The future is bright, what with Animal Crossing and Monster Hunter coming out for the 3DS next year.
Nintendo shrinks 3DS losses
By
Jane Douglas, Section Editor
Quarterly operating losses down on 2011; sales and profitability of 3DS "improving" for Nintendo.
Nintendo has reported a smaller loss than expected between April and June this year. The firm posted a ¥10.3 billion ($132 million) operating loss in its earnings report, an improvement on the ¥37.7 billion ($482 million) quarterly loss reported a year earlier.
In particular, sales of the 3DS have risen, Nintendo said, with 1,860,000 units sold worldwide between April and June, more than doubling the 710,000 sold in the same period in 2011. The resurgent sales followed a substantial price cut in August last year.
Total worldwide sales of the 3DS now stand at 19 million, with the profit on each device sold having improved since launch. The 3DS has been selling at a loss, the company confirmed.
Wii sales, however, continue to taper off. Only 710,000 units of the six-year-old Nintendo console were sold between April and June, down from 1,560,000 in the same period last year.
Nintendo continues to forecast that its full-year operating profit will bounce back to ¥35 billion ($447 million) for the year ending March 31, 2013. The firm will look to the late 2012 launch of its new console, the Wii U, to boost its sales between now and then.
By
Jane Douglas, Section Editor
Jane rejoices in the title of Section Editor, GameSpot UK. Fears: spiders, oblivion.
148 comments
i just traded in a bunch of old games for mario 3dland at a local gaming store...now all i need is a 3DS bahaha
1 Like well i'm getting the 3DS XL in a few days, it has a solid library of at least 15 games that are interresting to me, and with at least 3-4 years on the market, this will be good enough for me. It seems like a good machine. I'm very excited for the Wii U too. The past couple of months have been really slow on the console front. It's been nothing but sequels and prequels on the xbox and ps3, so i truly found love for my wii again with Xenoblade. And picked up the Metroid Trilogy, which you never go wrong with.I actually thought Nintendo was out of the market, and even though Xbox 720 (or whatever call it) and PS4 might deliever better graphics, i'm honostly tired of these cinematic-games. I miss good old games with fantasy elements and that adventure feeling! Not all these wasteland shooters
2 Like 710K is bloody good after 6 years. And with a new console on the way and games releases slowing down on the Wii I think that is an awesome figure!
3 Like I am buying Wii U at launch to launch window for the following:
New Super Mario Bros. U
Pikmin 3
Lego City Undercover
Project P-100
Assassin Creed 3
Alien: Colonial Marines
ZombiU
Rayman Legends
Sonic and Sega AllStars Transformed
Dragon Quest X
Game & Wario
if Packed in Wii U then Nintendo Land.
Future Games for Wii U that are coming:
Zelda
Super Smash Bros. Universe
Retro Studios Game
Monolith Soft Game
Star Fox
Metroid
Super Mario Universe, Galaxy or whatever the 3D Mario game will be
Not Confirmed but probably would come soon:
Fire Emblem
Sonic Platforming game either Colors Sequel or new game
Final Fantasy 15
Kingdom Hearts 3
F-Zero GX 2
Sin and Punishment 3
Wave Race
1080 Snowboarding
Excite Bots, Bike, Truck or whatever
Monster Hunter 5
Resident Evil 7
Pokemon Battle Revolution 2
Kirby Mass Attack 2
Donkey Kong Country Return 2
Mario Kart Universe
Battlefield 4
Wii U will be the ultimate Platform
Haters gonna hate
2 Like The Wii has gone out with a whimper instead of a bang like the PS2, but ultimately it still won the current gen Console War. I don't think Wii U will win the next one, but it should do better than the Gamecube at least.
Also its nice the 3DS is improving. The price cut and taking the initial loss was a good decision by Nintendo which will help them in the long run.
another reason wii u is a must buy is well its new , and unlike what fanboys say its got games i want already-nsmbu zombieu me3 batman aa complete, ac3 etc etc
1 Like nintendo wii u is a day one buy for me as well , as for xbox 720 -it depends on if the console is fail proof , and sony - depends on $$$$ i will not spend anything over 400 this gen , at all especally with what happened to the hd twins this gen--flooded with games i dont like and --- one of them tend to break down heck of a lot ,no thanks not going into a fps war next gen this time i mean it -
4 Like I Love Nintendo, and always will lol. Wii U = Day1 Buy. as for PS4, its depends on how arrogrant & stupid Sony acts, with removing gaming features that will determine if I see any value in their next gen system or not.
How much do you think the large size version of 3DS will cost? It will come out anytime soon. Will they cut the price also?
Going to retail at $200, so $30 more than the original 3DS. Considering how Nintendo rarely cuts the price of their consoles, I wouldn't expect one until maybe a year or two later. It's coming out in August 19th, launching together with New Super Mario Bros. 2.
2 Like @abHS4L88 Thanks for the info. I was thinking the same. It could be a year or two before they drop the price. I wanted to buy a bigger one for my son. 25 years later Mario is still around, now it's my son's turn to play Mario games.
2 Like Keep in mind that the "loss" is just a minus on their set budget.
They are not earning as much money as they thought they would, but they are still earning money.
Think that needed to be clarified for some comments below.
I'm not really surprised at Nintendo's losses. At first glance, it didn't look like a big leap from the DS, so I think that may have detoured people a little bit. And people saw what Sony was cooking up with the Vita, and saw that it would be worth it to wait for the more high-tech handheld. And with the Vita's price-point at $250 along with the 3DS, that's just one more reason not to get the 3DS. Not to mention the recession. So, Nintendo really had a lot going against them during that time.
@ZanohI agree. Razer didn't really have his facts straight, (no offense, but I don't know who told you the 3DS cost more than the Vita) but context aside, he was definitely right about price point; there's a reason Nintendo cut the 3DS's price by 70 bucks almost immediately after launch.
1 Like How well the Wii U will do for them all depends on the introduction price. I hope they wont make the same mistake as they did with the introduction price of the 3DS, because than the start will for sure be a very bad one since the launch games are not that great either that it makes it a must buy on day one.
@1nitram2 From what we've seen so far it should be priced at $250 even if they have to sell at a loss.
1 Like Not surprising really. I'm not sure how their Wii U will do, as it really didn't have a good E3. I'm not buying it immediately, that's for sure.
1 Like Sometimes I regret to have bought the Wii. I have 5 titles + 5 GC titles now and they pretty much resume what "Wii era" was for me: exclusive games = few games, a white colored console = stained and dusty console.
Being pretty sloppy here in the Nintendo news section eh?
I was said by Iwata 3 days ago that they know that losses, cause of major development costs of new games and console will affect still 9 months to 1 year, but they can afford it. Sloppy sloppy.
12 Like There are still some people complaining about 3DS software. *facepalm*. Of course there will be a Zelda for the 3DS, and a Metroid. It's only a matter of time. Although, I'd kill to play Majora's Mask on the go. Keep up the good work Nintendo. We need you to succeed for our industry to flourish.
while MS is ranking in billions with a 'B' nintendo is happy that atleast they lost fewer 100milions than last year
@steelmouth Microsoft reported their first loss ever a few days ago, so your info is a lil so so...
5 Like @steelmouth dont forget that Microsoft would of made those billions without being in the game industry at all...
I think the billions he's talking about are from their gaming division. Nintendo still makes money in their arcades in Japan though.
2 Like Nintendo is make good efforts to get systems out of the stores...the games /should/ be the money-maker later on then.
I wanted to almost get another XL at the $130 price cut...yet now it might just be time to upgrade and get current quicker--- 3DSXL this year, there are just about enough /solid/ games to justify it.
(I like to consider that for $200 a system, there ought to be at least 5-6 must-haves worth investing in...almost there.)
WiiU still has to prove the library first though.
Either way,
Good news, Nintendo will be fine.
2 Like For me, the Wii U's launch library is already good enough because I'm in no way loaded with money so the only 2 (or 3) games I plan on getting at launch is Assassin's Creed 3 and Pikmin 3. If I have more money, I'll get either Rayman Legends or New Super Mario Bros. U (never got one before so yeah, although I am getting the 3DS one).
@abHS4L88 Do you not own a ps3/360? Seems kind of pointless to buy the Wii U at this point in time if you own a ps3/360.
1 Like I do, but I also love Nintendo's line up of exclusives (and never really cared about the 1st party Sony and Microsoft titles) so if I can get Nintendo's 1st party games along with great multiplatform games, then I'm getting it even if it means that the next game I'll probably get for my 360 is Tomb Raider. Plus unlike the other 2, Nintendo almost never releases an updated version of their home console.
4 Like cutting the price of the 3DS was a smart move by Nintendo. It helped turn things around even if the 3DS has yet to turn a profit on the hardware itself. 19 million of the 3DS sold from March 2011-July 2012. At least Nintendo can make money on 3DS games. The Wii has a mere 4 months as Nintendo current home console. Still selling maybe Nintendo will reach the 100 million mark yet. I cannot see Nintendo supporting the Wii when the Wii U launches. Nintendo seems to be weathering the economic downstorm well.
1 Like @TheZeroPercent i dont know why someone would buy a wii at this time unless they missed out on certain exclusives that were either on the wii or gamecube console. however i am not surprised by the improvement of the 3ds sales. people that say the 3ds is a failure do fail to remember that alot of 7th generation consoles didnt start out perfect. i think the 1 with the best start of those was the 360 but im not sure bc i really didnt start gaming on 7th generation consoles till they all really started having success. i got my wii in 2009 so i had more games that were new to me to play. ive always been a fan of gaming in general although i definetly wouldnt say im a hardcore gamer(unless oldschool resident evil or super smash bros or sports games somehow counts, which i dont consider old school resident evil being hardcore anymore at least not as hardcore as compared to some of the games being played this generation.) one thing i will not listen to is the console wars that is constantly being displayed on all console gaming wars. i am fed up with it (to me the console wars have been flaming up even more since the ps1,n64,sega saturn days (id include the atari jaguar but im not entirely sure if it is a part of that generation.) i really hope 4 the best for all major gaming companies so i can continue to have fun playing video games. 1 thing i can definetly say is i hope the first person shooter(COD, Battlefield) genre has big changes. they are fun but i got tired of playing them awhile ago..
@guitarguy3349 @TheZeroPercent i see yah never been poor, the poor dont buy anything current they buy the old stuff at the give away prices, i still have poor relations asking me how much does a PS2 (yes 2 not 3) cost so they get it for their kids
and trust me if the kid gets a ps2 he will be the coolest awesomest kid in their pack
@steelmouth @TheZeroPercent actually if you were talking to me i am poor. The only gaming systems i have are a wii and a ps2. I choose the Wii bc its the most cost effective system atm. And i didnt get my ps2 till 2006 i also got my wii in 2009. So yeah i know what it is to be poor. at least i get to still have fun and play videogames. so i am satisfied with what i got even though the lack of games on the wii had me bored some months. I normally waited till the good nintendo exclusive games to come out b4 id think about buying any games. The last wii game i bought was skyward sword and that will be the last one most likely.
@guitarguy3349 I'm not sure if there has been an official announcement on it yet, but I'd like to see F-zero return
@steelmouth @TheZeroPercent true true. i 4got about how cheap a wii is now. But to be honest it can be kinda a good idea if there is several of the good games on the wii that someone hasnt played yet and they feel like investing in some different hardware/software. there were some good games on the wii but it isnt comparable to what PS360 got. The best titles on nintendo's consoles for the last 15 years have been produced by there 1st or 2nd party developers.
anyway i still think it would be smarter to invest on a wiiu instead of buying a wii for the 5-15 games you may actually want for the wii console. i mean if you were still interested in some wii games you could buy wiiu and still buy those games those wii games you wanted.
I think that if nintendo can get better titles around launch date of the wiiu that it will be more successful with than the wii(at least in terms of software sold) but they need to be able to keep great games being developed. I also think they need to come up with a brand new game series. im fine with mario, zelda, metroid, smash bros, kirby, and donkey kong, but i think they need something that they can give the hardcore gamer to attract some hardcore gamers to there console. If they do this i hope it isnt a Call of duty/Battlefield clone. Well see though.
5 Like If they just released more 1st party titles on launch or EVEN BY NOW, they might be happier, mario is nice, but Zelda, Metroid, Animal crossing etc. would only make sales better. Surprisingly enough though, the Vita software collection makes the 3DS one look like gold.
@Zabc0 "mario is nice, but Zelda, Metroid, Animal crossing etc. would only make sales better."No they freaking don't. Those games don't sell alot, and it's nothing compared to Mario.
@Zabc0 Ya not going to lie after the 3DS launch screw up I was expecting Sony to have an impressive line up for the Vita... Instead they made the exact same screw up Nintendo did, overpriced handheld with no games. I know it is not really overpriced for the hardware but that's the way most consumers are looking at it(including myself).
7 Like Start making good games besides Mario and sales will go up. The games selections currently sucks if you are older than 8.
3 Like @Da1ShrpSh0trGrl Kid Icarus Uprising, OoT 3D, Star Fox 3D, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid 3, Super Street Fighter 4, Bit.Trip, BlazBlue, Cave Story 3D, and not to mention the fuck load of awesome games coming out.
And uh, moron, Mario's a system seller. They're making losses because they lose money on the production, not on the game's fucking sales. Learn what the hell you're talking about, you insecure brat.
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