Nintendo Records First-Ever Full Year Loss in 2011

[Deviluk]

I think they abandoned the loyal gamers to go for the casual market, who have in turn screwed them over because they prefer their iPads, and now they want back in the hardcore gamers lives again? Well, sorry, that ship has sailed. People who grew up with Nintendo now find their loyalties in companies that deserve it more, like Blizzard, Bioware (...not so much now) and Bethesda. Unless they change their name to Bintendo and start putting games on Steam, I can't see old fans buying another console for another round of their cloned games.

 

[xPixelatedx]

The fact is when I heard that the WiiU wont be able to play the new Crisis game, red flags went up everywhere. I mean the writing is on the wall, if it cant even play a demanding game now what will it be able to handle 4 years from now. This thing is going onto the store shelf obsolete.

You are aware that 360/PS3 tech is very old and easy to come by now, and it has already been said that the wiiU is more powerful (if even a little) then those ancient things. And believe me, in terms of hardware lifespans 6 years is ANCIENT.

No one said the wiiU couldn't run the new Crisis. The people developing Crisis 3 said it wouldn't because they wouldn't bring it over; there's a huge difference. This could have anything to do with them not thinking a mature rated game would do well on the console, to them just not having the time to develop for the wiiU because developers just recently got the kits.

 

[SuperTrainStationH]

People have a really weird way of thinking about this.

This loss is not about the "failure" of the Wii.

Wii served its purpose. The decline in support from Nintendo can surely be attributed to the upcoming Wii U.

Wii was the record breaking top selling system for four full years and still sold millions of units even in it's "lame duck" 5th year in 2011 and beyond.

Nintendo home systems only run for five year periods anyway.

Its sort of like saying "See, I told you Clinton/Bush wouldn't last as president." after their term limit has maxed out and they HAVE to step down.

 

[Ulquiorra4sama]

you know what this means, guys? Another OOT re-release! What doesn't have OOT on it? They'll port it there.

OH! PC version.

I'm still waiting for the microwave version before i gush fanjuice everywhere.

OT: Somehow i'm not surprised at all. Last generation my Gamecube was almost constantly on as it had a whole bunch of games my younger self really wanted to try out, but over the last year i've put my Wii away in a box while my PS3 is the one getting a near-constant workout.

Personally i think they'd solve a lot of their issues by bringing back a normal-looking controller for once because i'm still iffy about that control scheme they've got lined up for the Wii U even though i'd like to play their new Zelda game.

On that note: Skyward Sword is the only Zelda game released inside my time as a living being that i haven't bought and i've considered myself to be a pretty big fanboy to the franchise.

There's a lot of sickness symptoms around you now, Nintendo. Maybe it's time you invented some new games instead of new systems. (How long did they predict the PS3's cycle would be?)

 

[Crazy Zaul]

Maybe they take this as hint to actually make something good instead of endless, pointless consoles.

 

[gorfias]

Go figure the soccer moms and nursing home crowd grew bored of the Wii while the 3DS library was a whole load of stuff we've already played. Maybe Nintendo needs to scrap the gimmicks and start making games for gamers again

Do the gamecube controllers work with Wii games? I don't think so, but they need to change that. If Xbox and PS3 can have motion controls, Nintendo needs normal controllers to win me back (I've got a Wii. I take it to parties, but if I'm home gaming by myself, I'm on PC or another console.)

 

[getoffmycloud]

The problem with Nintendo is they have been piggybacking off the same franchises since they first went into gaming and now in an age where 3rd party support is vital they are just being completely left behind.

 

[euro2019]

I was gonna post this on this Bloomberg article... but they want me to use Discus..and... well... Discus can burn in hell.

(http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-27/nintendo-falls-after-net-forecast-lags-estimates-osaka-mover.html)

It was a bit expected that their sales this year would drop, not everyone is keen on spending large amounts of money on a mobile gaming console (160-250 on something only 1 person can play at a time).

Many people prefer the versatility, and battery life of their iTouch, iPhone, or droid device where they can pay 99 cents for a game that they'll enjoy for hours (some with some great replay value) as opposed to paying 160-250 for a mobile gaming console and 40-60 dollars for a 3DS game that they will most likely get bored of (unless it's one of the major ones: Mario Kart, Super Mario, etc.).

Then when they want to trade it in for another game it's got bloody all for trade-in value, the same goes for the Wii titles (a good example would be MadWorld, it sold for 60$ and now it sells for 5-7$ on shelves).

Other than the nostalgia aspect of it, the 3DS wasn't all that amazing. The 3D is bland and reminiscent of old 3D pictures on cereal boxes (and it gives plenty of people a massive headache after a few hours) and the game line-up was the same as the last one (the change in controls was a great idea though).

Then the price drop cut profits 60$ per unit, how could we not expect a loss on this one? It was a nice try, but I think they would of been better off leaving the 3D aspect out and leaving everything else in (maybe even the AR), it would of saved them on the retail price and maybe sales would have been higher.

I can see the Wii U succeeding and bringing up sales as long as it's got the right launch lineup (which I'm already guessing is going to be... Zelda, Mario, some other Mario game, and some Metroid game), and the right price to make it sell fast.

They should consider bringing in some titles from Japan. If they were to bring these games over they could not only boost sales, but boost the size and demographic of the Nintendo fan base.

It would just be nice for the current fans and new ones if the Japan titles were brought over.


On a side note... a credit card reader on the Wii-U..? Wouldn't it just be easier to create an account and link a credit card to it like on iTunes? That would save on the hardware and price that's for sure. Plus... I don't know about everyone else (and I don't mean to sound paranoid), but I would never be comfortable buying a used Wii U from someone (or retail website)... The reason being is I can already see the wrong CFW devs looking at ways to exploit this...

All the best to Nintendo, though. They've been pretty innovative, I'm sure this "new killer software" will definitely bring something new to the table. I hope.

 

[Simalacrum]

I'm really surprised this is Nintendo's first EVER full year loss? I would have imagined they would be suffering greatly during the GameCube days!

 

[JasonKaotic]

They're leaving their future entirely up to the 3DS and Wii-U?
Goodbye, Nintendo. It's been fun.

 

[ArnRand]

They're leaving their future entirely up to the 3DS and Wii-U?
Goodbye, Nintendo. It's been fun.

The 3DS isn't doing too shabby, really, it's certainly crushing it's nearest competitor, the ps vita, and it's posting decent figures. I don't know what the average number for a console is, but 13.7 million in a year seems like quite a lot. I'm sure Nintendo will get some money out of it. Obiously we don't know what will happen with the Wii U...

 

[senobit]

Nintendo make's its first ever loss and que the mass of the end is nigh comments.

Sony made 6.5 BILLION dollar loss in 2011, MS made a loss $229 million in the first quarter 2012, hell even Zynga who've had a license to print money with there social games made a loss $85 million.

So maybe a little perspective would be useful, its a bad time to do busines and nintendo seem to be doing alright inspite of the strength of the Yen caused by tsunami and the pretty miserable global financial climate

 

[Lugbzurg]

Nintendo has just lost gobs of money. What a coincidence! They also just abandoned their core audience! Now, I wonder why this had to happen, ehh?

This is also why they could really use RareWare, again. Only, now, they're in even less of a position to get them back.

 

[Atmos Duality]

The 3DS wasn't selling well come Christmas?
WHAT A SURPRISE!

I can't begin to imagine why? Could it be the incredibly weak library?
Apart from Capcom, there isn't much GOOD third-party backing for original 3DS titles; everything is a remake, a port, or more Mario.

Skyward Sword has had absolutely no staying power and that was basically the death gasp of the Wii. Part of me is disappointed, and part of me just says "Good riddance."

Of course, there's the upcoming Wii-U, which promises to make me groan some more about wonky, useless motion controls and yet more Nintendo Trinity. I gave them the benefit of the doubt before, but it's getting kind of tiring now to even see the name "Mario" on something.

 

[LilithSlave]

Eh, not a big deal. They've raked in more money than Microsoft and Sony have with video games consoles. They're not doing bad, at all.

It is sad, but I'm not worried about them. I hope they do better.

Maybe they should make some decent fucking games for the Western side then.

Wait, what?

Please tell me you're not saying what I'm worried you might be saying.

 

[MrNickster]

Sony's Playstation Vita an embarrassing failure, costs Sony untold billions-Feh, they'll be fine

Nintendo reports 500 mil loss-THEY'RE DOOMED!! THEIR ONLY HOPE IS FOR APPLE TO BUY THEM!!!1!

 

[Imp_Emissary]

Every company has bad years. I'm not surprised. They didn't have a lot to offer last year. The 3DS which suffered the majority of the year from an under developed game library. Also, with the anticipation of the WiiU, I'm quite sure Wii isn't moving at all. I would be surprised if this trend went another year. But, as they say, hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

This reminds me of an old saying. "If you want victory, but prepare for defeat, you get what you prepared for."

Possibly related to that saying; "If you want peace, prepare for war."

That all said, I think they'll be alright.

 

[SuperTrainStationH]

... The 3D is bland and reminiscent of old 3D pictures on cereal boxes (and it gives plenty of people a massive headache after a few hours)...

I'm not going to argue that that is objectively wrong since the sensation of 3D illusions is unique to each person.

However, in my extensive year + of 3DS playtime, I've found the 3D effect on the 3DS to be as "real" as any 3D HD TV or 3D cinema film I've ever seen, and it causes me no sensations of illness or discomfort at all as long as I actually adjust the slider to suit the specific game, since some games are more "intense" than others.


Additionally:

Why are people falling back on that lazy old "Nintendo abandoned their core audience!" talking point when the overwhelming majority of what they published for Wii, DS, and especially 3DS was directed toward the very demographic that was playing and enjoying Nintendo prior to their audience expansion campaign?