Nintendo Finances Still Fall Ahead of Juggernaut Releases

We haven’t come to a point yet where headlines can read, “Wii U is Dead” despite claims from many that this is indeed the case.  However, if Nintendo’s finances do not improve in the Wii U division after the release of Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros, perhaps this what all major news outlets will be saying.

Nintendo posted a loss of 227.9 million dollars this year, although that is slightly better than their estimated 245 million dollar loss.  The financial issues are largely guided by the Wii U, although 3DS sales expectations were also not met.  In April of last year, investors were told that Nintendo would sell 18 million handhelds over the year; this number was later revised to 13.5 million, while only actually selling 12.24.  Wii U sales were also low, only selling 2.7 million of a projected 2.8, which was a revised amount from 9 million made last year.

Why the 3DS is struggling is a mystery as the software available is usually of the highest quality, giving Nintendo the edge over Playstation in the handheld market.  The Wii U’s struggles can be attributed to a number of different issues including poor branding and the underused, expensive packed-in controller which is driving up the base price.  Time will tell if Nintendo will climb out of this rut, but much lower sales expectations for the upcoming fiscal year will allow Nintendo to either meet their goal or exceed it, prompting good press rather than bad.  Until then, Nintendo can only sit and wait, hoping that the release of Mario Kart 8 this month can end up pushing systems.