200°

Nintendo posts $97M quarterly loss, despite Mario Kart 8 racing off shelves.

Mario Kart 8 enjoyed a great attach rate with shipments of 2.82 million by the end of June, but the vast majority of its success can be attributed to existing Wii U owners and not new buyers. Nintendo shipped 510,000 units of its home console across April to June, a quarter in which the company endured a 9.924 billion yen net loss, which converts to $97.2 million.

ritsuka6663551d ago

Mario Kart 8 enjoyed a great attach rate with shipments of 2.82 million''

Really impressive numbers considering the poor install base of WII U.

N4g_null3550d ago

The new building is done but the r and d for the unified os and system must still be effectively lowering their earnings.

They may hold off on buying companies out for a while. Some of these companies have rotten eggs still in their ranks.

What's good is the games are coming. Sells might not have jumped yet Xmas may be big for them this year. The hype is dying off for the other consoles and Nintendo has a solid list.

W101
Monster hunter
Wii fit u
Wii sports club
Mario 2 and 3d
Along with Lego, deus ex etc should prove to be long burn games with continued sales.

Bayo 1/2
Hyrule
Smash
Along with some indies will finish out this year.

Then you have rpg heaven in x and zelda coming in 2015. A possible starfox and splatoon.

The other question is when does the next handheld drop and will it be some sort of hybrid.

Also what is the forecast for japan's financial issues. Better yet when will that get better as that could be effecting sony also.

Otherwise the lost is falling and they still have enough money to keep doing the collaboration games and release other plans.

The toy line is going to be interesting though.

I think high end gaming is going to go vr and things are not looking good for most 3rd party studios next year. Hopefully they all see watch dog or gta 5 numbers they will all need it.

Concertoine3550d ago

Last year they didn't have much appeal outside of families and such with Wii Party U and 3D World, but this year they have hardcore games like Bayonetta 2 and Xenoblade and Fatal Frame which is uncharted territory regarding the system's appeal, so i think it will sell well in Japan especially this holiday.

If they can run commercials around the holidays on mainstream networks showing the family appeal and place ads on game-centric sites and youtube channels showing off the hardcore games then they will have maximized their potential, plain and simple.

Knushwood Butt3550d ago

There is a really small software library for the Wii U. Why is it impressive that Wii U owners pick up Mario Kart, which is the biggest release for months? There are no other Wii U software releases to compete with it. It's not like Watch Dogs Wii U version is eating into its sales or anything.

N4g_null3550d ago

Actually people think watch dogs sucks.
Mario kart has proven game play that people like.

There is literally nothing I want to play on the other systems. Pc yeah I got a list.

I have a list of 20 games along with some old wii gems on the wiiu and it looks like I'm buying almost every thing that is coming out this year from nintendo. They just have a different style.

MotherLight3550d ago

This is apparently why they are delaying Captain Toad in EU. Sucks.

JuleyJules3550d ago

At least it will be a big game in January that way right after Christmas. Better January than February or March like it was for DKC:TF this year! 3 months to wait between SM3DW and DKC was ridiculous!

MotherLight3550d ago

True, I just hate delays in general or when certain places don't even end up getting the game at all after it was announced they would.

Would love for everyone to get it at the same time as it was originally planned but it seems to be a trend lately with a lot of games, happens to every territory almost.

Not that I don't understand why it happens, just wish it didn't is all. Luckily, yes, there are plenty of Wii U games to keep people busy until then so it's no big deal and thankfully it isn't a huge delay.

DonDon3550d ago

Yamouchi was prez for 3.5 generations at Nintendo. Maybe Nintendo should use that as a general rule and the chair should ask Iwata to swap places with someone who has new and fresh ideas. I think Nintendo lost more core fans since Iwata's been prez. They gained a truck load of casuals and children, but even they've moved onto phone games and kinect.

thehobbyist3550d ago

Nintendo doesn't have a single mobile game and Wii U has minimal "Motion Controls(I hardly think a gyroscope is motion controls)"

Fail troll 0/10

Concertoine3550d ago

I really don't get the unwavering love for Yamauchi. He was losing ground faster than Iwata, and was a stubborn dick if i'm honest. If he was president in the modern internet sensationalist world we live in, the press would rip a lot of his comments apart. The N64 is basically the root of a lot of problems within the company because of the cartridge format and its effect on that system's ability to attract consumers and developers.

Im not saying Iwata is necessarily better, but Yamauchi was no genius either. He was just there at the right time and made a few ballsy decisions that payed off, then everything after the SNES was a downward slope.

randomass1713550d ago

@Concertoine I'm not sure I get it either. DonDon and a couple of others said they wanted Nintendo stock to go back to the Yamauchi family without much regard for whether or not any of them know anything about gaming. If Iwata was to give his position to someone else I would want it to be someone like him who is close to game development like Sakurai or someone like him. Yamuchi's era with Nintendo ended on a low point for the company and Iwata gave the company a lot of success with Wii and their DS line. Firing him really won't really guarantee a better Nintendo and it can even lead to a worse one.

wonderfulmonkeyman3550d ago

A bad thing, but at least it's not worse.
The wii u is selling at a profit now, for one thing, and their E3 raised interest in the system by quite a bit.

randomass1713550d ago

Wii U only recently went from around half of the Xbox One's numbers to just about the same amount. They're lucky to be even there IMO. If Nintendo can keep momentum ten they can at least outsell Xbox One over their life times. As I've said before though this console generation will pretty much belong to PS4.

Dunban673550d ago

Please look at Iwatas statement re the Wii u in the investor Q and A- the Wii u is NOT selling at a profit - only the remaining inventory from last fiscal year are selling at a profit because the losses were written off last year - any Wii u s manufactured and sold this year are done so at a loss

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80°

Nintendo's Massacre Of The 3DS And Wii U Is Finally Complete, Regrettably

Hanzala from eXputer: "The cruel hammer of Nintendo has fallen. Farewell, 3DS and Wii U, you surely brightened my life and many others; you won't be forgotten."

280°

Xbox's Preservation Step Sets A Much-Needed Example, Especially For Nintendo

Hanzla from eXputer inquires: "If Xbox can care about preserving its games and legacy, what exactly is wrong with Nintendo, trying to kill game preservation single-handedly?"

purple1015d ago

Ahh yes the good old game preservation of saving all your games to a removable hhd on the Xbox 360, taking it round your mates house, setting up multiple tvs to
Be met with “save data corrupted, please re download”

Or how about removing 360 games
From the store
, download them now or else, and, better hope to god that save data doesn’t corrupt, or it’s lost for ever

Nice one ☝️

Zeref4d ago

It's better than what Nintendo and Playstation is doing. It might not be perfect but at least they are TRYING. Unlike the others.

DarXyde4d ago

Trying? Take off the blinders for a moment, mate.

1. A failure to preserve games is just that: a failure to preserve games. Don't try to sugarcoat it: NO ONE is doing it properly. Better than awful is nothing to write home about.

2. At the time of this comment, isn't it the case that you need an internet connection to play Xbox games even if you buy physical discs that are hardly in circulation anymore? I don't have a Series X and I can't verify, but I think that is correct. I'm fairly certain you can at least play PS5 games at version 1.0 (not much of a win really when many games require day one patches). I think Microsoft's all digital, licensing approach is by far more aggressive than anyone else's. They really try to push you to game pass where you lose your entire library by umm.... Skipping a month of payments.

I don't think anyone is doing it right whatsoever. Don't get me started on Nintendo, who goes after anyone looking to preserve their games better than they ever would with extreme litigation.

Don't be a simp for any of these companies. Get it together.

PhillyDonJawn4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

@DarX never speak on Xbox again. You lost all credibility with your internet connection comment. Smh you have 0 clue and misinformed yet speaking on something you don't no squat about.

Einhander19724d ago

What has Sony done exactly? You guys keep deflecting to Sony but I am not actually seeing any results, and ai am certain nothing that you can come up with even comes close to what Microsoft has done and what they have tried and failed to do, like tie all your disks to your account on xbone.

Microsoft removed their whole indie section when they moved to the xbone because they were going to only allow games on the service that came from a publisher, id@xbox started after xbone launched and it only exists because Sony embraced indie and Microsoft was forced to cancel their plans and reverse course.

And every single game that was part of games for windows live including disk games (I have gta 4 on disk that won't work) so hundreds of games that use that DRM no longer work unless the company themselves patched it out which of course very few did.

MrBaskerville4d ago

Not trying. Tried. they killed of the backcomp program years ago. They set something up again, but sounds like it's more of an attempt to save the current library on whatever they are planning next. With luck they save everything and more, but let's see. I could see them killing off parts of the OG xbox and 360 libraries. Can't imagine that they would allow us to play Forza 5-7 in the future.

With that said, I do like what they've done and really wish they could have done more.

shinoff21834d ago

Zeref

So killing off physical media is trying what exactly. Ms don't really give a fk if you think they do your kidding yourself.

Profchaos4d ago

They are not trying this team is established for forward compatability the team is. It interested in preserving Xbox or 360 games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4d ago
isarai5d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref4d ago

Just because it's digital only doesn't mean you can't preserve it. Just put it on an external and you have the exact same functionality of what a disc does.

MrNinosan4d ago

Guess you're trolling, but if you actually think that's how it works, I'd recommend buying some braincells.

mkis0073d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Volitile vs nonvolitile data. A disc will not corrupt either. A drive can be corrupted.

Einhander19725d ago

This is just a scammy PR move to distract from the fact they are going digital only and trying to push streaming and subscriptions only.

No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft.

Without discs there is no preservation, preservation can't be done by the rights holders it can only be done by the consumers, anything else is a lie.

5d ago Replies(3)
Einhander19725d ago

Anyone remember xblig which Microsoft removed their whole 360 indie section removing hundreds of games from people?

5d ago
5d ago
Zeref4d ago

Do you know you can put your games on an external and preserve them that way? There are no benefits to discs. ZERO. Idk why some of you are still obsessed with them.

DarXyde4d ago

Because games like Persona 5 exist. It's STILL V1.00. On Playstation, that's a win because 1.00 is installed on the disc—no need to download anything.

If a game does not require any updates, it's all on the disc.

Extremely low bar in the modern era, of course. It's not much of a win by any stretch.

But for now, physical media does have a purpose, at least on Playstation.

Einhander19724d ago

That is factually not how game licensing works, try plugging your hard drive into someone else xbox, It's not going to work, and it won't work if the licensing servers ever go down.

Einhander19724d ago

Anyone remember games for windows live.

I have around a dozen games, some on Steam itself that will not work because Microsoft shut off the licensing servers.

BehindTheRows4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

I do. I STILL have games (Gears of War being the big one) I cannot access because Games for Windows LIVE is total garbage and no one has held Microsoft accountable.

Zeref4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership.

Chevalier4d ago

"You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership."

Damn how many times do people got to explain your idiocy to you? You can take a copy of Persona 5 like someone used as an example and play that game on ANY console WITHOUT logging in which means I can lend the game to a friend without internet and they can play my game. Can you lend your hard drive to anyone without logging in for them to play? NOPE. That is a huge difference and if you think otherwise then sorry you're an idiot.

Tacoboto4d ago

"No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft."

Ubisoft is literally erasing games people bought from their libraries... My PS1-3 discs are useless on modern hardware. Nintendo's re-published and resold almost their entire Wii U library, and the eShop is completely dead with no BC mechanism in the Switch software. Microsoft publishes everything they make today day one on Steam and Xbox/Windows. Sony only brings to PC the titles they think you might want some years later and Nintendo won't even design a functional long-lasting joystick.

You're absolutely trolling and not serious if you think Microsoft today is the worst offender.

shinoff21834d ago

Yay steam

Not everyone fks with computers though. The disc is still the best way as a console player. Period.

Tacoboto4d ago

How do Sony and Nintendo feel about these discs from 2001-2013?

Don't be stupid, you know Xbox is the best at this today.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4d ago
Hofstaderman4d ago

Nobody wants this. Sales or the lack of it in the case of XBOX is very telling. I wonder how the adorably all digital series X will fare. Adorably dismal perhaps?

crazyCoconuts4d ago

Only time will tell, but for from someone like me suspecting that Xbox is trying to gracefully exit the console market, that "forward compatibility" team is trying to get Xbox games playing on Windows PCs. I mean, it's nice that they're not planning on exiting with a "enjoy your games while the hardware still works" message, so that's nice. They still have a brand to protect via Microsoft so probably feel obligated to have a better exit strategy.

Xeofate4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

That is not their plan, their plan is to transfer users accounts to the cloud.

Phil Spencer himself said as much a few months back, plans could have changed but I think people are reading way too much into one statement where Phil said he would allow Epic on xbox because he wants to be able to sell xbox games directly on other platforms. Aka, instead of selling Sea of Thives through PSN he wants to have an xbox store to sell his games on PlayStation without giving PlayStation any money.

Again, it's extremely unlikely that Phil plans to put PC on xbox and licensing would prevent them from just giving out other publishers games purchased on xbox copies of thier games on PC, Microsoft does not own their games.

crazyCoconuts3d ago

The thing that doesn't align with the cloud strategy is the giving up on exclusives. You'd still need strong exclusives for cloud streaming - it's still a "platform" , just with a lower upfront hardware investment. I feel like they've learned what PS learned with PSNow long ago. We're not ready to stream games and it's only gonna lose them money to try at this point

FinalFantasyFanatic4d ago

I would love that, I'd buy up some of the Xbox games if they could run on PC, like the Rare Replay, Lost Odyssey and Dead or Alive Ultimate, probably a pipe dream though.

Show all comments (43)
80°

Looking Ahead: The Lingering Questions About the Next Mario Kart

VGChartz's Mark Nielsen: "10 years. It’s been almost 10 years since the last mainline release in the Mario Kart series. Mario Kart 8 came out for the Wii U in 2014 and became the best-selling game for the system by a sizeable margin, and later pulled the same magic trick on the Nintendo Switch under the stage name Deluxe. All in all, it's sold nearly 70 million copies over the last decade and is still selling like hot cakes to this day, so it’s no wonder Nintendo has been in no rush to replace it. However, with rumors of a new system being just around the corner, and reports a few years back that a new Mario Kart is indeed under way, it seems the era of 8 might very well be drawing to a close. It’s an exciting prospect to be sure, but after two Nintendo systems with Mario Kart 8 at their heart, a lot of questions remain about how Nintendo will choose to follow it up."

Read Full Story >>
vgchartz.com
Yi-Long6d ago

I hope they just keep building on Mario Kart 8; Add a track-creation tool, and probably open it up to more Nintendo IPs with new tracks and characters, so Metroid, Punch Out, Starfox, Animal Crossing, etc etc.

gold_drake6d ago

there wont be a new one until the switch 2 comes out.

nintendo needs their bangers early on