Well, it’s not good, per se, but everybody was expecting it to be a hell of a lot worse. Still, it’s never fun to tell your stockholders, “Hey, we lost $455.9 million last year!”
So, how is this not bad?
First of all, everybody was predicting a much higher operating loss, so Nintendo has staunched any fiscal bleeding. Secondly, this is largely due to factors that Nintendo can fix, or are simply out of its control.
In the “fixable” category: the price building 3DSes and selling them. You might remember Nintendo had to cut the price of the 3DS, selling it below cost and violating their business model. Fortunately, cost savings will start racking up over the next fiscal year, making the 3DS profitable.
Out of their control? Currency fluctuations. The stronger the dollar and the euro are, the more money Nintendo makes. The weaker they are, the less it makes, and the yen’s been getting stronger lately.
In short, sorry Nintendo haters, but this is just a speed bump.
image courtesy Know Your Meme