Competent hardware for starters.
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Nintendo Q3 FY15 Results - Beats Market Expectations; Lowers Full-Year Forecast
- Thread starter vinnygambini
- Start date
Competent hardware for starters.
The hardware is competent. It's very efficient and there's some stunning tech in there. What you likely wanted is higher specs. Higher specs doesn't mean a device is more or less competent.
Bruno MB
Member
First party software sales are strong, but hardware sales are really depressing.
Code:
[B]Nintendo 3DS[/B]
3rd Quarter, Fiscal Year 2015 3rd Quarter, Fiscal Year 2014
Japan - 2,090,000 (-14%) Japan - 2,430,000
The Americas - 1,500,000 (-48.8%) The Americas - 2,930,000
Other - 1,390,000 (-42.1%) Other - 2,400,000
Code:
[B]Nintendo Wii U[/B]
3rd Quarter, Fiscal Year 2015 3rd Quarter, Fiscal Year 2014
Japan - 330,000 (-45%) Japan - 600,000
The Americas - 1,020,000 (+18.6%) The Americas - 860,000
Other - 580,000 (+20.8%) Other - 480,000Not. A. Chance.
And I love nintendo. But no way the Wii U will ever make it to 22 million unless all of a sudden they appear to print golden discs if you booth them up while holding the A and B button at the same time. Or they support the platform with software for the next 6 years.
Nintendo sold something like 4 times as many Wii's in North America (not even counting Europe) as it did in Japan. So naturally the Wii U was designed around the (imagined?) desires of the Japanese homeowner who likes everything to be very tiny and to use a very small amount of electricity. You'd think that, after the Japanese public once again rejected their advances, NCL would design their new system around the market that actually likes buying their consoles. But then you wouldn't be an executive in NCL, which is doubling down on partnerships with Japanese developers while ignoring every single opportunity to expand its Western footprint.
This deserves repeating.
Okay, idle question time:
I think we all agree that Sony's gaming division is currently the most successful of the 3, and is clearly in the best position.
With that said, would you rather be in charge of Nintendo or Microsoft's gaming division? Obviously Microsoft is selling more console hardware and has more "mindshare." It also has significantly more sway with third parties.
On the other hand, they're selling less hardware overall than Nintendo is (as they only have the home console product line) and by all accounts are losing considerable money, while Nintendo is at least treading water. For now.
I think we all agree that Sony's gaming division is currently the most successful of the 3, and is clearly in the best position.
With that said, would you rather be in charge of Nintendo or Microsoft's gaming division? Obviously Microsoft is selling more console hardware and has more "mindshare." It also has significantly more sway with third parties.
On the other hand, they're selling less hardware overall than Nintendo is (as they only have the home console product line) and by all accounts are losing considerable money, while Nintendo is at least treading water. For now.
A turn-around is too strong a statement but there are positive signs in here.
There's a lot to be said from the USD/Yen scenario that is greatly helping Nintendo post good results and I don't think any one should really expect some colossal turn-around here, the company is still cuffed to a failed unit and an aging unit in a volatile market.
Their profit seems heavily reliant on exchange rates. That's not good and I do wonder how investors will treat this.
Wii U is still going poorly at 1/4 the sales rate of PS4 and 1/2 of XBO. Isn't the 9 mill figure worse than the Gamecube when spread over the same lifetime?
People here seems to be acting like this news is good news and a turnaround for Nintendo.
Wii U is still going poorly at 1/4 the sales rate of PS4 and 1/2 of XBO. Isn't the 9 mill figure worse than the Gamecube when spread over the same lifetime?
People here seems to be acting like this news is good news and a turnaround for Nintendo.
If I'm at Microsoft, I'm probably worried about how much longer Xbox has as a distinct piece of hardware. Sooner or later it's probably going to be a suite of services: gaming, music, etc. all rolled into other divisions. When that finally happens there's probably going to be a brutal reorg. What's going to happen to me (the hypothetical head of gaming), what's going to happen to my people? That would be way more stressful than old bumbling stumbling Nintendo.
I'd probably have a better salary at MS, but a more interesting challenge at Nintendo, with more potential to become a business hero
You're asking this in a thread about nintendo so I assume most will answer that.
But still, I'd argue nintendo has a more "interesting" future, although interesting is also dangerous. There are many opportunities out there for Nintendo, and they (can) play a big role in things like attracting different/new audiences (females, elders, youngsters), building a new platform, go outside the known boundaries of what entertainment software could be etc... Things I think microsoft isn't interested at that in the same way.
To me microsofts vision on gaming in general is less interesting, and serves other bigger purposes, while nintendo (and sony, btw) seem to have a more passionate investment in gaming. They're all in it for the money ofcourse, but that would basically be my take on it.
I'd choose MS. They obviously made a lot of mistakes with XB1, but I think the success of the PS4 demonstrates the business model is still viable for the moment.
In contrast, both of Nintendo's product lines are declining rapidly and every route forward for them is full of uncertainty.
The Wii U was released in November 2012. 2017 would be five years. I also think it would be stretching it for Nintendo. While five to six years usually is the norm for console lifecycles, sometimes a flailing competitor releases early, such as Microsoft with the Xbox to Xbox 360 — released 2001 and 2005, respectively — and Sega with the Saturn to Dreamcast — released 1994/5 and 1998/9, respectively.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
King, Supercell and slowly companies like Square and others are starting to have several hits. The market is maturing and slowly companies have been finding the key to success, that's not a sign of a market heading to it's doom, quite the contrary...
James Scott
Banned
I imagine Sony's gaming division has been pretty profitable lately thanks to the PS4, but they still do have the Vita which they are handling poorly.
Nintendo's kind of like in the opposite situation here with their portable being very profitable but their console isn't.
(just thought it's worth mentioning)
Their marketing budget is laughable in comparison and they can't afford to slash $150 off their system's initial price. I think I have some good ideas that can help Nintendo in the long run while I wouldn't know what to do with the Xbox division.
CosmicQueso
Member
What a fun question.
Would I want to run these groups and why
Sony - No. The boss used to run the joint, will always thinks he knows better (he might). Wider company struggles means money I make might be shifted to other divisions. Solid team in place is a plus, new HW is doing great, but I don't know where to find upside.
MS - Yes. Would depend on how the division is seen as a future contributor. HW might be struggling now, but easy fixes for next gen in strategy and tech. Another solid team in place. Some (from the outside looking in) easy strategic shifts could pay off. Can see a path to winning.
Nintendo - No. Shifting that culture looks insurmountable. But if I thought there was a desire to move into the present in terms of digital account management, expansion of platforms served, then maybe. Handheld is strength area but is on its way to extinction. Can't see how to win here.
R
Rösti
Unconfirmed Member
NStyles live tweeted from Nintendo's 74th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on June 26 last year. I've seen no tweets about the upcoming briefing, and I'm not sure if NStyles is an institutional investor or analyst, or just an ordinary individual (11,15% of Nintendo's shares are held by Japanese individuals and others) that holds stock and thus had the right to attend the AGMoS. We'll see what happens. Anyway, we need to find a source other than David Gibson if we want to "experience" the briefing in real-time.
Do you mean in terms of profit, or in terms of output? Because the games don't interest me and the company is in the red.
TheSlySoul
Member
Agreed and I love Nintendo, but not a sheep.
Wii U will not match GC numbers and I doubt 3DS will match GBA's 75 million sold. Don't get me wrong, 50 million sales is great. It just pails in comparison with the past handheld sales.
Oh yeah, if I could run a company probably Microsoft since it is an American company and I know how American business works.
nephilimdj
Member
Seems like Microsoft would be the easiest one to manage and improve, main issue seems to be the failure in Europe/Austrasia (Japan excluded, because thats a trainwreck)
It would be a exciting challenge
deltatheta
Member
I think you'd still have to work within Microsoft's goal of using Xbox to trojan horse themselves into the living room. I think if you look at it, that's the ultimate source of all their mistakes.
When controlling gaming division, do you mean for Nintendo would that mean complete control over NCL, if so Nintendo.
I do think they have the strongest stable of IPs to leverage and an a dedicated fanbase that is not being monetized correctly (amiibo itself is a good attempt at doing that correctly), however to fix that will ruffle some feathers amongst the fans and the core principles of Nintendo.
LiberaTeExInferis
Member
So in the first pages the result were sort of good, and now they are sort of really bad?..clueless...
I would rather be in charge of Nintendo... I believe the goals which MS wants to achieve with the Xbox brand are impossible so long as they do not care for territories other than the US. In essence, Sony is the unbeatable opponent since they have a similar market to MS in regards to gaming consoles, but a much better worldwide presence and legacy in gaming than MS. Conversely, Nintendo's goals are quite achievable even if they are unable to beat Sony and while Nintendo has less of a worldwide presence than Sony, it does have the legacy in gaming.
Basically, I see Nintendo's biggest problem as modernization which can be solved with another handheld and console given their goal of selling video game hardware and software. MS's biggest problem is their very goals with the gaming market itself which is to make the all-in-one device that can conquer the living room. Even if there weren't more devices that can plug into televisions now than there has ever been, the mere fact that MS doesn't have any foothold in places like Europe means the Xbox will never be that all-in-one device for the television.
With Nintendo, at least you've got job security - they've shown they'll stick with executives despite subpar performance. Also, gaming is all they've really got - there's no worry that shareholders will decide this whole video gaming business isn't worth all the costs, and suddenly your division is gone. That being said, there are a lot interesting challenges to tackle there - Nintendo has to rebuild third-party relations, and its first-party developers are still going through HD-growing pains. Nintendo also frankly has to figure out its identify - is it the family friendly software developer? Is it a bare-knuckles hardware designer/platform holder? Can it figure out how leverage its software and hardware teams successfully without pushing away third parties? There would always be something to do, that's for sure.
Microsoft would be both exciting and terrifying. Exciting because look at how many resources Microsoft has thrown at grabbing marketshare! Terrifying because look at how many resources Microsoft has thrown to grab marketshare! The Kinect gamble has failed, and the tv-integration doesn't appear to be doing anything for them. It's a tough nut to crack - how to use the Xbox platform to help the greater Microsoft services push, while crafting a brand identity that's something more than "Like a totally sweet extreme Playstation Box - X Box! One!!!!" Also on the plus side, Microsoft seems to have a really great brain trust - they've certainly got the capacity for the next big idea, and they've got the financial muscle to push it through.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
Sincerly, seems way harder to try to make Nintendo software relevant again outside of their traditional core market, than working for Microsoft, which probably you will have more freedom to just create an interesting exclusive portfolio.
MS move to start working with more 3rd party studios and relying less on internal studios, will make for some interesting partnerships and sounds way more exciting to me.
If GAF was incharge of Nintendo...
Pretty much this, if I were Nintendo I would focus on my attempts on dynamic pricing (which I know Gaf would hate with a passion).
vinnygambini
Why are strippers at the U.N. bad when they're great at strip clubs???
Like I mentioned, we have the beginnings of a comeback/improvement as this will be their first fiscal-year profit positive in four years, though greatly aided by abenomics and cost-cutting measures.
It's a mixed bag. They beat market expectations for Q3, but lowered their forecasts for FY15.
TheXfactor
Member
BumblebeeCody
Member
Random quote mess
BumblebeeCody
Member
No shit. When your toys have sold more than your last console and first party games combined, then yes you should re-evaluate the situation.
LiberaTeExInferis
Member
Thank you for the clarification.I think that a positive profit year after 3 consecutive years of losses seems like a positive thing to my naive and oblivious to financial analysis eyes!
edit:
Is this link legit or its some kind of practical job from Sammy?
I assume these are shipped numbers?
By the end of FY 2014, Nintendo had shipped 153.99m Nintendo DS units. According to this graphic, this number has now increased to 154.01m. I realise there is little, if any, remaining units as surplus, so this is probably the last number we'll ever have on DS (unless it changes before the end of the FY).
I'm having a problem finding concrete numbers on PS2 shipped units. The source listed on Wikipedia notes "approximately 155m units." Does anybody have a source on the actual number? The above is rounded and could be a number anywhere between a range of 152.5 - 157.5m.
It would nice to know what the two final shipped numbers of each of these systems are. The numbers are almost identical.
Except amiibo haven't? Or am I missing sarcasm here.
Welfare
Member
I assume these are shipped numbers?
Yes it is.
LiberaTeExInferis
Member
http://www.gonintendo.com/s/246098-...over-multiple-unannounced-titles-in-the-works
Iwata says more WiiU titles to be announced..
Sammy Samusu redeemed!
Iwata says more WiiU titles to be announced..
Sammy Samusu redeemed!
TheSlySoul
Member
The 3DS software has sold quite well, but yeah Wii U software sales are bad mostly because to be only 10 million hardware this late in the game is baaaad.
Think he is talking about Wii U software. The highest software is Mario Kart 8 which is right under 5 million, so technically correct.
Jimmyfenix
Member
I really thought nintendo would have shipped more than 10 million consoles by now
gamergirly
Member
Congratulations Nintendo!
Not far enough but you've trying to rise above the waters....
Not far enough but you've trying to rise above the waters....
Well he said hardware and software combined.
theprodigy
Member
How? short of stuffing the channel
TheSlySoul
Member
Oh you are right, my bad.
Amiibo is outselling any Wii U software ATM, so it is an issue.
Probably the reason for the profit is Amiibo I bet.
Amiibo also costs a lot less, and when you consider that, it's not that much of the profit.
It's not against the law to make ridicolously high forecasts. If it were, a bunch of Nintendo execs would be in jail. Take a look at their operating income forecasts:
Code:
Forecast May 7 2009 490
Revised Oct 29 2009 370
Actual 356
Forecast May 6 2010 320
Revised Sep 29 2010 210
Actual 171
Forecast Apr 25 2011 175
Revised Jul 28 2011 35
Revised Oct 27 2011 1
Revised Jan 26 2012 (45)
Actual (37)
Forecast Apr 26 2012 35
Revised Oct 24 2012 20
Revised Jan 30 2013 (20)
Actual (36)
Forecast Apr 24 2013 100
Revised Jan 17 2014 (35)
Actual (46)
Forecast May 7 2014 40
Revised Jan 28 2015 20
Actual TBDNo doubt. It is all about increasing the average revenue per user: in-game toys, dlc, 2versions of each game, 'new' hardware, etc. Nintendo can be just as hard nosed and cynical as any company when it comes to milking the base.
Calamari41
41 > 38
Absolutely. Pokemon ORAS alone has seen significantly more gross revenue in the last three months alone than all of Rovio in any given year during the height of the Angry Birds craze, which includes sales from their massive licensing wing.
Guys, everyone's toys sell more than any form of entertainment media they have. Do you guys really think the main business of a company like Hasbro is making films and cartoons? Please.
ArchangelWest
Member
Well said.