It’s been a good few years to be a Nintendo hater. Nintendo has not posted a profit for the past three years, something that would have been unthinkable for most of the company’s long, illustrious history. As a result, both fans and publishers have largely written off the Wii U and armchair analysts have latched onto the idea that Nintendo should abandon hardware and start pumping out cheap content for mobile devices.
Even though Nintendo is, judging by the mood online, thoroughly washed up, they’ve quietly been piecing together a comeback this year. The 3DS continues to be a solid seller on the back of new hits like Bravely Default and Tomodachi Life, and Nintendo scored a major hit with the excellent Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U. They’re also, importantly, now making a profit on every Wii U sold. During the first half of this financial year (financial years run from April to March) Nintendo sold 2.1 million 3DSes and 1.12 Wii Us, which isn’t huge, but much healthier than last year’s numbers.
This all added up to Nintendo generating a $132 million profit during April – September of this year (during the same period last year they only made around $5 million). Of course with Christmas and big games like Super Smash Bros. for Wii U on the way, Nintendo’s financials can only improve, all but guaranteeing a healthy profit at the end of this fiscal year.
So yes, maybe, just maybe, Nintendo isn’t DOOOOMED (for a few days at least).
Via CVG