Nintendo Posts $220 Million Quarter One Loss

Today, Nintendo released its first quarter earnings reports, which covers the months of April, May, and June, and while they’ve still taken a loss to the tune of ¥17.23 billion, or $220 million, it’s a definite improvement over last year’s Q1 loss of ¥26 billion, which translates to $332 million.

This time last year, as some may recall, Nintendo was hurting bad, as Wii sales had slowed, and 3DS sales were practically crawling. By August, the company cut the system’s price dramatically, from $250 to $170, and began selling the console at a loss—a practice that’s accepted as standard for most other console manufacturers, but one that Nintendo’s been able to avoid for the last several consoles it’s created.

Since the price cut, sales of the system skyrocketed, and according to the earnings report, the 3DS’s worldwide tally is at 19 million units. Even better, Nintendo has announced that, as of today, the 3DS is no longer being sold at a loss:

“Compared to the quarter a year earlier, global sales of Nintendo 3DS hand-held game hardware increased 162 percent, while Nintendo 3DS software rose 63 percent. In addition, the company announced that as of July 25, 2012, it was no longer selling Nintendo 3DS hardware below manufacturing costs.”

Now, as to whether or not that same claim can be said for the 3DS XL—the extra-large version of the system set to be launched next month—it’s not yet clear. But at $199, and with more or less the same components of the previous iteration of the hardware, it stands to reason that Nintendo’s priced it in such a way as to not hurt the company’s bottom line while keeping it relatively attractive to customers.

Nintendo’s aim is to try and come back to the realm of profitability, since the company posted their first-ever annual loss at the end of fiscal 2011. While this first quarter doesn’t seem poised to make that happen, Nintendo is also going to be releasing a brand new console this holiday—the only company to do so. And all we’ve heard about is how well-priced it’ll be…

No matter what, I think I’m starting to realize why they’re so obsessed with coins in New Super Mario Bros. 2…

Source: Nintendo