Considering the 3DS was not quite as revolutionary as hoped, and its launch has been considered subpar by Nintendo itself, it’s not entirely surprising that Nintendo is now projecting its first ever annual loss at the end of fiscal 2011 after continuously posting gains since 1981. Nintendo now estimates that it’ll be down $264 million by March 2012. It’s not entirely the fault of the 3DS, however. There are a couple of other factors that Nintendo suggests may have contributed.
The yen appreciated more than was expected this year, something that doesn’t bode particularly well for a company that isn’t reaping in profits. Also, In addition to less-than-stunning 3DS sales, sales of Wii software dropped off more than expected as well, largely due to a lack of major title launches.
This isn’t exactly a surprise. Earlier, Nintendo announced its pre-tax half year losses at $1.3 billion, exceeding its already dismal prediction of a mere $725.6 million loss. Of course, this also means that Nintendo is still expecting to be able to pull itself up by the bootstraps by the end of fiscal 2011, just not all the way up.
Over all, the projected losses will put Nintendo at profits of $10.4 billion at the end of this year instead of $13.3 billion like the end of last. While the 3DS definitely, definitely played a part, Nintendo stresses that merely economical factors are to blame for $691.6 million of the loss. And besides, $10.4 billion is nothing to scoff at, but it does indicate that all the “Nintendo is in trouble” talk might not be totally off the mark. All that being said though, it looks like we can’t except the Wii U until next fiscal year, so that’s a potential boon that’s not being factored in at the moment. Between that and the Slide Pad, Nintendo still has some cards up its sleeve. No telling whether or not they’re aces.
(via Games Radar)
- Ok, the Wii U might be an ace, but the slide pad is pretty worthless
- Nintendo shares dropped a bunch after the Wii U announcement though
- The rumors of such a quick 3DS remodel did not, and still don’t, bode well
