Nintendo just posted its second-quarter financial results a few minutes ago. Here’s a brief overview of some of the more important tidbits:
Hardware
– Wii U: 1.12 million units (hardware)
– Wii U LTD: 7.29 million units (hardware)
– Wii U: 9.4 million units (software)
– Wii U LTD: 41.67 million units (software)
– 3DS: 2.09 million units (hardware)
– 3DS LTD: 45.42 million units (hardware)
– 3DS: 23.3 million units (software)
– 3DS LTD: 186.22 million units (software)
Software
– Smash Bros. 3DS – 3.22 million units worldwide
– Tomodachi Life – 1.27 million units worldwide (3.12 million cumulative)
Other
– 171.4 billion yen revenue
– 14.3 billion yen net income
– No forecast change
– Operating loss of 0.22 billion yen (lowest since 2011)
– Nintendo has reversed the losses in Q1 from Foreign Exchange due to Q2’s stronger than expected US Currency
– About 210 million Restructuring charges incurred in H1
– Analysts expected a net income profit of $63 million US (Nintendo did $230 million)
– Wii U’s 3.6 million forecast remains intact and will most likely exceed internal projections by year-end
– FY 2014/15 forecast for hardware: 3DS – 12 million, Wii U – 3.60 million
– FY 2014/15 forecast for softwre: 3DS – 67 million, Wii U – 20 million
Head past the break for a bit of commentary from Nintendo regarding its sales.
Consolidated Operating Results
During the six months ended September 30, 2014, for “Nintendo 3DS,” “Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS,” released in Japan in September, showed extremely strong initial sales, and marked 3.22 million units in sales globally, partly because shipments for the October release in the overseas markets began in September. “Tomodachi Life,” released in June in the overseas markets, continued to show steady sales, and marked 1.27 million units in sales worldwide during this fiscal year (3.12 million units on a cumulative basis). As a result, the global sales of the “Nintendo 3DS” hardware and software were 2.09 million and 23.3 million units respectively.
With respect to “Wii U,” Nintendo released “Mario Kart 8” globally in May, which has continued to show steady sales, as well as “Hyrule Warriors,” released in September in the overseas markets, which has gained popularity. The worldwide sales of the “Wii U” hardware and software were 1.12 million units and 9.4 million units respectively.
Net sales as a result were 171.3 billion yen (of which overseas sales were 125.5 billion yen or 73.3% of the total sales) and gross profit was 81.0 billion yen. Total selling, general and administrative expenses exceeded gross profit, resulting in an operating loss of 0.2 billion yen. As a result of exchange gains totaling 15.5 billion yen due to depreciation of the yen at the end of this period compared with the one at the end of the last fiscal year, ordinary income was 22.1 billion yen and net income was 14.3 billion yen.
Consolidated Financial Forecast
There are no revisions to the consolidated financial forecast for this fiscal year, announced on May 7, 2014.
Since the May release of “Mario Kart 8,” the “Wii U” platform has been experiencing improved sales momentum. In addition, we will release “Super Smash Bros. for Wii U” in November in the United States, and in December in Japan and Europe. It is the first year-end sales season for Wii U in which two big Nintendo titles will be available for family members and friends to have fun together with in their living rooms. Moreover, we will launch character figures called “amiibo,” which are categorized as a brand new product genre, in conjunction with the release of “Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.” “amiibo” is one of the examples of actively utilizing our own character IP. In addition to being attractive figures for consumers to collect, when “amiibo” figures are tapped on the Wii U GamePad, they offer fun new gaming experiences by affecting relevant software titles in various ways. At the same time, we will aim for more product exposure and an increase in brand awareness by having Nintendo character figures displayed on store shelves. By doing so, we will attempt to expand sales and further stimulate the Wii U platform.
For “Nintendo 3DS,” due to a lack of strong titles especially in Japan, the sales momentum had slowed down; however, since this summer, the “Nintendo 3DS” platform has been gaining sales momentum as a result of releasing key titles one after another. We expect to expand sales in the year-end sales season with “Pokémon Omega Ruby” and “Pokémon Alpha Sapphire” to be released globally in November, and a number of key titles from third-party publishers. “New Nintendo 3DS/3DS XL,” launched as the newest members of the “Nintendo 3DS” family in Japan in October, are off to a good start. On top of the features of the existing “Nintendo 3DS” models, “New Nintendo 3DS/3DS XL” have the new “Super-Stable 3D” function, which provides players with a more comfortable 3D gaming experience, even in games involving intense movement, and a new stick and buttons, which enhance the play controls of the existing “Nintendo 3DS” hardware. Furthermore, by using the new “NFC” feature, “New Nintendo 3DS/3DS XL” are going to be compatible with “amiibo” in the future. “New Nintendo 3DS/3DS XL” have been well received by consumers who purchased them, and we aim to further accelerate the sales pace of the “Nintendo 3DS” hardware.
Koei Tecmo seems to be pleased with the performance of Hyrule Warriors. During the company’s latest financial earnings Q&A, Koei Tecmo couldn’t say if the game surpassed the 500,000 target since Nintendo handled publishing in the west. However, Hyrule Warriors’ Japanese sales are in line with what was expected, and overseas sales are above expectations. There are hopes for even higher sales outside of Japan with more shipments in the second half of the fiscal year.
Pokemon X and Pokemon Y received a new update today, bringing the games up to version 1.3. You’ll need to head on over to the eShop for the patch.
Nintendo says version 1.3 includes “general bug fixes”. The update also features adjustments to make for “a more fun gaming experience”.
Today’s update will need to be applied before using the online features below:
– Connecting to the Internet using the Player Search System
– Using Wonder Trade
– Using Game Sync
– Connecting to the Global Trade Station Mystery Gift
Thanks to dkaleo82 and DavidTendo for the tip.
One new game will be available on the Japanese Wii U Virtual Console next week. It is as follows:
Devil World (Famicom, 514 yen)
The game above are hitting the Japanese eShop on November 5.
