FARK.com: (6903938) Nintendo expects first annual loss in 30 years

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		Nintendo expects first annual loss in 30 years (kotaku.com)		108
		More: Sad, Nintendo, printing press, fiscal years

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1502 clicks; posted to Business » on 26 Jan 2012 at 1:57 PM | Favorite | share:

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DanZero

2012-01-26 12:26:49 PM

Obligatory

RedPhoenix122

2012-01-26 12:32:20 PM

And yet he takes a pay cut instead of resigning with a huge bonus? But, but, capitalism!

HeartBurnKid

2012-01-26 12:35:45 PM

RedPhoenix122: And yet he takes a pay cut instead of resigning with a huge bonus? But, but, capitalism!

Japan has these funny ideas about accountability and shame and not treating executives as demigods.

GreenAdder

2012-01-26 12:40:03 PM

timujin

2012-01-26 01:05:10 PM

well, you release a crappy console that only really has novelty as its appeal and then don't follow it up for six years with anything but handhelds for kids and you might find that your sales dry up.

thomps

2012-01-26 01:07:45 PM

Nintendo expects first annual loss in 30 years

well at least they have a good long time to prepare for it then.

bhcompy

2012-01-26 02:12:58 PM

germ78

2012-01-26 02:17:55 PM

Hey look! We're going to release a brand new iteration of our portable system that costs twice as much as our standard portable system in middle of an economic recession. This new system lets you play in 3D and never mind the headaches or eye strain...

/also we're going to release a new version of one of our A-list franchises that really isn't that good
//and has a captain obvious character that might as well be yelling "hey, listen" in your ear all the time

cuzsis

2012-01-26 02:26:51 PM

I love how the article was trying to tout that "Nintendo's reign was over." Seriously? Over one bad fiscal year? Whoop-de-farking-do.

Yeah, they're in a low spot right now with finances. A lot of companies are. But that hardly means they're shutting their doors.

We'll just have to sit back and see what they do from here.

/props to the CEO for taking responsibility like that.
//wishes American CEOs did that.

taxandspend

2012-01-26 02:28:09 PM

GreenAdder: [i.imgur.com image 640x488]

Technically, Nintendo would be an "its."

@germ78
Would you say the Playstation 3 is a new iteration of the Playstation 2? Would you say the Vita is a new iteration of the PSP?

You might think Skyward Sword is not that good, but it's still Nintendo's fastest selling Zelda title. Whether or not it can match the success of Twilight Princess (which sold nearly 11 million copies on two consoles) or even Wind Waker (which clocks in at more than 4.5 million copies) remains to be seen as a lot of people hate on the title.

Sun Worshiping Dog Launcher

2012-01-26 02:31:17 PM

cuzsis: I love how the article was trying to tout that "Nintendo's reign was over." Seriously? Over one bad fiscal year? Whoop-de-farking-do.

Yeah, they're in a low spot right now with finances. A lot of companies are. But that hardly means they're shutting their doors.

We'll just have to sit back and see what they do from here.

/props to the CEO for taking responsibility like that.
//wishes American CEOs did that.

Yeah, I just got done dealing with this bullshiat regarding Google. One quarter is off and suddenly it's time for a fire sale and bankruptcy proceedings.

mekkab

2012-01-26 02:33:46 PM

Best In The World: Ppl will think UR retarded or have down syndrome, bro.

It's like goldy, or bronzey.

/'cept it's made out of iron

LesserEvil

2012-01-26 02:36:23 PM

timujin: well, you release a crappy console that only really has novelty as its appeal and then don't follow it up for six years with anything but handhelds for kids and you might find that your sales dry up.

THIS. The Wii took one step forward, two steps back. The Wiimote and the balance board were great technical innovations, and using Bluetooth and an SD slot were great moves, as well... but anchoring it down with standard definition graphics and anemic computing power?

Now Microsoft has Kinect, which doesn't require a funky "sensor bar" (the Wii's bar was really just two IR LEDs) or any controllers that might get thrown through the TV set. Sony has copied the Wiimote in reverse (image recognition through a camera tied with motion sensing controllers topped with fabulously colored balls). By the time Nintendo finally catches up in the graphics and computing department, Microsoft and Sony will be readying their next-gen sets, capable of rendering incredibly photo-realistic environments in full 3-D.

Nintendo dropped the ball big time on this one.

Rising_Zan_Samurai_Gunman

2012-01-26 02:41:38 PM

IMO, the biggest problems this last year were:
1) No must have launch titles for 3DS, and it's still somewhat lacking in must have titles (Wii had the same issue)
2) Not enough big name Wii titles coming out, including the inexplicable original decision to not release Xenoblade in the US (which they have now somewhat reversed). This may also be due to the announcement of the WiiU, but they haven't given many details on that yet either.
3) As someone said above, their systems get a lot of shovel ware which can be purchased more cheaply on smartphones.

The WIIU better have at least 1 Mario, Metroid, Zelda, MarioKart or other major game series title at launch.

keepitcherry

2012-01-26 02:44:17 PM

Nintendo is done...maybe not in the next couple years, but within the next decade. Their bread & butter right now is the DS and portable gaming...the iPhone is pushing out quality games (even ports of classic games) for cheap. Who wants to spend $60 on a game for a dedicated hand held when I can buy the same game for 5 bucks on a device that does more than just play games? And besides the die-hard Nintendo fans (which fark has a lot of), who wants to keep playing the same franchises over and over and over again?

MrEricSir

2012-01-26 02:44:47 PM

Maybe they should make a new console instead of a handled device that's twice the size of my phone and doesn't even have 1/10th of the game selection?

Just a thought.

Sun Worshiping Dog Launcher

2012-01-26 02:45:45 PM

Sun Worshiping Dog Launcher: One ~~quarter~~ year is off

FTFM

Nintendo has had rough spots before. The Gamecube and N64 both suffered. They always had the handheld market to fall back on.

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if they can continue to rely on the handheld market now that they may have competition from non-traditional (non-videogame) companies attempting to compete with them. The mobile phone market may hit them where they live. If that happens, they cannot churn out another Gamecube and survive as a hardware company.

I do think they've got a potential problem on their hands with the new Wii U. Their presentation last year was lackluster and they seem to have created a console that they themselves don't really know what to do with it. The Wii succeeded due to its innovative controls and because they targeted nongamers. That probably won't work a second time, and they need a compelling user interface and compelling games at the same time. When they show more of the system's capabilities, maybe things will look better.

Anyway, one rough year isn't good, but it is not the end of the world just yet.

bark_atda_moon

2012-01-26 02:48:56 PM

keepitcherry: Nintendo is done...maybe not in the next couple years, but within the next decade. Their bread & butter right now is the DS and portable gaming...the iPhone is pushing out quality games

Can you name some? My significant other just got one and she is sick of Angry Birds, Scrabble, and various forms of Bejeweled.

Doc Daneeka

2012-01-26 02:49:16 PM

keepitcherry: Who wants to spend $60 on a game for a dedicated hand held when I can buy the same game for 5 bucks on a device that does more than just play games?

Since when have handheld games ever retailed for $60? DS games typically priced around $30.

Which granted, is substantially more than an iPhone game. But then most iPhone games suck.

I have an iPhone 4S too. Beautiful hardware. Beautiful display. Beautiful graphics. I like it a lot. And I still prefer my DS for portable gaming. Touchscreen controls (especially virtual joysticks) are a miserable experience. Buttons and pads need tactile feedback.

akula

2012-01-26 02:53:24 PM

Nintendo has some great intellectual property, but their hardware decisions lately have been questionable. While the Wii looked like a great idea at the time and sold well, it's has spend the last few years becoming incredibly dated and surpassed by Microsoft and Sony. Nintendo clearly saved a good chunk of money by keeping the Wii's capability modest, but they should have had its successor in place by now. Six years ago there weren't near as many HDTVs in peoples' homes. Now, there aren't too many homes that would have a console who don't have at least one HDTV, and the Wii looks like crap on those. It doesn't matter much, though, because most of the Wii games ARE crap. They had some good hits (Wii Sports, Wii Fit), but they never managed to follow it through all that well.

Their handheld systems have also been stagnant- 3D just isn't a big selling point, especially when most people already have smartphones that can play games every bit as well or better than that little gaming handheld. Nintendo was passed by-again.

I am wondering if they'll bust out with something impressive and new, or if they'll stick to the low end of the market, eventually going Sega's route- licensing their IP for games on other consoles and smartphones.

keepitcherry

2012-01-26 02:55:05 PM

Ok I definitely exaggerated on the $60 - but $30 is still far more than $4.99 which is what most of those go for. The only downside to iPhone gaming is the touch screen controls, if they can figure a way out to add some kind of buttons or tiny d-pad I'm sold. bark_atda_moon: keepitcherry: Nintendo is done...maybe not in the next couple years, but within the next decade. Their bread & butter right now is the DS and portable gaming...the iPhone is pushing out quality games

Can you name some? My significant other just got one and she is sick of Angry Birds, Scrabble, and various forms of Bejeweled.

What kind of games does she like? Dead Space was a great port, GTA 3 is awesome to play again, and if she's into RPG's Chaos Rings is excellent as well as the Zenonia games.

Pawn takes the King

2012-01-26 02:55:19 PM

taxandspend:
You might think Skyward Sword is not that good, but it's still Nintendo's fastest selling Zelda title. Whether or not it can match the success of Twilight Princess (which sold nearly 11 million copies on two consoles) or even Wind Waker (which clocks in at more than 4.5 million copies) remains to be seen as a lot of people hate on the title.

I'm quite enjoying SS, just never have enough time to play it very long.

Rising_Zan_Samurai_Gunman:

The WIIU better have at least 1 Mario, Metroid, Zelda, MarioKart or other major game series title at launch.

Supposedly they'll have "New Super Mario: Mii" at launch, but yeah for their first HD console they'll need bigger guns than that.

taxandspend

2012-01-26 02:57:06 PM

MrEricSir: Maybe they should make a new console instead of a handled device that's twice the size of my phone and doesn't even have 1/10th of the game selection?

Just a thought.

I know. I am shocked that a new portable system doesn't have the same amount of games as a phone that has been out for years and that anyone can develop for. How dare Nintendo launch the 3DS without 100,000 games ready, 99.999% of which are either free, crap or free crap.

Omnivorous

2012-01-26 02:58:45 PM

It's probably their share in the Seattle Mariners that did it.

GavinTheAlmighty

2012-01-26 03:00:24 PM

I still love my Wii. That's all I can say.

bhcompy

2012-01-26 03:00:50 PM

Doc Daneeka: Since when have handheld games ever retailed for $60? DS games typically priced around $30.

Which granted, is substantially more than an iPhone game. But then most iPhone games suck.

Unfortunately, most DS games suck as well.

I can spend $5 on Plants vs Zombies or $30 on Advance Wars and get a high quality game either way

Gergesa

2012-01-26 03:01:59 PM

These things go back and forth. I would really like it though if there was a metroid MMO(No, you would not play Samus.)

mekkab

2012-01-26 03:02:37 PM

bark_atda_moon: keepitcherry: Nintendo is done...maybe not in the next couple years, but within the next decade. Their bread & butter right now is the DS and portable gaming...the iPhone is pushing out quality games

Can you name some? My significant other just got one and she is sick of Angry Birds, Scrabble, and various forms of Bejeweled.

for me, uniwar and I just started HeroAcademy (runs slow on my 3gs, but I may stick with it. May not...)

Doc Daneeka

2012-01-26 03:03:21 PM

Pawn takes the King: taxandspend:
You might think Skyward Sword is not that good, but it's still Nintendo's fastest selling Zelda title. Whether or not it can match the success of Twilight Princess (which sold nearly 11 million copies on two consoles) or even Wind Waker (which clocks in at more than 4.5 million copies) remains to be seen as a lot of people hate on the title.

I'm quite enjoying SS, just never have enough time to play it very long.

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I bought it around release, but only am able to find time to play it in little bits and pieces.

Just beat the Sandship.

bark_atda_moon

2012-01-26 03:03:39 PM

keepitcherry:
What kind of games does she like? Dead Space was a great port, GTA 3 is awesome to play again, and if she's into RPG's Chaos Rings is excellent as well as the Zenonia games.

She won't play an RPG. She likes adventure games, platformers, and quiz/trivia games. Dead Space might be something she would like. It looks like House of the Dead, but with cutting instead of shooting.

natmar_76

2012-01-26 03:06:04 PM

DS and Wii are at end of lifecycle
Software sales are down because DS and Wii are at end of lifecycle
3DS and Wii U have significant R&D, production, and rollout costs
Software sales will pick up as 3DS and Wii U take off (3DS now at 15 million, faster selling than DS)
Strong Yen rate is costing all Japanese businesses money
The entire Japanese economy is down due to the recent disasters and the world economic climate

This is normal business, however feel free to call it something it isn't.

Doc Daneeka

2012-01-26 03:08:51 PM

natmar_76: Strong Yen rate is costing all Japanese businesses money
The entire Japanese economy is down due to the recent disasters and the world economic climate

These are actually the two most relevant points.

Nintendo has been declared dead many times before. Personally, I think people would know better than to write them off so easily. Need to at least wait another couple years to see how the WiiU does.

Goodfella

2012-01-26 03:09:29 PM

You mean basing your company around a last gen console with a gimmick controller and nothing but shovelware could lead to problems?

Granted, their hand-helds still own the market, and the Wii was by all accounts an unqualified success. But the problem with the Wii has always been once you reach market saturation and there is around one Wii for every few people in the country, you are going to have a huge drop-off in revenue.

admintell.napco.com

But I'm sure Reggie's body is ready to pull some new act of genius out of his sleeve.

HeartBurnKid

2012-01-26 03:16:43 PM

Goodfella: You mean basing your company around a last gen console with a gimmick controller and nothing but shovelware could lead to problems?

Granted, their hand-helds still own the market, and the Wii was by all accounts an unqualified success. But the problem with the Wii has always been once you reach market saturation and there is around one Wii for every few people in the country, you are going to have a huge drop-off in revenue.

[admintell.napco.com image 300x340]

But I'm sure Reggie's body is ready to pull some new act of genius out of his sleeve.

Actually, the Wii's still going strong (sales are slowing, but it's still doing well); it's the 3DS launch that dragged them down.

In other words, pretty much the opposite of what you just said.

BKITU

2012-01-26 03:18:00 PM

Doc Daneeka: Pawn takes the King: taxandspend:
You might think Skyward Sword is not that good, but it's still Nintendo's fastest selling Zelda title. Whether or not it can match the success of Twilight Princess (which sold nearly 11 million copies on two consoles) or even Wind Waker (which clocks in at more than 4.5 million copies) remains to be seen as a lot of people hate on the title.

I'm quite enjoying SS, just never have enough time to play it very long.

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I bought it around release, but only am able to find time to play it in little bits and pieces.

Just beat the Sandship.

There are some mechanics in it that are kind of irritating, but the story is compelling, and it's definitely a lot harder than expected. The monster AIs are way, way more advanced than anything I have ever seen out of a Zelda title before.

You're about to go up Eldin Volcano. Shiat starts getting nasty.

Have fun!

/Currently 3/4 done with Hero Mode. Yikes.

bhcompy

2012-01-26 03:19:30 PM

Doc Daneeka: natmar_76: Strong Yen rate is costing all Japanese businesses money
The entire Japanese economy is down due to the recent disasters and the world economic climate

These are actually the two most relevant points.

Nintendo has been declared dead many times before. Personally, I think people would know better than to write them off so easily. Need to at least wait another couple years to see how the WiiU does.

The problem, of course, is that you have some history with Sega to show you that a company with strong first party games, weak 3rd party games, and questionable hardware decisions can have everything fall apart to the point where you need to completely redefine your business model. Ultimately, if Nintendo doesn't have a healthy amount of available capital, they can easily end up like Sega.

Carth

2012-01-26 03:21:18 PM

oh please have them keep doing poorly and decide to release Zelda on andriod/ios. Nintendo games have been ruined by Nintendo hardware for the last decade at least.

taxandspend

2012-01-26 03:24:35 PM

Carth: oh please have them keep doing poorly and decide to release Zelda on andriod/ios. Nintendo games have been ruined by Nintendo hardware for the last decade at least.

Because a smartphone is such better hardware than the Gamecube, GBA, DS, Wii and 3DS.

Splinshints

2012-01-26 03:28:08 PM

All I know is that I haven't found a reason to turn on my Wii since I canceled Netflix months ago. It just sits there, flashing its sad little blue light, forlorn and lonely in the corner.

If they weren't charging $5 for freaking NES games I'd use it. If it were more like

5 NES for $5
3 SNES/Turbografx16 for $5
1 N64 for $5

then I might consider it. But I'm not wasting $5 on thirty year old eight bit games when I can go to GoG.com and find more expansive, entertaining and recent games for the same price and a more convenient format... and then there's still Steam and Amazon.com when I get bored with GoGs selection...

Nina_Hartley's_Ass

2012-01-26 03:29:08 PM

RIP NINTENDO

jchuffyman

2012-01-26 03:29:20 PM

taxandspend: GreenAdder: [i.imgur.com image 640x488]

Technically, Nintendo would be an "its."

Actually, both are technically correct. In common British usage, collective nouns are normally replaced with they/their/them. This is why you sometimes see constructions like: My family are..., Led Zeppelin were...

/I farking hate it, and it sounds stupid as hell to me. But since I teach EFL using British textbooks, I deal with it every day.

Cubicle Jockey

2012-01-26 03:37:17 PM

natmar_76: Strong Yen rate is costing all Japanese businesses money
The entire Japanese economy is down due to the recent disasters and the world economic climate

This I don't get. Japan has a combination of an appreciating currency killing their domestic industries and a staggering 210% debt to GDP ratio.

Why the fark aren't they running the printing presses full speed at this point? It would alleviate both problems.

MrEricSir

2012-01-26 03:41:06 PM

taxandspend: I know. I am shocked that a new portable system doesn't have the same amount of games as a phone that has been out for years and that anyone can develop for. How dare Nintendo launch the 3DS without 100,000 games ready, 99.999% of which are either free, crap or free crap.

But why should I buy another device in the first place? I already play games on my phone. And so what if a lot of them are crap? The same goes for the 3DS -- or any console.

bhcompy

2012-01-26 03:50:42 PM

Cubicle Jockey: natmar_76: Strong Yen rate is costing all Japanese businesses money
The entire Japanese economy is down due to the recent disasters and the world economic climate

This I don't get. Japan has a combination of an appreciating currency killing their domestic industries and a staggering 210% debt to GDP ratio.

Why the fark aren't they running the printing presses full speed at this point? It would alleviate both problems.

IIRC they have negative interest rates and still can't sell bonds

SnakeLee

2012-01-26 03:54:31 PM

So time to buy a Wii then? Are there huge mark downs right now?

LarryDan43

2012-01-26 04:01:36 PM

Carth

2012-01-26 04:02:56 PM

taxandspend: Carth: oh please have them keep doing poorly and decide to release Zelda on andriod/ios. Nintendo games have been ruined by Nintendo hardware for the last decade at least.

Because a smartphone is such better hardware than the Gamecube, GBA, DS, Wii and 3DS.

The portable device I carry around all the time is a more convenient platform that I'll use daily.

mekkab

2012-01-26 04:09:03 PM

Carth: taxandspend: Carth: oh please have them keep doing poorly and decide to release Zelda on andriod/ios. Nintendo games have been ruined by Nintendo hardware for the last decade at least.

Because a smartphone is such better hardware than the Gamecube, GBA, DS, Wii and 3DS.

The portable device I carry around all the time is a more convenient platform that I'll use daily.

BINGO.

IamSoSmart_S_M_R_T

2012-01-26 04:20:28 PM

Splinshints: All I know is that I haven't found a reason to turn on my Wii since I canceled Netflix months ago. It just sits there, flashing its sad little blue light, forlorn and lonely in the corner.

Werd. My Wii has an emulator (SNES, NES, Genesis) with a ton of games and can play D/L'ed games and I still haven't used it in a year.

/Think I'm gonna just sell it

MrSteve007

2012-01-26 04:21:42 PM

Maybe they'll be able to pull it off, but frankly you can only take so many decades of Mario-Kart 64 Wii ultra-happy Yoshi Princess edition before gamers move on.

That said, they're going to have to really step up their game to compete against the:
www.justpushstart.com