Nintendo's profit slump shows the NX can't come soon enough
But at least it's still making money.
Nintendo didn't do too bad in 2015, but its latest financial report highlight's one thing: while the company's not struggling, it's depending too much on a handful of legacy titles. Overall, profits reported for the period ending last December were 40,558 million yen (about $336 million), down around a third from last year's 59,515 million yen ($493). A downward trend, but given Nintendo had struggled to make a profit since 2011, the company will be happy to have stayed in the black.
Nintendo will have hoped a revised 3DS, will continued to introduce new buyers to its games (and of course tempt upgraders). It was old favorites such as Animal Crossing and Super Smash Bros., though, that kept its handheld machine moving, with the former shifting 2.93 units alone -- that's a lot of Happy Home Designers.
The company also continues to profit from Splatoon and Super Mario Maker on the Wii U side of things, with both titles accounting for almost a third of all sales on the platform for this reporting period. Again, Nintendo admits the evergreen glow of franchises like Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. also help keep the blood flowing -- although interesting initiatives like the cross-buy scheme, which rewarded owners of both the Wii U and the 3DS with free games, might not have stirred sales as much as hoped.
Nintendo also trimmed back a few services over the year, with TVii, and of course, Club Nintendo, being put out to pasture. The biggest blow to the company last year is, of course, not related to its products or services, but the unexpected loss of popular CEO Satoru Iwata.
While other arms of the business such as Amiibo and, of course, the new mobile gaming wing should provide vital revenue streams, Nintendo has other positives to look forward to in 2016. Next month sees the 20th anniversary of Pokémon, which will be celebrated with a Pokémon day (Feb 27) and a new 3DS bundle. Not to mention, a whole new platform in the form of the mysterious NX. Let's just hope it lives up to the Nintendo hype, whatever "we're not building the next version of Wii or Wii U" actually means.
