Nintendo Not Doing So Well? Cuts Full Year Forecast


The second half of last year was a great one for Nintendo. Mario Kart 8 started things out strong in late May. Titles like Bayonetta 2 and Super Smash Bros. seemed to guarantee things would be a hit for Nintendo during the holiday season. According to The Hollywood Reporter, while things were indeed good for Nintendo, it looks like they may have not been as good as many anticipated it would be, and they have cut their forecast as a result.

“The Kyoto-based gamemaker also cut its operating income prediction for the full-year to March in half to $169 million (?20 billion), though it lifted its net profit prediction by half to $254 million (?30 billion). The profit will be generated mostly by the weaker yen, which helps Nintendo when it sends earnings back to Japan, while operating income is widely regarded as a better indicator of the overall health of a business.”

We’ve made some progress in profit but in many ways we didn’t score perfectly,” Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata told reporters (via Reuters).

New 3DS
The New Nintendo 3DS is due out in the U.S. on February 13, 2015.

On the handheld front, for example, Nintendo’s 3DS faced a dramatic 40 percent sales decreases from the previous year, down to just over 7 million units sold in the October to December period (though that does bring the Nintendo 3DS sales to a grand total of 50 million units). Nintendo’s latest handheld, the New Nintendo 3DS, has made a rollout release over the past few months across the globe, and will be making its debut in the U.S. come February 13th. With that being the new console of the year, Nintendo will undoubtedly be relying on that to help push their numbers to meet their 2015 forecast.

According to Kotaku, Nintendo’s Wii U only gave an okay performance in the same quarter, with 1.91 million units solid, compared to the 1.95 million units sold in the previous year. Despite a relative software success, it looks like Super Smash Bros. didn’t do a whole lot to move consoles, sadly enough. The Wii U stands with a total of 9.2 million units sold.

Due to the change in forecast, analysts are now calling on Iwata to shift Nintendo’s focus to mobile devices, allowing their evergreen franchises to be playable on devices like the iPhone and Android phones, Reuters reports. It is not clear if they plan on doing so.

Majora's Mask
One of Nintendo’s big releases, a remake of ‘The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask,’ is due out February 13, 2015.

Nintendo does have a few hard-hitting games on their way. Between the 3DS and Wii U, there are two Zelda games due out this year, as well as a new Star Fox for the Wii U. And with the Wii U seeming to gain momentum, who knows if their forecast could be off when all said and done?

Are you optimistic that Nintendo will be able to turn things around? Was it wise of them to cut their forecast? You can take a look at the numbers for yourself and let us know your thoughts below!

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