The six-month profit report, performed by Nintendo themselves, ended this September 30th, 2009 and showed slowing sales in both America and Japan. Their profit this year was $766 million dollars going from April to September - which doesn’t sound too bad until you compare it with the same fiscal period from 2008, which finished with an impressive $1.6 billion. Either way you look at it, getting profits cut in half hurts.
The problem is mainly consisting of two factors: the first being that there weren’t as many Triple A Title releases during the period, as anyone who looked down a game aisle could tell you (rows upon rows of cheap, no-name Wii games dubbed ‘shovelware’ dominate). The software sales didn’t take too much of a hit, slightly dropping from 81.4 million last year to 76.2 million in this year’s six-month period.
The second hard hit for Nintendo was the lack of Wiis themselves flying off the shelves: 5.75 million were sold this year, with an almost doubling 10.1 units last year. The total Wii sales, according to Nintendo, now stand at 56.14 million, meaning that they have been declining since their successful launch back in 2006. Nintendo themselves have attributed both console sales, software sales and a depreciating market to their hit in the profit:
With a strategic (if not overdue) price-drop of the Nintendo Wii to $200 US, many will be watching the console sales that, in turn, drive the accessory and software sales as well.
Some believe the novelty of the Wiimote is wearing off in the marketplace, but I believe Nintendo has proved to be an innovative company who are great at finding a way to increase profits when necessary. That time would be now, Nintendo, if you’re listening: both Sony and Microsoft have made progress developing their motion controllers, so if you want to keep one step ahead, make a move.
It’s like watching a game of chess…which, unfortunately, is actually a Wii game. Go figure!
Source: Gamespot
