Nintendo – let the good times roll
Japanese giant ups profit forecast by 28 per cent
Well, we all know that the DS has been an unqualified success in the handheld gaming arena, but exactly how much of a success in terms of pounds and pennies (or dollars and cents, or yen and sen)?
Well, The Financial Times reports this morning that Nintendo has increased its first quarter profits nearly eightfold and also increased its full-year profit forecast by 28 per cent. Which, in terms of hard cash, means its reforecast its profits for the year ahead, up from $556 million to $711 million.
Not bad going for a so-called 'transitional year'!
As the FT succinctly puts it: "The better results vindicate Nintendo's strategy with its DS portable games, which have been a huge hit not only among young players but also groups that traditionally have shunned video games, such as senior citizens and young women."
The FT goes on to outline, for its largely non-gaming readership, the value of Brain Training and Cooking DS titles in reaching such non-traditional markets, as well as crediting 'the long-running hit game, Super Mario' (err, don't they mean New Super Mario Bros? - Ed) for solid sales amongst the gaming hardcore.
Hiroshi Kamide, an analyst at KBC in Tokyo, tells the FT: "It's very hard to develop something that ... appeals to non-users as well as users but they have pulled it off."
The FT then goes on to outline the difference between Nintendo's 'disruptive' strategy and its competitors reliance on raising the bar with (costly) technically advanced features. In direct opposition to Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo is marketing the Wii as "the most inviting, inclusive video game system to date."
Nintendo maintained its previous forecast of 6 million Wii consoles and 17 million games to be sold by March 2007.
For the fiscal year ended March 31, Nintendo earned 98.4 billion yen (US$847 million; euro667 million) on 509 billion yen (US$4.4 billion; euro3.5 billion) sales.
Nintendo shares, which have gained about 75 percent over the last year, finished at 20,840 yen (US$179; euro141.2), up 1.6 percent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, shortly before earnings were announced.
Well, The Financial Times reports this morning that Nintendo has increased its first quarter profits nearly eightfold and also increased its full-year profit forecast by 28 per cent. Which, in terms of hard cash, means its reforecast its profits for the year ahead, up from $556 million to $711 million.
Not bad going for a so-called 'transitional year'!
As the FT succinctly puts it: "The better results vindicate Nintendo's strategy with its DS portable games, which have been a huge hit not only among young players but also groups that traditionally have shunned video games, such as senior citizens and young women."
The FT goes on to outline, for its largely non-gaming readership, the value of Brain Training and Cooking DS titles in reaching such non-traditional markets, as well as crediting 'the long-running hit game, Super Mario' (err, don't they mean New Super Mario Bros? - Ed) for solid sales amongst the gaming hardcore.
Hiroshi Kamide, an analyst at KBC in Tokyo, tells the FT: "It's very hard to develop something that ... appeals to non-users as well as users but they have pulled it off."
The FT then goes on to outline the difference between Nintendo's 'disruptive' strategy and its competitors reliance on raising the bar with (costly) technically advanced features. In direct opposition to Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo is marketing the Wii as "the most inviting, inclusive video game system to date."
Nintendo maintained its previous forecast of 6 million Wii consoles and 17 million games to be sold by March 2007.
For the fiscal year ended March 31, Nintendo earned 98.4 billion yen (US$847 million; euro667 million) on 509 billion yen (US$4.4 billion; euro3.5 billion) sales.
Nintendo shares, which have gained about 75 percent over the last year, finished at 20,840 yen (US$179; euro141.2), up 1.6 percent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, shortly before earnings were announced.
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Comments
Joji 24 Jul 2006 11:47
1/3
Indeed a bit of back slapping and saki drinking is required here and fairplay to them. Many doubted them under the Sauron like gaze of Sony and they proved many wrong.
The DS sales are a wake in the wind if you will, one that's sorely needed for the industry to progress from the lacklustre sequelitism that poisons us into buying games then ditching them as trade ins.
The second hand market is making an industry dent, but how many of those games in the bin are for Nintendo handhed consoles, very few indeed.
Back on track, when I look at the games in the pipe for DS there's always something that piques my interest. My current targets are Project Hacker, Elite Beat Agents, Hotel Room 201, Strafox and Children of Mana. And the titles just keep coming.
I have no problems giving these peope my money for more good games. So by all means dive into a pool of the stuff, Nintendo.
The DS sales are a wake in the wind if you will, one that's sorely needed for the industry to progress from the lacklustre sequelitism that poisons us into buying games then ditching them as trade ins.
The second hand market is making an industry dent, but how many of those games in the bin are for Nintendo handhed consoles, very few indeed.
Back on track, when I look at the games in the pipe for DS there's always something that piques my interest. My current targets are Project Hacker, Elite Beat Agents, Hotel Room 201, Strafox and Children of Mana. And the titles just keep coming.
I have no problems giving these peope my money for more good games. So by all means dive into a pool of the stuff, Nintendo.
majin dboy 24 Jul 2006 12:18
2/3
Hotel 201? please elaborate JoJi
dr_faulk 24 Jul 2006 13:38
3/3
6 Million by March? Isn`t that a lot? Or is it too little? I hope there are no Wii shortages like the DS.... or even worse, the UK N64 launch! lollerskates, woeful!
Aren't Microsoft predicting 10 Million 360's by March, or by Christmas? That's 10 in a year and a quarter, say 2 million every 3 months. If Wii comes out in November, 6 million by March is just under two quarters of a year. That's a bit more than Microsoft have sold/quarter (3 mill/quart). Granted that MS essentially missed the Christmas season last year what with the shortages, bless 'em.
Well done to Nintendo and their profits. I love my DS so much and I play it almost every day. It's the first machine in 5/6 years that all my friends have bought and we all really enjoy it. They've smashed me out of my jaded gamer nutshell. Even my Mam bought my Dad a DS and Brain Training for Father's Day without me telling her to, which is a real success in my mind - that Nintendo actually managed to get older people to buy this stuff.
I really hope the Wii gets a lot of support from fans and developers alike, not for any fanboy-ism, but because it's really nice to play so many great and interesting games that you can have a laugh with other people about. It's supposed to be enterainment and that's what they're delivering. Hoorah!
Aren't Microsoft predicting 10 Million 360's by March, or by Christmas? That's 10 in a year and a quarter, say 2 million every 3 months. If Wii comes out in November, 6 million by March is just under two quarters of a year. That's a bit more than Microsoft have sold/quarter (3 mill/quart). Granted that MS essentially missed the Christmas season last year what with the shortages, bless 'em.
Well done to Nintendo and their profits. I love my DS so much and I play it almost every day. It's the first machine in 5/6 years that all my friends have bought and we all really enjoy it. They've smashed me out of my jaded gamer nutshell. Even my Mam bought my Dad a DS and Brain Training for Father's Day without me telling her to, which is a real success in my mind - that Nintendo actually managed to get older people to buy this stuff.
I really hope the Wii gets a lot of support from fans and developers alike, not for any fanboy-ism, but because it's really nice to play so many great and interesting games that you can have a laugh with other people about. It's supposed to be enterainment and that's what they're delivering. Hoorah!