Nintendo sees first annual loss, cuts 3DS forecast

[onehandle]

(Reuters) - Nintendo Co Ltd posted a sharp drop in quarterly profit and forecast a bigger-than-expected full-year loss, its first at an operating level, as it battles a strong yen and its games devices lose ground to gadgets such as Apple's iPhone.

The creator of the Super Mario franchise dominated the video games industry for years with its DS handheld players and Wii home consoles, but is now struggling to keep up as more versatile smartphone and tablet sales boom.

"To say that (the days of consoles) are over is likely an overstatement, but social network and Internet delivered games are growing and structurally changing the future of the industry, which is a strong wind against Nintendo," said Shigeo Sugawara, senior investment manager at Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Asset Management.

Nintendo now expects an annual operating loss of 45 billion yen ($575 million), dwarfing expectations of a 4.2 billion yen loss, based on the average of 21 analyst forecasts.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/nintendo-q3-profit-falls-61-072555714.html

Apple is killing Nintendo with the iPhone and iPad. As someone with a longtime soft spot for the games on all of their platforms, I wish they would see the light and start porting games to iOS. I've also wanted Apple to buy Nintendo for years.

[n2doc]

1. Their other big problem is a lack of games

The 3DS has a couple of Mario titles and Zelda. The rest is crap. This is not going to sell a fancy game machine to any but the fanatics.

And they have taken way too long for a Wii replacement. I don't know what they are doing but it seems like they must be taking too many long lunches.

I do agree with your apple comment, though. The future of casual gaming is on the iOS or other mobile platforms, where one can buy lots and lots of games for a few bucks or less, rather than a few $40 titles on proprietary discs or chips that can get lost easily.

[Xithras]

2. No real suprise for anyone who likes Nintendo

The Wii hasn't had any substantial revisions in 5 years, and the next generation WiiU will be out sometime this year. In addition to problems in the mobile market, their console bread-and-butter market is in a rut. Nobody wants to buy the CURRENT outdated console when the next one is right around the corner.

Nintendo needs to get out of the handheld market, because there is no way they can compete with handhelds and touchpads over the long term. While their hardware may still be technically superior for mobile gaming, advances in smartphone technology is closing the gap very quickly. They should, instead, return their focus back to the home and engage Apple and Microsoft in a war for the entertainment center. I own both a Wii and an XBox, and gaming is only the smallest part of the difference between the two. My XBox lets me play videos and browse photo libraries from other computers on my network, lets me communicate with friends, Tweet, and Facebook from my TV, lets me run YouTube and many other apps, and on, and on. It's a complete media center. My Wii, on the other hand, is simply a gaming machine. Sure, it has a few half-arsed apps that kinda-sorta let you do a few other things, but it's very limited and the interface is clunky and slow.

Dedicated videogame machines are a waning market, and I really doubt that the concept of a "videogame console" will even exist in another decade. If Nintendo wants to stay relevant in the North American market, they need to use their considerable brand recognition and jump into the fight NOW. Atari and Sega were once gaming behemoths, and both perished because they ignored the fundamental shifts occurring in their markets. It would be pretty sad to see Nintendo share that same fate.

[AverageJoe90]

3. Anyone else think their misguided support of SOPA/PIPA might've had something to do with it as well?