Details from Nintendo’s latest financial results briefing – sales, strategy, competition, VC boost, more
Posted on October 30, 2013 by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Podcast Stories, Wii U
Update: Now over. Transcript complete.
Nintendo’s latest financial results briefing is about to begin. As usual, analyst David Gibson is in attendance, and will be tweeting live. We’ll round up any details that come in from the briefing below.
– Sales: Animal Crossing: New Leaf – 2.49 million, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon – 1.91 million, Tomodachi Collection – 1.37 million, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team – 1.37 million, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D – 1.19 million
– Nintendo said the company took inventory write down to account for price reduction
– Nintendo saying 3DS share has increased in Japan, Europe, and the US; it’s a growing market, you down in USA and Europe as last year launched XL
– Pokemon X/Y: European shares grew from 18% to 38%; Nintendo believes there is/will be a similar uptick in the US
– In the US, 3DS has already passed last year’s total
– Nintendo expects to sell over 5 million 3DS units this year in the US with a strong holiday season
– Nintendo says the 2DS’ awareness is still too low, but is designed to appeal to lower-priced users
– Survey indicates 2DS buyers were new users
– Wii Sports Club will be download only and free-to-play for 24 hours
– Will then be 200 yen per day or 1,000 yen for the entire game
– Wii Fit U is also free for 1 month for users who have the Balance Board
– In Japan, a survey showed 500,000 people still use the Balance Board
– Fit Meter also has a baramoeter so it can measure if you’re going uphill or downhill
– Because of Pokemon X/Y’s launch, Nintendo hadn’t been doing much Wii U marketing
– This has changed and sales have already improved
– Nintendo did 11.4 billion of digital sales, 50% of which was for complete game downloads (retail?)
– Nintendo believes new bundles in Japan (Family Pack) and USA (Mario & Luigi) will boost sales
– The StreetPass DLC games have been purchased for a value of 1.1 billion yen
– 35% of the DLC sales have come from Japan
– Nintendo expects Pokemon to help boost in the future
– Nintendo, whether digital or packaged, believes price should be the same
– Nintendo claims once a consumer buys a game digitally, they’re more likely to buy again digital
– Nintendo understands free-to-play market, etc.
– Users feel packaged seems more expensive, Nintendo is trying new models as a result like Wii Sports Club
– Pokemon X/Y shipped over 1 million units in September ahead of October launch
– Nintendo argues 3DS sold 5.5 million units last year and over 5 million units in Japan this year
– These are record levels for a handheld, happening at the same time as the smartphone expansion
– In handheld market, hardware plus software design combined benefit in games and Ames experience different versus smartphones
– Nintendo will use smartphones to promote its own games
– Hardware takes 1.5 years to design, and entry-level 2DS well planned ahead
– Weaker yen made the 2DS possible
– This holiday, games are targeted more for family
– Next year, advanced players will be targeted
– Nintendo says next-gen consoles aren’t targeted at the family audience this year
– Nintendo also admits competition is increasing
– Nintendo is targeting US, Europe, Japan, and perhaps Australia for growth
– Nintendo will explain Emerging Country strategy in January for its next results
– Iwata’s commitment to 100 billion operating profit this year: “make best effort to achieve target” and not going to quit
– Iwata is focused on creating long-term value for Nintendo
– Iwata remembers Yamauchi’s advice: “don’t copy other entertainment companies”
– Nintendo intends to boost VC and library; it’s not fully utilized
– Nintendo thinks it can do more with its digital offerings
– No plans to release games on smartphones
– Nintendo won’t cut people to cut costs, not pessimistic on the future of the company
– On Yamauchi shareholding said it’s not 49 days since his passing and no concrete plans or discussion before 49 days with them
– Plan to cooperate with family as much as possible and don’t want burden on the market (at 49 days, traditional ceremony conducted in Japan)
