TechnesstivityNintendo In Financial Dumps But 3DS Sales Rise
As you may recall, Nintendo announced its first annual loss in 30 years in April as the company faced the music for problems with the 3DS launch and declining Wii sales. Nintendo’s first quarter results were posted on Wednesday, and as projected, they posted a loss. However, 3DS sales are up.
The net operating loss stood at ¥17.2 billion ($220.4 million), an improvement on the previous year’s ¥25.5 billion Q1 loss, with sales down by ¥9.1 billion ($116.4 million) this time last year. Nintendo sold 1.86 million 3DS units during the quarter, in comparison to 710,000 over the same period in 2011, at the time of the console’s European and North American launch, which means an increase of 162%. Software sales stood at 7.39 million, a 63% increase.
Since the price-cuts after its launch the 3DS has sold at a loss. As of its financial reports of July 25, the self-3D handheld is no longer selling at less than its manufacturing price, this means that Nintendo can now start making money from 3DS sales from this point on.
Nintendo is projecting profits for the year-end as the company expects to return to profitability by March 2013. This projection is riding on three expectations; 3DS XL (launching today July 27 in Europe and mid-August in North America) will increase sales, big 3DS titles will increase it even more and of course the new console Wii U.
