Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Podcast Stories, Wii U | 9 Comments

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)

Source

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Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos, Wii U | 0 comments

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Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 13 Comments

With Nintendo releasing its latest financial results today, president and CEO Satoru Iwata appeared for a press conference to follow up on the company’s performance.

Naturally, the topic of games was something that came up quite often. Iwata stressed the importance of upcoming Wii U titles for the holidays, stating that Nintendo’s performance hinges on the sales of new titles like Super Mario 3D World. After the results are reviewed, Nintendo executives will determine “what the company needs to do, over the long-term, about its platform.”

Iwata said:

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Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 1 Comment

Club Nintendo has received a Halloween makeover just ahead of the event tomorrow. You can check it out here. It’s nothing too major, but the front page has been updated, and the buttons now have an orange coloring.

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Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii, Wii U | 1 Comment

Target is carrying on with its annual “Buy 2, Get 1 Free” sale. The offer will be valid between November 10 and November 16. Note that the ad above highlights PlayStation 4 titles, but all in-stock games will be included in the sale.

Source

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Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii | 0 comments

This week, Famitsu put out its 1,300th issue. The magazine celebrated by giving insight into Japanese sales since the beginning of the 21st century.

Some notable statistics:

– Roughly 14,000 console and portable titles have come out in Japan since January 1, 2001
– Handheld systems have dominated the Japanese market since the DS’ arrival
– 32.9 million DS units sold in Japan
– PSP sold just under 20 million
– 39 DS titles are in the top-100 sales ranking
– 22 PS2 titles are in the top-100 sales ranking
– 16 Wii titles are int he top 100-sales ranking
– Year 2006: most titles in the top 100 with 14
– New Super Mario Bros. sol 6,424,042 copies in Japan
– Nintendo took up all five top slots for software sales since 2001
– Pokemon Diamond/Pearl is number two, followed by Black/White, Ruby/Sapphire, Animal Crossing: New Leaf
– All of these games sold at least 5 million copies
– Brain Age, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, Dragon Quest IX and Mario Kart DS round out the top 10
– 8 Nintendo-published titles overall
– Nintendo has sold 99.8 million pieces of retail software in Japan since 2001
– Combined with the 33 million or so Pokemon games sold, that’s nearly 133 million Nintendo-produced game cards and discs floating around Japan
– That’s enough to give every Japanese citizen one game and still have about seven million left over
– Runner-up in software sales: Square Enix
– Square Enix has sold just over 30 million retail copies
– Only 11 publishers produced all of the games that made the top 100 sales ranking

Famitsu concluded with the following:

“More users are downloading their software purchases, and the flow toward free-to-play can’t be ignored. Games are being played in an expanding number of ways, and there’s been a massive rise in the number of users who play games on their smartphones. We’re approaching an era where software sales aren’t necessarily a direct reflection of what gamers like.”

Source

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 3 Comments

Nintendo’s latest financial results are in. The company did just about what most had expected – the Wii U struggled, but the 3DS continued to perform very well.

Here’s the full overview of Nintendo’s performance:

– 300,000 Wii U consoles sold in the three month period to September 30th
– That’s double the 160,000 sold in the prior three months
– Wii U has sold only 460,000 worldwide in the six month period to September 30th
– An average of 76,666 units a month worldwide
– Lifetime Wii U sales are 3.91 million
– Nintendo not likely to reach its nine million sales expectation by the end of its 2014 financial year
– Pikmin 3 and Zelda: Wind Waker HD did not significantly boost console sales during the six month period in which both games were released
– Nintendo’s net sales: 196.5 billion yet
– Loss of 23.2 million yen
– Nintendo statement: “The Wii U hardware still has a negative impact on Nintendo’s profits”
– Nintendo blamed the loss on a markdown in the US and Europe, plus advertising and research/development for Wii U
– Animal Crossing: New Leaf has sold 2.49 million units worldwide
– Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D all showing “steady sales”
– Global 3DS sales: 3.89 million for the period
– 27.38 million games sold during the period
– 3DS has now sold 34.98 million units worldwide since launch to the end of September 2013
– Nintendo not revising its forecast for the 2014 financial year even with the loss and Wii U’s poor sales
– Pokemon X/Y “showed extremely strong initial sales, further propelling the popularity of the system”
– Wii U: “we attempt to concentrate on proactively releasing key first-party titles towards the coming year in order to regain momentum for the platform”
– Nintendo pointed to Wii Party U and Super Mario 3D World
– Wii U will be offered “at an affordable price by bundling software with the system”
– New promotional activities for Wii Fit U
– Nintendo also hopes to improve digital revenue and hardware profitability for both Wii U and 3DS by reducing their manufacturing cost

You can find Nintendo’s full financial results here.

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Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 5 Comments

Nintendo tends to make use of various art styles with the Zelda games. We’ve seen approaches that have been realistic, cel-shaded, and even impressionistic.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker most definitely introduced the biggest change in the series. No one saw the cartoon-like visuals coming, and the style initially caused quite the uproar. It’s in part due to Wind Waker’s original reception that it seems as though Nintendo will be more cautious with art styles in future Zeldas.

Eiji Aonuma, speaking with GamesTM this month, said the development team “will be a bit more careful in the future” with regard to the visual direction of Zelda entries. That being said, Aonuma would be willing “to break new ground again” if an approach was created that would appeal to the developers and players.

Aonuma told the magazine:

“We encountered an awful lot of problems from the drastic leap we took with Wind Waker. I think we will be a bit more careful in the future, but if we find a new approach that not just the developers, but also the users would enjoy then I think we will want to break new ground again. But we haven’t found such an approach yet.”

Thanks to joclo for sending this our way.

More: Eiji Aonuma, interview, The Legend of Zelda, top

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DSiWare, General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments

Nintendo has announced the 2013 Japanese Club Nintendo Platinum rewards. Members who reached the status this year will receive a download code for Advance Wars: Day of Ruin as well as a calender.

Advance Wars’ inclusion as a reward is particularly noteworthy. Nintendo never released Days of Ruin in Japan, but is now doing so through Club Nintendo.

Platinum members can download the title as a DSiWare title starting today. Nintendo will also allow all Japanese Club Nintendo users to pick up Advance Wars: Days of Ruin for 800 points beginning in May 2014.

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Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 3 Comments

Nintendo doesn’t plan on putting any of its franchises on smartphones. However, that doesn’t mean the company is opposed to the use of such devices entirely.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, speaking with CNET, spoke about how Nintendo is consistently considering the mobile space from a marketing perspective. He also pointed out the importance of exclusive IPs like Mario and Zelda so that consumers understand they can only experience these series by picking up Nintendo hardware.

“We’re constantly thinking about how to leverage mobile as a marketing vehicle. How do I give little tastes of content, little experiences that then drive the consumer back to my hardware environment?”

“That’s why we’re so focused on having content exclusive to our platform. When the consumer wants to play Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon, they have to purchase our hardware to do so. And that preserves our overall financial model.”

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