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[Basileus777]

Stock buy-back, ramping up development / marketing, and an investment into new facilities. All of that costs a lot of money. I for one am glad that Nintendo is doing some good with their large cash stockpile.

Though at this rate you have to wonder how long it will remain a large cash stockpile.

 

[Ninjimbo]

How realistic is it to expect Nintendo to change their situation within the year? June is two months away. What the hell can Iwata do? :/

If they want to get rid of the guy, do it now.

 

[injurai]

Is their cash reserve really only half it was like 18 months ago? That's wrong or really bad.

Stock buy-back, ramping up development / marketing, and an investment into new facilities. All of that costs a lot of money. I for one am glad that Nintendo is doing some good with their large cash stockpile.

Still though. Once they start tapping into it like that, they need to start seeing returns. Otherwise that is a massive fall off over the value of the company.

 

[Sandfox]

Nintendo is in trouble. There's nothing they can do to steal the thunder from VR E3. They can Zelda, price cut, new Pokemon, new Metroid.... Doesn't matter. VR is the hot new thing, and everything else is last gen.

VR is still somewhat far off and its not like its just going to make every other type of gaming obsolete.

Still though. Once they start tapping into it like that, they need to start seeing returns. Otherwise that is a massive fall off over the value of the company.

They're investing in moves that will help their future platforms so we'll see returns then if they are indeed doing what needs to be done.

 

[vinnygambini]

Stock buy-back, ramping up development / marketing, and an investment into new facilities. All of that costs a lot of money. I for one am glad that Nintendo is doing some good with their large cash stockpile.

Nintendo was at 9.6 Billion US in Cash & Equivalents (Short-term investments) as of Q3.

1.1 Billion Stock-Buy Back
350 Million Loss Fiscal Year
130 Million paid in Dividends

9.6-1.6 Billion (total of above for the fiscal year ending March 31st 2014)= 8 Billion

Where did the other 3 Billion go if Nintendo is ''only'' over 5 Billion lol?

 

[numble]

Well, that gives a more specific answer to stuff that's been discussed in previous topics.

So, while obviously things aren't going to continue as they have been (obviously something is going to be done, for better or worse or just different), but, even with how relatively bad things have been going the past few years (their first fiscal losses ever coming in those 3 years), if they had to, they have a big enough money bin of cash (even ignoring stuff like properties and other such stuff, just pure money) for 14 years of these horrible losses.

To clarify, again, I know people aren't just going to stand around and twiddle their thumbs through 14 years of losses. But, the point is, even with how catastrophic (relatively speaking) things have been, the notion that those losses are putting the company in any sort of immediate danger with regards to them not having money are simply absurd.

Do not simply subtract losses from cash on hand. You are forgetting dividend payments, and things like share buybacks. Over the last 2 years, that has accounted for an extra $1.5 billion spent.

 

[jblank83]

isn't that effectively 5 billion dollars, or less than half of what it once was

It's 5 billion dollars, and it's after the buyback of the Iwata family stock at the request of Iwata's daughter, as well as the building of the new Kyoto building, hiring surges, and other investment costs.

 

[Arya Stark]

*Iwata said "only after playing the WiiU is it possible to understand its appeal. Low sales are due to the console being not well-enough known." Within the company, proposals for how to play the WiiU are being considered.

Iwata sounds like a GAF poster

 

[doofy102]

He's not wrong that some people love the Wii U and exclusive Nintendo games once they actually play it (the majority of my friends, for instance, after I brought it so someone's house once) but that's no indication of the wider market, and he should not even be in this defensive position in the first place .

 

[disappeared]

Is their cash reserve really only half it was like 18 months ago? That's wrong or really bad.

That's the reality for a company with an identity crisis.

 

[Squire]

VR is still somewhat far off and its not like its just going to make every other type of gaming obsolete.

That's not really relevant to his point. It's future tech, yeah, but that's what people want. Wii U is already behind in a big way from a tech standpoint. E3 is going to widen the gap that much more because yeah, VR is going to be a big part of the conversation. It's a gimmick like everything else, but Nintendo can't do it.

 

[RM8]

Can someone actually provide an example of a traditional gaming company that has experienced sustained revenue growth from releasing games on mobile or are we just assuming here?

I imagine guys like Sega, Ubisoft, Namco, Square Enix, etc. - they ARE making money, but definitely not enough to make mobile their number one priority... not even Square Enix, who releases a ton of stuff on mobile. There's a trend, though, these companies release really cheap-to-make stuff that is pretty much designed to make a profit. There's pretty much no ambition behind these projects, those are done on consoles and not on phones.

Basically, I think it's silly thinking mobile will solve Nintendo's problems just because. Not everyone can be Supercell, and even if Nintendo hits gold, it might be only once like King with Candy Crush.

 

[Jonnyram]

Why is it June specifically? It says that the approval vote is in March.

The next investor meeting is in June, right after E3. The writer of the article suggests that if Iwata doesn't unveil something revolutionary at E3, he will have a rough time in the next investor's meeting.

Another thing mentioned in the Nikkei article is how important Yamauchi's passing could be, as Yamauchi was one of the main defenders of Iwata and his policies. When he passed away, he left his 10% share in Nintendo to his four children, and they have sold most of that stock back to Nintendo now. Without Yamauchi to protect him, he needs to get results soon, or face pressure for resignation from overseas investors.

 

[Coxy]

Is their cash reserve really only half it was like 18 months ago? That's wrong or really bad.

no its actually better IF they have invested it well, having too big a pile of cash sitting there is wasting money

 

[QaaQer]

Though at this rate you have to wonder how long it will remain a large cash stockpile.

and if they have to write down their massive wii u inventory, things will look even worse.

 

[Visualante2]

Yamauchi's kids need to learn a thing about honour and respect.

 

[Striek]

The 500 billion yen figure is only cash on hand & accounts recievable, they still have almost as much again in short term investments (plus more in longer term investments). The stockpile Nintendo has is slowly diminishing, but nowhere near as fast as some of you are speculating.

 

[NotMyRealName]

Zelda and playable Smash Bros will be at E3 in June. Everything will be fine. All it takes it one game to make all the difference.

lol. Get out the chalkboard.

 

[catmario]

This E3 could be the really tough test for iwata.

Nintendo should bring the tons of new thing for WiiU.

WiiU needs fresh thing.

 

[Father_Brain]

*Iwata said "only after playing the WiiU is it possible to understand its appeal. Low sales are due to the console being not well-enough known." Within the company, proposals for how to play the WiiU are being considered.

Sweet Jesus, the sheer delusion on display here...

 

[Vanillalite]

lol. Get out the chalkboard.

 

[Tomohawk]

I think it's okay to analyze a situation and decide that mobile is not for you based on your skillset and strengths as a company.

I think it's incredibly disingenuous to argue there aren't a ton of companies who have been making lots of money in mobile for years now, and experienced strong growth, especially when you completely fail your "sustained revenue growth" bar of success before we even begin to analyze the answer to your question.

Yeah, its weird that Iwata would question that, but its probably PR to make investors think their confident in their current decisions.

Also I think a Nintendo theme park would be an excellent idea, IP's like pokemon and mario would do very well in visitors. It's a big investment though, they should probably look in to a partnership with Disney or Uuniversal.

 

[theprodigy]

lol. Get out the chalkboard.

he's being sarcastic

 

[Sandfox]

That's not really relevant to his point. It's future tech, yeah, but that's what people want. Wii U is already behind in a big way from a tech standpoint. E3 is going to widen the gap that much more because yeah, VR is going to be a big part of the conversation. It's a gimmick like everything else, but Nintendo can't do it.

I'm not expecting to see any VR game at E3 for another two years or so and at this point Nintendo's next platform will be released in the "age of VR" and what they do with that is what's really important.

 

[injurai]

They're investing in moves that will help their future platforms so we'll see returns then if they are indeed doing what needs to be done.

Yeah I don't expect to see the payoffs just yet. But they need to be coming for that kind of money spent to be worth it.

 

[Team Filler]

You can leverage your nostalgia and IPs without necessarily having to make mobile games. I'm convinced that the Virtual Console is a sleeping giant for Nintendo if they would stop fucking it up every step of the way. If you make it a simple, comprehensive store front and make the hardware to play it cheap enough people will throw money your way.

Pretty much my thoughts as well. Nintendo's bungling of VC across multiple platforms is incredibly distressing to watch, it would be such an easy win for them. I don't understand it at all.

 

[ZeroMaverick]

This is going to be interesting. I'm excited to see what Nintendo does in the next few years.

 

[RM8]

This E3 could be the really tough test for iwata.

Nintendo should bring the tons of new thing for WiiU.

WiiU needs fresh thing.

Sadly I don't see it happening :/ No one wants to make WiiU games right now, and I'm not sure how many 1st party games they can announce so soon. See, I'm not hating on indies, but indies don't make consoles turn around, and I can see this E3 being an indie-fest for WiiU. I sound pessimistic, but I'm actually hopeful for a nice change of fate for WiiU.

 

[Tomohawk]

It's 5 billion dollars, and it's after the buyback of the Iwata family stock at the request of Iwata's daughter, as well as the building of the new Kyoto building, hiring surges, and other investment costs.

I think you mean Yamauchi's daughter.

 

[Dryk]

You can leverage your nostalgia and IPs without necessarily having to make mobile games. I'm convinced that the Virtual Console is a sleeping giant for Nintendo if they would stop fucking it up every step of the way. If you make it a simple, comprehensive store front and make the hardware to play it cheap enough people will throw money your way.

Nintendo over the last couple of years has reminded me of a man sitting on a huge pile of gold, starving to death because the commodity prices dipped. They have all this valuable IP, but it's not quite as valuable as they want it to be so they hold out.

 

[Gskyace]

* Nintendo rejected the suggestion of a Hong Kong investor that Nintendo move towards smartphone games with the observation "are there any companies that have had sustained revenue growth from smartphone games?"
* The head of a large Chinese investment firm assigned to analyze Nintendo observed that "Nintendo must leverage its intellectual property, such as its characters." As a matter of fact, a few years ago there were rumours that Nintendo was planning to open a theme park based on its characters in Kyoto, but the project has apparently been mothballed.

These opinions from China are worthless, actually.

 

[Biker19]

Isn't that the type of thing that you should figure out before you release your console? It's been over a year and they still don't know how to sell it to people.

I agree. It's too little, too late for that now. The console's dead in the water.

 

[SwiftDeath]

These opinions from China are worthless, actually.

How is "Nintendo must leverage its intellectual property, such as its characters" a bad idea?

 

[Aquamarine]

The 500 billion yen figure is only cash on hand & accounts recievable, they still have almost as much again in short term investments (plus more in longer term investments). The stockpile Nintendo has is slowly diminishing, but nowhere near as fast as some of you are speculating.

Nikkei quote:

"任天堂の2013年末の現預金は5000億円超。"


The 500 billion yen figure was referencing Nintendo's cash position at the end of 2013 (Q3).

Presumably it will show a decline on May 7th with the FY release, as it is the Fiscal Year end and Nintendo performed its $1.1 billion Treasury Stock repurchase in the fourth quarter.



Full Nikkei article:

家庭用ゲーム機『Wii U』の販売の低迷などで業績不振が続く任天堂の岩田聡社長が“憂鬱の春”を迎えている。6月開催予定の株主総会では経営責任を問う声が一段と強まりかねないからだ。ライバルのソニー・コンピュータエンタテインメント（SCE）の新型ゲーム機『プレイステーション（PS）4』が好調なだけに、収益改善への具体策の提示が早急に求められている。

今年2月、任天堂本社に1通の手紙が届いた。差出人は香港の投資家で、内容は「スマートフォン（スマホ）にマリオのゲームを提供すべきだ」と意見するものだった。ただ、任天堂幹部は「スマホにゲームを出して高収益をあげ続けている企業があるのか」と一蹴し、具体的な検討テーマには上らなかったという。この投資家だけではない。市場関係者には任天堂の“隠れ資産”ともいうべき人気のゲームキャラクターの“多重活用”を求める声が増えている。中国の富裕投資家から任天堂の投資魅力の分析を委託されたという、ある調査会社首脳は「任天堂はキャラクターなどの資産を積極的に生かすべきだ」と指摘する。実は数年前に京都市内に『スーパーマリオ』などのキャラクターを使ったテーマパーク構想が水面下で進んだこともあったという。

すでにある“資産”が注目を浴びるのは、新しい収益源が見あたらないことに対する投資家のいらだちの表れでもある。任天堂は2014年3月期に連結営業損益が350億円の赤字（前期は364億円の赤字）で、3期連続の赤字に陥る見通しだ。ゲーム雑誌の『ファミ通』によると、2月に国内で発売されたSCEのPS4の販売台数は最初の2日間の販売台数が32万台を超えた。前モデルの発売後2日間の3.6倍と好調な滑り出しとなった。一方、任天堂のWii Uの今期の世界全体の販売台数は280万台と、従来予想の900万台を大きく下回る。2015年3月期も逆風は続く。それでも、任天堂はWii Uの需要喚起に向けた手立てを打ち出していない。岩田社長の考えは「Wii Uは遊んでみれば面白さは分かる。売れないのは周知が足りないせいだ」。社内には遊び方の提案などの指示を飛ばしているという。

「健康事業に参入する」「スマホへ有料ゲームは提供しない」。1月下旬の経営方針説明会で、岩田氏はいならぶ投資家を前にこう説明した。新たなゲームビジネスモデルの構築を期待した投資家からは失望売りが出た。株価は1月10日の年初来高値1万6150円から、いまでは1万2000円前後で推移している。任天堂の2013年末の現預金は5000億円超。故・山内溥前社長の「娯楽業界はばくち。当たるときも外れる時もある」という信念から、厳しい冬に備えて、手元資金を積み上げてきたためで、赤字決算が続いているとはいえ、会社経営には余裕はある。

ただ岩田社長にいつまでも時間が与えられているかといえば話は別だ。最後に連結営業利益を出した2011年3月期決算後の株主総会での岩田社長を再任する提案への賛成率は92.89％あった。それが2013年の総会では77.26％まで低下。他の役員が9割以上の支持を集めるなか、岩田社長への“信任票”の低さが目立つ。今年の総会が一段と注目されるのは、昨年9月に岩田体制を支えてきた筆頭株主の山内氏が死去したことも大きい。山内氏が保有していた約1割の任天堂株は4人の子供が相続し、その多くを任天堂に売却した。山内氏という後ろ盾を失った岩田社長は早急に結果を出せなければ、株価下落にしびれを切らした海外機関投資家などから辞任圧力が高まりかねない。

株主総会の直前の6月に米ロサンゼルスでゲームの国際展示会『E3』が開かれる。岩田社長が世界が注目する晴れ舞台で、明確な巻き返し策を打ち出せるかどうか。そこで“驚き”がなければ、直後の株主総会は社長批判で一段と荒れかねない。岩田社長には“試練の6月”になりそうだ。　（林英樹）

 

[StreetsAhead]

I imagine guys like Sega, Ubisoft, Namco, Square Enix, etc. - they ARE making money,

Yeah, but the statement was are there companies (presumably traditonal gaming companies) making sustained high revenue growths by releasing games on mobile.

I'm asking is Iwata provably wrong here, or are people just assuming.

 

[RM8]

I think the most realistic thing Nintendo can hope to do is somehow making WiiU cheaper to manufacture (and no, I don't think dropping the game pad is a good idea) and spend some money to: a) get some 3rd party games, and b) market the thing big time.

 

[catmario]

Sadly I don't see it happening :/ No one wants to make WiiU games right now, and I'm not sure how many 1st party games they can announce so soon. See, I'm not hating on indies, but indies don't make consoles turn around, and I can see this E3 being an indie-fest for WiiU. I sound pessimistic, but I'm actually hopeful for a nice change of fate for WiiU.

Oh that's sad...

I wish Nintendo change the fate as soon as possible.

 

[TwistedN]

Nintendo over the last couple of years has reminded me of a man sitting on a huge pile of gold, starving to death because the commodity prices dipped. They have all this valuable IP, but it's not quite as valuable as they want it to be so they hold out.

 

[vinnygambini]

I think the most realistic thing Nintendo can hope to do is somehow making WiiU cheaper to manufacture (and no, I don't think dropping the game pad is a good idea) and spend some money to: a) get some 3rd party games, and b) market the thing big time.

Sadly, although the software has been nothing short of amazing, the console is ''dead'' in the market place and portrayed as such by the gaming media and gamers alike (most) unfortunately

Once again however, Nintendo is partly to blame for Wii U's shortcomings as they have been repeating the same mistakes for the past decade. One would of thought they would of learned by now.

 

[jblank83]

I think you mean Yamauchi's daughter.

Her too

 

[Aquamarine]

*Iwata said "only after playing the WiiU is it possible to understand its appeal. Low sales are due to the console being not well-enough known." Within the company, proposals for how to play the WiiU are being considered.

Again with the company-line rhetoric.

He's only saying this non-committal response because he has to save face from the Wii U disaster and he isn't ready to unveil plans for his potentially more successful, upcoming corporate strategies yet.

At least there is QoL as a hope for Iwata's future, as well as a potential successor to the 3DS.

 

[perfectchaos007]

Zelda and playable Smash Bros will be at E3 in June. Everything will be fine. All it takes it one game to make all the difference.

While that statement may be true, generally a system seller isn't a sequel game. System seller's are few and far in between because by definition a system seller must attract a large number of customers to buy a $199-$499 gaming system just so they can play that game. And of course the hardware manufacturer hopes that customer will buy more titles for the system in the future.

So, games like the new Mario Kart 8, Animal Crossing, Donkey Kong etc. will all be high selling games on the system for existing console owners, but I just don't see too many people running to the stores to buy a Wii U JUST to play the new Smash Bros. when it arrives.

System sellers in the past have been games like Nintendogs/Brain Age for DS. Each of those games were innovative enough at the time to get people to buy a DS just to experience one or both of those *games*. Tetris was the GB's system seller, the Wii had its system seller right in the box, and the NES had SMB as its system seller which later came right in the box.

All these system seller games I mentioned were, for all intents and purposes, the first of their kind. Nintendo needs to dig deep to find that kind of revolutionary game to carry the Wii U console on its own, and its easier said than done because as we know its extremely difficult for one game to carry a console to a lifespan of healthy sales.

 

[Eyothrie]

Will Nintendo have a conference this year? Last year was a mistake. REALLY hope they have one this year.

 

[theprodigy]

While that statement may be true, generally a system seller isn't a sequel game. System seller's are few and far in between because by definition a system seller must attract a large number of customers to buy a $199-$499 gaming system just so they can play that game. And of course the hardware manufacturer hopes that customer will buy more titles for the system in the future.

So, games like the new Mario Kart 8, Animal Crossing, Donkey Kong etc. will all be high selling games on the system for existing console owners, but I just don't see too many people running to the stores to buy a Wii U JUST to play the new Smash Bros. when it arrives.

System sellers in the past have been games like Nintendogs/Brain Age for DS. Each of those games were innovative enough at the time to get people to buy a DS just to experience one or both of those *games*. Tetris was the GB's system seller, the Wii had its system seller right in the box, and the NES had SMB as its system seller which later came right in the box.

All these system seller games I mentioned were, for all intents and purposes, the first of their kind. Nintendo needs to dig deep to find that kind of revolutionary game to carry the Wii U console on its own, and its easier said than done because as we know its extremely difficult for one game to carry a console to a lifespan of healthy sales.

he's being sarcastic

.

 

[Mory Dunz]

Well, it's kind of made me excited for E3 at least.

I was wondering, will this be an E3 without a Mario game (Wii U)? That'd be strange...
- 3D World is newish, so I assume no platformers
- Sports games have kind of been covered by Wii Sports U and 3DS sports games
- Wii Party U is newish so I'm not sure a Mario Party will come
- Kart will be out
- Zelda, Smash, and X might be the heavy hitters

But there would have to be something, right? Which can only mean....
Paper Mario makes its comeback on Wii U.

 

[Squire]

Yamauchi's kids need to learn a thing about honour and respect.

I can't tell if this serious or not.

 

[Acorn]

When are they revealing what the hell non wearables are?

 

[Aquamarine]

When are they revealing what the hell non wearables are?

Sometime in 2014. I was thinking Nintendo would use E3 to surprise announce them...but they may choose another venue instead.

They'll be out sometime between April 2015 and March 2016, presumably Holiday 2015.

 

[Uncle Rupee]

The worst thing that could happen to Nintendo would be for the man hand-picked by Yamauchi to take over his position was ousted because investors aren't happy.

 

[SwiftDeath]

The worst thing that could happen to Nintendo would be for the man hand-picked by Yamauchi to take over his position was ousted because investors aren't happy.

Change isn't always a bad thing and is most certainly sometimes needed to achieve the best results