Nintendo has released a report detailing their results for this financial year’s first quarter, and the Wii U seems to be doing better. Nintendo itself, on the other hand? Eh.
The star of the report is, without a doubt, Mario Kart 8, but the Wii U’s numbers show improvement as well. Between April and June, Nintendo managed to move 510,000 Wii U units — 200,000 more than in the last financial quarter — and sold a total of 2.82 million copies of Mario Kart 8. Almost three million in a month! That’s pretty impressive.
The 3DS is also doing better, with 820,000 units sold between April and June, compared to the last quarter’s 590,000 3DS units . This puts the Wii U and the 3DS at 6.68 million and 44.14 million total units sold to date, respectively.
Unfortunately, Nintendo still isn’t turning a profit. According to the report, Nintendo recorded an operating loss of 9.4 billion yen in this quarter — roughly $US92 million. The report attributes this, and the still relatively low sales numbers for the Wii U, to a lack of hit titles for the system (other than Mario Kart 8, obviously).
Nintendo hopes to generate more profit via a strong game lineup. The report explicitly mentions the third-generation Pokémon remakes and the new Smash Bros. for 3DS, and Hyrule Warriors, Bayonetta 2, and the new Smash Bros. for Wii U as games that could finally turn these losses around.
Consolidated Financial Highlights [Nintendo]
Comments
31 responses to “People Are Buying The Wii U, But Nintendo Is Still Losing Money”
Fucking N64/GameCube games on the VC with a subscription model! Fools!
Also a new Metroid and Pokemon Snap plz.
Oh lord, I would be able to save Nintendo single-handed with the money I would give for a new Pokemon Snap.
Nintendo dont understand what people want. And even worse, i was one of the fools that decided to buy a Wii U for MK8.
I felt the effects of the drought within a week. Might take the loss and sell it.
There are so many awesome games you are ignoring to make that statement.
All of which will end up on pc when nintendo looses a few more billion due to there ancient business model. nintendo loosing their place in the console market its only a good thing for everyone else.
lol, no they won’t.
I was expecting these downvotes from nintendo fanboys but sega set a precedent for this years ago. you can get most of segas back catalogue on steam right now.
For the record, here are some of the great games that are available right now:
Wii U exclusive
ZombiU
Pikmin 3
Wonderful 101
Super Mario 3D World
Nintendo Land
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Pushmo World
New Super Mario Bros U
New Super Luigi U
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
Multiplatform
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director’s Cut
Assassin’s Creed 3
Assassin’s Creed 4
Rayman Legends
Child of Light
(Edited to remove Shovel Knight, as that’s not actually out in Australia yet)
THERE’S NO GAMES, DAMMIT!
(Also, unless I missed something, Shovel Knight isn’t available here yet, unfortunately)
Ta. Fixed now.
Oh yeah I forgot about all the people rushing out to buy a wii u for monster hunter 3
It’s why I got mine, and I ended up with about 150 hours into it. It was my first go at a MH game, too.
Hmmm… new Mario Bros game or Metal Gear Solid 5? Tough choice. Lol.
Por que no los dos?
Rubbish..
Look what happened when Shigeru Miyomoto asked what games people wanted in the future at E3.
The list put forward from Kotaku was filled to the brim with Metroid, Zelda, Mario, Pokemon and many other existing IP’s.
To make it more interesting, half the people who requested old IP’s were the same lot who complain about a lack of new IP’s
Microsoft also loses money on the xbox one and suffered the same problem with the 360 for years. Sony went through a similar period
Hell, there has been talk for months in business circles about selling off the xbox brand. Many MS investors have voiced their concern about the lack of return on the console.
have you tried Super Mario 3D World? it is the best Mario game ever.
Make Pokemon like skyrim and become dirty filthy rich.
I would love that, but it will never happen.
Not a big surprise, Wii U’s are selling at big discounts right now, mine was $170. No wonder they aren’t making money on the console sales and one game (mario kart 8) selling like crazy isn’t enough to make up the difference.
I think the retailers are taking a loss there not Nintendo. The retailers running them out though are probably not restocking them.
I don’t think Nintendo are eating that money.
It’s not uncommon.
MS lose money on the xbox one and last I checked Sony barely breaks even on the PS4.
Kind of explains why there is so many subscriptions and attempts at sub payments in the industry.
From this report, clearly the games and consoles are selling, but if the company is still losing money, it’s in their overheads and salaries, which isn’t something the consumer can help with. I hope they sort it out soon and get back on their feet.
2 things
1. When a company makes a huge amount of profit for several years, it can very easily become bloated. It takes time to adjust overheads back down to what they need to be (this is why major companies might have a stellar couple years and then have to make mass redundancies).
2. It’s obvious that Nintendo aren’t going to get any major third party support any time soon. It’s pretty clear they have been pumping up their own development studios so they can basically service the whole console themselves. It’s going to take a while for this to show profit.
I think Nintendo is putting too many restrictions upon itself to sustain their business in a international market. It hasn’t had a ‘mainstream’ console since Gamecube and to compound the issue, their lifetime focus on supporting games that appeal !!!MORE!!! to children than adults, (by default) places a filter between where money comes from and where it goes. Their products and business model have been catering to a minority, who literally need to beg adults for a purchase… When all adults need to do is open their purse when they see what they like.
The big news to me is that the Wii-U has nearly doubled its sales, that is great news.
There are a bunch of big games coming, some very soon, so I am very happy with my purchase, plus there are more good games available right now than for the XB1, so I don’t know why people are complaining about a drought.
I still reckon Nintendo should cut their loses and release a state-of-the-art console.
This is a boneheaded idea. The problem with the Wii U is not its lack of power.
Not really no. The N64 and Gamecube were state-of-the-art consoles at the time. The reason Mario 64 had such a big impact wasn’t just the gameplay – it literally looked fantastic when compared with the 3D that PS1 and Sega Saturn were pumping out. Same for Gamecube – the games looked beautiful when compared to most PS2 stuff at the time.
Hardware performance is exactly why 3rd parties have ditched the WiiU and the Wii before it.
I for one want to see a state-of-the-art Mario, Zelda, Metroid and whatever else.
Which then would then sell at a loss. Just like the other consoles?
That is because Nintendo games do not drop in price. Heck pre-used games are still more expensive than new games on other systems. I’m more likely to buy a game for one of my other consoles before i purchase a wii/wii u game just on price alone
Just destroy all console and let the PC master race reign supreme.
Problem solved.