Topic: Nintendo Posts 43 Billion Yen Loss in Fiscal Year 2011

[NWR_Neal]

The loss is a little bit better than expected, but it still sucks.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/29977

Nintendo officially announced a 43 billion yen loss during the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2012.

It is nearly a 20 billion yen decrease from the 65 billion yen loss forecast in January, but that was mainly because of an unanticipated depreciation of the yen over the past few months. Their sales were actually down 12 billion yen from their previous estimate.

It's not all doom and gloom, though, as the 3DS, which is still being sold at a loss following the price cut last summer, was the fastest-selling system ever in Japan last year, selling more than five million units. Overall, the 3DS moved 13.53 million units over the course of the fiscal year across all territories. However, it was noted in the company's financial report that "the start of the year-end sales season was slower in comparison to the last few years," meaning they couldn't recover from the rough first half of last year.

The company is projecting a modest profit for the upcoming fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2013. The 3DS is expected to be sold at a profit starting in the middle of the fiscal year (around September), which is coincidentally the same time that New Super Mario Bros. 2 is slated to launch. New already-announced iterations in the Brain Age and Animal Crossing series were mentioned as well, with the former slated for a summer release in Japan and the latter scheduled for fall.

[TurdFurgy]

Let's not forget their swimming pools of cash they have from the peak of the Wii and DS.

[Chocobo_Rider]

*yawn*

http://www.gamesradar.com/nintendo-doomed-not-likely-just-take-look-how-much-money-its-got-bank/

Is it 2075 yet?

[red14]

Imagine how Sony looks right now. They're always losing money.

[motang]

Minor bump in the road.

[house3136]

 It looks like currency manipulation and slow sales, because of the ambiguity surrounding Wii and Wii U right now, are Nintendo’s biggest detractors. I think they’re being more cautious with the next forecasts; but we’ll have to see if Wii U can actually move 10 million units in six months according to recent announcements. And relative to their competition, Nintendo is a highly specialized entertainment console and game manufacturer. They don’t have a diverse conglomerate backing up their namesake; so even if Nintendo has the money, they have to invest it wisely in this insecure, unforeseeable future.

[lolmonade]

Ars Technica stated in an article that Nintendo could sustain a decade of yearly losses like this before it would really hurt their business in a considerable way.

The article for anyone interested, although it mostly cites the same information.

[NWR_Neal]

They might have tons of money in the reserves, but a loss is a loss is a loss. This isn't non-news; It's not something that should be ignored or brushed off.

The folks at Nintendo are aware of this, and that's why they're being aggressive with the 3DS price cut, the onslaught of Mario, etc.

That being said, it'll be interesting to see how this year plays out sales-wise. The numbers don't seem too ridiculous to attain (remember: the Wii U number of 10 million includes Wii sales as well).

[lolmonade]

They might have tons of money in the reserves, but a loss is a loss is a loss. This isn't non-news; It's not something that should be ignored or brushed off.

The folks at Nintendo are aware of this, and that's why they're being aggressive with the 3DS price cut, the onslaught of Mario, etc.

That being said, it'll be interesting to see how this year plays out sales-wise. The numbers don't seem too ridiculous to attain (remember: the Wii U number of 10 million includes Wii sales as well).

They're a business.  No business takes a substantial loss lightly, but I expect Nintendo to take it even more seriously since it's their first annual loss ever. 

[Ceric]

Not Making a Loss is the Game for Nintendo.  The Money in the Bank is just the Score.

[Mop it up]

Does any of the loss have to do with Wii U R&D? It'd be nice to know if they're spending good money developing it.

This loss is probably why Nintendo is being conservative with games like New Super Mario Brothers 2. Hopefully they'll start being more creative with Mario games again once they go back to making money.

[joshnickerson]

I continue to be amused by the analysts who are trying to bully Nintendo into releasing Mario games on iOS. I'm guess there is no I.Q. test involved when you become a market analyst.

[MegaByte]

Does any of the loss have to do with Wii U R&D? It'd be nice to know if they're spending good money developing it.

Their R&D for last year, the previous year, and expected for this year is practically constant. They actually spend a fair amount more on advertising than R&D. They are building a new development facility though.

[Ian Sane]

Good.  Maybe it will teach them that abandoning your console a good year before the next one is due to come out is not a good idea.

The Wii was a fad and all is right in the world because of that.

[nickmitch]

Um, let's not boast about how much cash Nintendo is sitting on without actually looking at it. Their cash and equivalents are down 317 billion Yen. Not saying the company is doomed or anything.

[NWR_Lindy]

What I find most interesting about this is that Iwata has gone from the CEO who could do no wrong to the guy presiding over the worst company performance in its history. That can't inspire investor confidence in him; they'll ask, "Did he just get lucky with Wii?"

Remember the "It just prints money" meme? Yeah, not so much of that nowadays. Iwata's reign has had extreme highs and extreme lows.

[StrawHousePig]

[nickmitch]

What I find most interesting about this is that Iwata has gone from the CEO who could do no wrong to the guy presiding over the worst company performance in its history. That can't inspire investor confidence in him; they'll ask, "Did he just get lucky with Wii?"

Remember the "It just prints money" meme? Yeah, not so much of that nowadays. Iwata's reign has had extreme highs and extreme lows.

He'll regain it with the Wii U launch. And once the 3DS is ready for its big relaunch, they'll see the last fiscal year as the hiccup it was.

[Shaymin]

And that's why NSMB2 is coming out in August.

[Chozo Ghost]

We went from Nintendo as a company never experiencing a loss ever, to them having a loss, to them now having two consecutive losses. It will be a while yet before the Wii U not only gets released but starts to build up momentum, so a third or even fourth consecutive loss is a strong possibility.

[S-U-P-E-R]

I thought it was their second annual loss since they got into video games. Didn't they lose money one of those years where nothing was happening, like either right before the Wii came out, or before the GameCube came out?

[Ceric]

Does any of the loss have to do with Wii U R&D? It'd be nice to know if they're spending good money developing it.

Their R&D for last year, the previous year, and expected for this year is practically constant. They actually spend a fair amount more on advertising than R&D. They are building a new development facility though.

I can't say I'm truly really surprised that the Marketing budget is larger then the R&D considering Nintendo Practically markets to every corner of the globe.

[Chocobo_Rider]

Oh boy, people.  They are a company.  There is no "infinite money" code in the real world.  Sometimes they will lose money!  Especially when they have essentially been between both their handheld and console generation at the same time.

It's one thing to acknowledge that, it's another to draw conclusions like "Nintendo needs to change direction," or "the Wii was a fad," or "maybe Iwata got lucky."  I mean, geez, do the MS/Sony games divisions ever NOT lose money?  Yet I don't see the same doom and second-guessing come back around every couple months with those guys.

Is it simply that everyone holds Nintendo to a higher standard because it's so much more rare?  That's like greasing the wheel that rarely squeaks and ignoring the ones grinding metal on metal.

[Chozo Ghost]

Sometimes they will lose money!

Nintendo was always profitable when Yamauchi was in charge. Both fiscal losses occurred under Iwata's watch. I don't think its a coincidence that you have a company with a perfect fiscal record for like 100 years, and then some new guy takes over and now there are two consecutive losses when for 100 years before that the company was always profitable.

Even during the darkest days of the Gamecube era the company remained profitable.

[Chocobo_Rider]

@Chozo Ghost

 ... and how does the overall profit compare during Iwata's run?  Or are we letting articles like these convince us money has a 12-month shelf life?

As much as people like to play up the "console wars," it's not like some monthly or yearly sport where every so often we need to see who "won."  The companies make the games, we play the games, and nothing has shown that changing any time soon, especially with this particular company.

We really should stop caring about sales figures as a proper predictor of the future too ... apparently Rayman Origins is getting a sequel and all I've heard about that game is how (despite its greatness) it bombed, bombed, bombed, bombed, failed, failed, bombed, failed ... more or less.

I miss the days when gaming media cared more about game content than financial reports.  Every year or so to check if anyone is SEGA-ing their way out of a certain segment? Fine.  Every week like we're monitoring life support?? No thanks.