Nintendo posted another loss this year — not as big as last year, but still pretty substantial. Just shy of 18 billion yen (or $220m USD according to Joystiq) net losses. Again, substantial but not as bad, and the company does sound hopeful, since their 3DS sales grew 162% and they are no longer selling the systems at a loss. With the launch of the 3DS XL and the WiiU, Nintendo is poised to make a come-back.
However, as with any of the Big 3 manufactorers, the hardware will be the deciding factor. The interest in the 3DS XL is pretty substantial, with the device getting good reviews from bloggers to date and many current 3DS owners planning on the upgrade, plus those brand new sales. Forecasting sales of the 3DS XL should be a substantial amount of initial sales at the end of the Summer 2012 with the forecasted launch, and I’m sure we can expect to see another spike in sales roughly 2 months later once we hit the Holiday shopping season.
The WiiU the verdict is still out on. Currently reviewers seem cautious but hopeful about the platform’s marketability. The success of the product will likely be determined by the software line-up at launch. If the software is there to entice people to purchase the platform, the platform will likely sell well. Nintendo already has a 2 screen proof of concept with the success of the DS, this is simply a larger scale implementation of an idea that already works other places.
With two huge losses 2 years in a row, Nintendo really needs a solid launch to make the WiiU a success. The 3DS has sold strongly, and will likely continue to sell, potentially even increase with the 3DS XL launch. But a slow burn with the WiiU could really damage the company at this point.
Let’s hope it does well, I really love Nintendo products, and their first party games are hands down, the best of any platform.
Via: Nintendo posts $220 million net loss for first quarter – Joystiq.com
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