Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Nintendo Revises Financial Projections, Forecasts $335 Million Operating Loss
Nintendo has modified its financial projections for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014. President Satoru Iwata cited disappointing holiday hardware sales, which contributed to the company's third consecutive annual loss.
The company's revised numbers include a shift from earlier projections of a 100 billion yen profit (about $958 million) to a 35 billion yen loss ($335 million).
"We failed to reach our target for hardware sales during the year-end, when revenues are the highest," Iwata said.
Nintendo is modifying its hardware sales projections in response. The Wii U's forecast has been slashed from 9 million units to 2.8 million. The 3DS performed better, but its sales projections are still being cut to 6.6 million units, from the earlier 8 million.
Iwata doesn't appear to be considering a resignation, telling reporters "There will be no major management shake-up in the short term." Last year, when Iwata broke news of disappointing financial results, he said that he felt "greatly responsible" for the circumstances, and there was talk that a repeat performance could be a sign that it was time for him to move on.
Our Take (written by news editor Mike Futter):
It's no surprise that Nintendo missed the overly ambitious 9 million unit mark. When paired with the overshoot on 3DS numbers, a pattern of overestimation starts to emerge. Nintendo needs to start being realistic about the sales potential across the board. It might get a bump from ambitious forecasts, but the fall when it misses impossible goals is that much further. Something needs to change at Nintendo to give the Wii U more traction. Nintendo has rejected additional price cuts in the past, but right now, it's losing out on software sales (which have the best margins) due to a low install base.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
