Topic: Nintendo to Post Major Financial Loss

[ejamer]

It's not a big surprise, but for Nintendo it's a loss of prestige and by extension, Iwata also shares. When a company can run for 132 years without an annual loss, when it does happen, that history makes it a big deal. Iwata should be sweating bullets at this point. We all know what happened to Gunpie Yokoi and his mistake was far less than this.

Fair enough, and I agree that Iwata must be very concerned about how this reflects on him.


On the upside: Maybe it will finally be a good time to buy some souvenir Nintendo stock after the (rumored) loss is announced. It's been terribly overpriced for years.

[Ian Sane]

Okay, I've got a bit of schadenfreude going here.  For years Nintendo's boneheaded decisions have affected us, their customers, but not them.  All their stupid obvious avoidable ****-ups screwed us out of third party support but they still made a profit.  There was no real incentive for them to improve because they still made money.  I didn't want them to go out of business but I really wanted them to feel the pinch for once to force them to get their **** together.

Well here it is.  The arrogance of consistently making fistfuls of money while their fans deal yet again with an undersupported system and all sorts of unnecessary restrictions and limitations took them to 2011, when they released jack **** for their old systems and released a new handheld which also had jack **** for it.  This was the "we can do anything, we're industructible" attitude taken to its extreme.  The whole Wii seemed like a big "**** you".  "We can released half-baked ****, refurbish the Gamecube and make no effort in attracting developer support and make MORE MONEY THAN EVER! HA HA HA HA HA!!"

It was going to bite them in the ass eventually.  It had to.  Now it has.  Good.  I feel Iwata ruined Nintendo and turned them into the exact sort of company I used to praise them for not being.  I would love to see his ass canned.

[Kytim89]

@ Ian Sane
 
Amen. Nintendo needs to learn the meaning of "fan service." The other companies such as Sony, Microsoft, Apple and all the third parties atleast try to appease their customers to some extent. Granted that they to are money grubbers like Nintendo, but if any deals with any non-Nnitendo systems and games do they feel ripped off, cheated and abandoned?

[broodwars]

I feel Iwata ruined Nintendo and turned them into the exact sort of company I used to praise them for not being.  I would love to see his ass canned.

In favor of who, exactly?  Who would you rather have running Nintendo corporate instead of Iwata?  I'm not overly fond of him myself, as I think he's allowed NoA to run the Wii branding into the ground by not releasing Wii software and he didn't do a good job of attracting 3rd party Wii support.  Plus, I find him very dull and unconvincing to listen to during speeches, though not as fake-sounding as Reggie.

That said, despite some lapses in judgement he's done a pretty good job with Nintendo in his tenure, and it's hard to imagine anyone else with the business skills and leadership to lead Nintendo forward.

[Kytim89]

If NoA had not been allowed to run the Wii brand into the ground then do you think Nintendo's financial situation would be a little less severe?

[broodwars]

If NoA had not been allowed to run the Wii brand into the ground then do you think Nintendo's financial situation would be a little less severe?

I don't see why not.  Over the course of the Wii's lifespan, we've missed out on occasional games from time to time here in NA, not just the Operation Rainfall games.  I'm talking about things like New Play Control Pikmin 2, Disaster: Day of Crisis, Fatal Frame IV, etc.  Some of these games were released in Europe in English.  Now, none of these would likely be big sellers for Nintendo in America, but at minimal cost to do so (Fatal Frame IV notwithstanding since that never had an English version) it would have been pretty easy for NoA to fill in some of those massive software gaps and keep the Wii just a little bit more relevant.  Depending on the additional costs for replication and marketing, I could see them turning a modest profit on these games.

And any profit NoA could have made but chose not to would have helped improve this financial report, especially since NoA is Nintendo's most profitable region.

[Kytim89]

If NoA had not been allowed to run the Wii brand into the ground then do you think Nintendo's financial situation would be a little less severe?

I don't see why not.  Over the course of the Wii's lifespan, we've missed out on occasional games from time to time here in NA, not just the Operation Rainfall games.  I'm talking about things like New Play Control Pikmin 2, Disaster: Day of Crisis, Fatal Frame IV, etc.  Some of these games were released in Europe in English.  Now, none of these would likely be big sellers for Nintendo in America, but at minimal cost to do so (Fatal Frame IV notwithstanding since that never had an English version) it would have been pretty easy for NoA to fill in some of those massive software gaps and keep the Wii just a little bit more relevant.  Depending on the additional costs for replication and marketing, I could see them turning a modest profit on these games.

And any profit NoA could have made but chose not to would have helped improve this financial report, especially since NoA is Nintendo's most profitable region.

I will bet my last dollar that home base is probably on the phone with Reggie right now telling him to get the ball wrolling and get as many of those games into north America as possible throughout next year. home base may not care, but if a couple of guys like us realize that the figure head of Nintendo's major market has fumbled the ball and contributed to a financial loss when it could have been aliviated then something will change. This is why I think we will get Operation Rainfall in 2012 to make up for the shortfall in profits.

[Ceric]

@ Ian Sane
 
Amen. Nintendo needs to learn the meaning of "fan service." The other companies such as Sony, Microsoft, Apple and all the third parties atleast try to appease their customers to some extent. Granted that they to are money grubbers like Nintendo, but if any deals with any non-Nnitendo systems and games do they feel ripped off, cheated and abandoned?

I don't agree about Apple but I'm going to leave it there.

I'm hoping Nintendo does end up negligible profitable.  In other word just enough profit to say they had one but its just above the margin of error.

I think the Wii was a great short term decision at the right time.  I don't think it was recognize as such and Nintendo didn't start the Transitioning to long term viability.

NoA needs a Shakedown.  For example People like Skylanders.  Nintendo has the only system with a Unique Portable Skylanders experience.  I would  make sure that people knew that the 3DS will let you take Skylanders on the go.

Online system is a joke to this day.  Granted it is better but it is still way to slow and Disorganized.  There should be a clear investment into UI study focus group testing with WiiU in all regions except Japan.  Its clear Japan idea of a UI and the rest of the worlds are sorely at odds.

If I was Iwata I would be afraid for my position as well.  I don't think Nintendo would let him go, as much as reallocate him to a lower position.  There is absolutely no excuse to be made for the amount of Hardware Nintendo has gotten out this generation for them to not be seeing good game revenue except mismanagement.

I have to agree NoA over Pruned the Wii.  With such a large install base every niche title should find someone to play it.

It may be time to let NoE and NoA do some homegrown development for there markets.

Note: This was written over the course of the last 5 or so responses.

[broodwars]

I think we could see The Last Story in NA in 2012, but I think that's about the extent our luck goes.  The time to release Xenoblade would have been alongside the European release, not 6 months to a year later.  And Pandora's Tower is a lost cause in NA, as it's generally viewed as the weakest of the 3 games and the one with the least marketable pedigree.

But I think the Last Story has a good shot considering how well Xenoblade seems to have sold in Europe and Nintendo's current financial free-fall.

[Kytim89]

We might get every game if this financial free fall is as bad as the posts say it is. Xenoblade could still be released in spring of next year and Last Story and Pandora's Tower along side the European releases.

[ejamer]

We might get every game if this financial free fall is as bad as the posts say it is. Xenoblade could still be released in spring of next year and Last Story and Pandora's Tower along side the European releases.

I wish this was true but don't believe it. If anything, Nintendo of America will probably be even more risk averse since they can't afford to make another blunder and lose money on niche releases (even if they are limited print runs).

[Ian Sane]

I feel Iwata ruined Nintendo and turned them into the exact sort of company I used to praise them for not being.  I would love to see his ass canned.

In favor of who, exactly?  Who would you rather have running Nintendo corporate instead of Iwata?  I'm not overly fond of him myself, as I think he's allowed NoA to run the Wii branding into the ground by not releasing Wii software and he didn't do a good job of attracting 3rd party Wii support.  Plus, I find him very dull and unconvincing to listen to during speeches, though not as fake-sounding as Reggie.

That said, despite some lapses in judgement he's done a pretty good job with Nintendo in his tenure, and it's hard to imagine anyone else with the business skills and leadership to lead Nintendo forward.

I don't know who.  But I do know what kind of Nintendo I want to see.  The whole reason I became a Nintendo fan was because of their commitment to quality.  They made the best games in the world.  So I would like to see someone commited to that.  Lazily reusing elements from Wii Sports Resort in Pilotwings Resort does not reflect a commitment to quality.  Neither does shoehorning unresponsive controls into games because of the marketing gimmick potential it has.  I also want someone who truly respects their customers and wants to please them.  Nintendo does not come across as caring if their customers are actually content.  It's just as long as they get their business.  So I want someone that wants to please us.  They want to provide us with options and ensure that the game selection on their systems truly covers all bases and has the top third party games on it.

But who is this person?  I don't know.  They need someone who adores videogames but also has good business sense.

[Luigi Dude]

It was going to bite them in the ass eventually.  It had to.  Now it has.  Good.  I feel Iwata ruined Nintendo and turned them into the exact sort of company I used to praise them for not being.  I would love to see his ass canned.

Looks like I need to post the chart again.


This is why Iwata isn't going no where.  He's made Nintendo more money in less then a decade then the entire company had made in it's over 100+ year existence.  Unlike Western companies that might fire someone for less, Japanese companies are a little more loyal than that.
 
Plus the whole reason for Nintendo's loss is only two things, the 3DS underperforming and Nintendo getting f*cked over by the exchange rate because of how weak the Dollar and Euro are at the moment compared to the Yen.  One of these things Iwata has no control over unless he starts paying for political campaigns in America and Europe in order to try and get people elected who might be able to fix this problem, but I don't see him doing that.
 
So the reason for this loss that Iwata actually does have control over is the 3DS, which he actually has turned around with the price drop, which is why 3DS sales have increased around the entire world since then.  The only problem is they lost a lot before the price drop, and after the price drop they're selling the system at a loss, which isn't helping on the hardware side of things.  Of course with Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, and in Japan, Monster Hunter, the 3DS software sales should start picking up.
 
In order for Iwata to be fired, Nintendo would have to take this type of loss for at least several years in a row.  With 3DS sales on the rise with big titles as well, the only thing that would do that is if they completely mess up the Wii U launch, but after what's happend with the 3DS, you can bet they're going to handle the launch of the Wii U much better then the 3DS because they now know they can't release an overpriced system with no big titles.
 

I also want someone who truly respects their customers and wants to please them.  Nintendo does not come across as caring if their customers are actually content.  It's just as long as they get their business.  So I want someone that wants to please us.  They want to provide us with options and ensure that the game selection on their systems truly covers all bases and has the top third party games on it.

But who is this person?  I don't know.  They need someone who adores videogames but also has good business sense.

In Japan, Iwata is this person.  Everything you mentioned, Iwata has done for the Japanese Nintendo fans.  Iwata has given the Japanese Nintendo fans a wide variety games, create lots of new IP's for them, and gotten major third party series like Dragon Quest and Monster Hunter.
 
Most of your complaints come down to wanting NOA to treat its fans better, but getting rid of Iwata wouldn't do that.  Reggie's the one who tells Iwata how the North American market is and what he feels the fans will like.  If Iwata was fired, he'd just be replaced by another Japanese executive at the company who Reggie would say the exact same things he told Iwata about.

[oohhboy]

I don't see Iwata getting fired over this. If I did, I would have said so long ago. He is more than likely going to take another haircut on his salary taking him down to the bread line. The damn ironic thing is that Iwata had moved up the 3DS in order to prevent this from happening in the first place, but poor planning and that E3 price shock had double down on his problems.

Europe has traditionally been overpaying for decades when it came to videogames. Nintendo's assumption was that could be continued indefinitely. America relative to the rest of the world has been underpaying for the same period.

No doubt Iwata is an excellent engineer and manager, but the 3DS and the WiiU are the first thing that are completely his and his alone. I have no doubt that Hiroshi Yamauchi had advised Iwata during the last transition or had a game plan that Iwata could follow in advance. Hiroshi Yamauchi was a businessman first and a creative second. Iwata is the best they could find inside or outside(Was never going to happen) the company and he still remains the best choice. Iwata needs someone behind him to steady the boat as it were. Hiroshi Yamauchi had creatives like Shiggy and Gunpie to level him. Iwata lost his equivalent when Yamauchi finally left the board in 2005. Yamauchi had made one last appearence for the company with the quote 'if it succeeds, we rise to the heavens, if it fails, we sink into hell.' in 2004.

The 3DS was a very reactive move in a company that has traditionally proactive, but so far the WiiU has been proactive rather than he latter when it has come to the machine itself. Whether it has a proper business plan to follow through on remains to be seen.

[Urkel]

Okay, I've got a bit of schadenfreude going here.  For years Nintendo's boneheaded decisions have affected us, their customers, but not them.  All their stupid obvious avoidable ****-ups screwed us out of third party support but they still made a profit.  There was no real incentive for them to improve because they still made money.  I didn't want them to go out of business but I really wanted them to feel the pinch for once to force them to get their **** together.

Well here it is.  The arrogance of consistently making fistfuls of money while their fans deal yet again with an undersupported system and all sorts of unnecessary restrictions and limitations took them to 2011, when they released jack **** for their old systems and released a new handheld which also had jack **** for it.  This was the "we can do anything, we're industructible" attitude taken to its extreme.  The whole Wii seemed like a big "**** you".  "We can released half-baked ****, refurbish the Gamecube and make no effort in attracting developer support and make MORE MONEY THAN EVER! HA HA HA HA HA!!"

It was going to bite them in the ass eventually.  It had to.  Now it has.  Good.  I feel Iwata ruined Nintendo and turned them into the exact sort of company I used to praise them for not being.  I would love to see his ass canned.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
 
I was going to make a sarcastic troll post of a typical Pretendo fan celebrating this news and how Nintendo was going to get "bit in the ass" for ignoring the "hardcore gamers", but I was too busy. Trolling takes effort, y'know?
 
But this post... hahaha. It's almost word for word verbatim what I was going to say. Then again, spambots are predictable.

[Chozo Ghost]

Isn't Sony also based in Japan? So how is it that this exchange rate stuff hurts Nintendo really bad but not Sony? Microsoft is based in the U.S. so I guess they are probably immune to it.

[Ceric]

Isn't Sony also based in Japan? So how is it that this exchange rate stuff hurts Nintendo really bad but not Sony? Microsoft is based in the U.S. so I guess they are probably immune to it.

I wouldn't say Immune but, from my understanding Sony has a more sales in Japan plus, they have other divisions they can do some accounting tricks with.

Same for MS, most of there sales is in the US and yet again more divisions, accounting tricks, yadda yadda.