Nintendo reports first annual operating loss, Apple to blame
Nintendo has reported its first annual operating loss ever. The company lost US$454.4 million from 2011 to 2012. The Wii is a few years old now, and the company's latest handheld, the Nintendo 3DS, hasn't been selling near as well as it was supposed to. Nintendo claims it'll turn sales figures around quickly, however. Prices on the 3DS are set to drop, which should prop up sales of that device, and Nintendo is also planning to release a new console unit called the Wii U within the next year.
Why are we posting about this on a blog about Apple? Because while there are a lot of factors involved here, much of this loss is directly the fault of the company from Cupertino. It's true that the reception to the 3DS was poor, and that third-party software for all of Nintendo's platforms has been lacking for a few years. But Apple's iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch have invaded the handheld gaming sector that Nintendo used to dominate, and as a result, Nintendo will have to change its strategy a bit.
You should never count Nintendo out. It's changed industries a few times already (the company originally started by selling trading cards in Japan), and if Apple takes all of its handheld share, there's no doubt Nintendo will find something else. But this is a huge sign that Apple has carved a big piece of the handheld gaming industry out for itself.
[via Engadget]
