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Mario Kart 8 Boosts Past 2 Million Copies Sold, Shareholders Re-Elect Iwata
Nintendo has announced that over 2 million copies of Mario Kart 8 have been sold to consumers worldwide. This puts sales of the title at approximately 800,000 for the month of June after an opening weekend that saw movement of 1.2 million units.
The news came by way of Nintendo’s annual general shareholders meeting, at which company president Satoru Iwata, famed designer Shigeru Miyamoto, and eight other executives were re-elected to their offices. Iwata, who recently underwent surgery, was not present at the meeting, which was run by senior managing director Genyo Takeda.
Nintendo is coming off a third year in a row of losses, which now total $1.18 billion for the period. Sales of Wii U and 3DS both missed the mark in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014. For more on Nintendo's trends, you can read up an analysis of the company's last three home consoles and handhelds.
Our Take
Nintendo’s shareholders have seen fit to give Iwata another year to improve the company’s performance, despite three years of mounting losses. A plan for recovery hasn’t been articulated publicly, but that doesn’t mean that key investors are in the dark.
I’m surprised that there was such enthusiastic endorsement for the leadership. Mario Kart 8 is selling well, but there is nothing coming for months to keep that momentum rolling. Additionally, no new hardware sales numbers have been offered to measure its impact on install base. Hyrule Warriors might be a tough sell given its adherence to the Musou formula, and Bayonetta 2 was the game Nintendo needed in early 2013. Smash Bros. on Wii U is the next big boost, and I’m still not convinced it will arrive in 2014.
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