The latest Nintendo financials are out, and Wii U sales expectations are down 1.5 million units.
Nintendo’s current financial year sales estimates for its new Wii U console have been cut to 4 million units, down from its 5.5 million previous estimate. The Wii U isn’t the only one down on its estimates; sales of most of its hardware, including the Wii, isn’t performing to expectations.
A weak Yen, as compared to the Euro and the Dollar, pushed Nintendo’s predicted net profits up to ¥14 billion; a bright spot, given that the previous estimate was ¥6 billion. Sales of the Wii U console did well over Christmas, and in Japan, but in other markets – particularly the Americas – the Wii, its predecessor, enjoyed better sales returns. Software Wii U sales were also down; Nintendo confirmed that sales of Wii U games would total 16 million for the year, not 24 million as it had previously forecast. All in all, as the Wii U sells at a loss, its contribution to the bottom line was to pump the overall operating loss up to ¥5.8 billion; if not for that weak Yen, Nintendo might not be looking at a healthy net profit forecast.
That said, the strong Yen earlier in the financial year pounded Nintendo’s profit margin, so a weak Yen now is a welcome relief. Meanwhile, Nintendo blamed “few new title releases” for poor Wii games sales. 3DS sales were generally solid, with Nintendo’s “evergreen titles” – the Mario games – doing well. Even so, sales forecasts for the 3DS have dipped from 17.5 million to 15 million units. Sales estimates for the Wii have also been cut, from 5 to 4 million units.
Source: Nintendo Financials
