Nintendo predicts first annual loss since getting on with Donkey Kong
Nintendo has revised its estimate for the fiscal year ending next March from a ¥20 billion ($264M) profit, to a ¥20 billion loss. Bloomberg checked the books and noted this would be Nintendo's first annual loss in over 30 years, its first since becoming a video game juggernaut.
The negative annual news came bundled with details for the first six months of the fiscal year ending September 30, which saw the platform holder double its expected loss, from ¥35 billion ($462M) to ¥70.2 billion ($926M).
Nintendo blamed "a smaller number of hit titles overall, a decrease of both hardware and software sales ... price reductions of Nintendo 3DS hardware and Wii hardware in overseas markets along with the inventory markdown, and the impact of a much stronger yen against the U.S. dollar."
During the six month period, the 3DS sold 3.07 million units, but just 8.13 million pieces of software. Meanwhile, in the same period, DS models moved 2.58 million units and 29 million pieces of software. 3.35 million Wiis waggled off the shelves, as did 26.45 million games.
The company's stock is currently at a five-year low, with no indications that it won't dip lower and become reacquainted with numbers it hasn't seen since the darker Gamecube era.
