party titles take over.

  • OF-5

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 3:38 pm PT

    Nintendo really has abandoned the true hardcore gaming community which is a shame because in my younger years the fact that you were buying a 1st party Nintendo game usually meant that you where in for an innovative yet entertaining experience. Now it seems that your usually in for a cheap thrown together 2 hour game aimed at ages 3-7 and 70-90.

  • ZippyDSMLee

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 3:22 pm PT

    And still nin has made more money than M$ and $ony's consoles combined.

    There's something to building the unit to where it makes a profit and not priced over 300 freaking bucks. Its just a shame the WII dose not have great control's....

    The motion plus and the fact(or so I hear) the WII can not be frimware undated as so control would be better without it...its just as messy as the 360s high fail rate or the PS3's disastrous launch....

    Don;t get me wrong I like the WII and all but I hate slack azz products and the WII/PS3/360 are full of them....to full for my liking...

  • jello_flouride

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 2:41 pm PT

    Well if nintendo stopped letting all this 3rd party shovelware being released then maybe they could concentrate on higher quality titles? I doubt very many people want to play a lumberjack game...
    I'm sure a new zelda title will boost sales.

  • brendanhunt1

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 2:07 pm PT

    need more games linked with the miis

  • ico92

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 1:07 pm PT

    in fact the controler itself is in acurate hence why nintendo released wii motion plus which is another way of them saying sorry we screwed up pay an extra 30$ to get the motion control you thought the wii had. yes it can work well with fps but i'll take the mouse and keyboard over that any day of the week, so the point of this is what is nintendo actually doing for the wii i mean its been almost to years scince we have seen one of the big 3's (mario,metroid,zelda)appearence on the wii and its gonna be 1year before we see any of them so what is nintendo doing with the wii? the wii is a succesful console but copare its success to the NES,SNES,PS1,PS2 is it for the exact same reason? no, the wii's sucess is based on the casual gamer ,you could say mabey every casual gamer owns a wii now so mabey thats why its sales have plumeted...but i dont know? its a recession what do you expect. sorry for the multiple posts

  • ico92

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 1:06 pm PT

    i mean think about it, its sucess is based on the motion controller and all thats done is make gaming more accesible for the casual gamer and even still its never actually gone beyond waggling a controler, wii gamers always say gameplay>graphics but the wii offers both bad gameplay and bad graphics most hardcore games on the wii havnt really benefited from the motion control would mario galaxy be rated any less had it been on the 360 or ps3 does motion control really give it that edge what about twilight princess and yes metroid has great controls but so did metroid prime on gamecube and that used analogue?

  • ico92

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 1:05 pm PT

    i dont hate the wii but may i ask what the wii has actually done for gaming does it deserve its success because the console appeals mostly to one demographic(casual aka cr@p gamer)

  • LindBergh2007

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 12:44 pm PT

    GamerEternal. Figures. 1up is fraught with diehard Nintendo fanboys.

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