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TOKYO (AP) -- Nintendo Co. returned to profit in the first half of the fiscal year from the same period a year ago as the Japanese video-game maker erased foreign exchange losses and earned more from game sales.

Group net profit totaled 46.4 billion yen ($451 million; euro343 million) for the six months ended Sept. 30, an improvement from a 2.9 million yen loss in the same period a year ago, the Kyoto-based maker of Super Mario and Pokemon games said Thursday.

First half sales edged down 11 percent to 188 billion yen ($1.8 billion; euro1.3 billion) from 211 billion yen the previous year. The company did not break out quarterly figures.

For the full fiscal year ending March 31, 2005, Nintendo Co. Ltd. is forecasting a 90 billion yen ($875 million; euro666 million) profit -- up dramatically from the 33 billion yen posted in 2003 -- on 540 billion yen ($5.3 billion; euro4 billion) in sales, up 5 percent from 515 billion yen last year.

Console sales were expected to pick up in coming months because the Nintendo DS, a handheld machine with two screens including a touch-panel, is selling in the United States and will hit stores next month in Japan.

Nintendo hopes the DS will appeal to a wide audience at a time when video gaming is increasingly appealing to a niche market.

Nintendo raised its global DS sales forecast for the fiscal year through March 2005 on Thursday to 5 million from 4 million. It had initially targeted 3.5 million in global sales.

 

[Gchaime]

I'm curious how this will be spinned in a story illustrating nintendo's ever impending doom.

 

[king zell]

this thread is too positive for GAF

so now its 5 million DSs by March 2005

 

[explodet]

Nintendo Co. returned to profit in the first half of the fiscal year from the same period a year ago as the Japanese video-game maker erased foreign exchange losses and earned more from game sales.

What I want to know is how they're doing now, seeing how they've got a stockpile of US dollars and the greenback's not doing so great right now.

Nintendo hopes the DS will appeal to a wide audience at a time when video gaming is increasingly appealing to a niche market.

I'm assuming this is referring to Japan.

... whoa, FIVE million now?

 

[LowTecky]

Damn, they raised the expected NDS sales another million. I guess this means they plan on meeting the demand?

 

[DSN2K]

never understood why people for a second believed Nintendo would struggle to sell a Handheld.

 

[bitwise]

Life-To-Date Hardware Figures:

GameCube: 15,970,000 units
Game Boy Advance: 58,130,000 units
Life-To-Date Software Figures:


GameCube: 125,960,000 units
Game Boy Advance: 221,690,000 units
Comparing the figures to those reported for the quarter ended June 30th, 2004, Nintendo didn’t fair too well on the GameCube front, increasing only from 15.22 million units of hardware to 15.97 million units. Meanwhile, Game Boy Advanced faired a bit better, increasing from 53.72 million units to 58.13 million units. On the software side of things, GameCube did slightly better than hardware, increasing from 115.24 million units to 125.96 million units; with GBA up from 201.27 million units to 221.69 million units overall.

 

[Link316]

Nintendo hopes the DS will appeal to a wide audience at a time when video gaming is increasingly appealing to a niche market.

they're still in denial it seems

 

[belgurdo]

never understood why people for a second believed Nintendo would struggle to sell a Handheld.

Because it happened once?

 

[Prine]

GC figures are pretty bad. Not even a million sold since may??

 

[Gchaime]

Because it happened once?

It did? Just for the record i don't consider the virtualboy a handheld, and neither should you.

 

[DSN2K]

GC = Dead.

guess Zelda can give it a nice sending off...

 

[BlueLegs]

Console sales were expected to pick up in coming months because the Nintendo DS, a handheld machine with two screens including a touch-panel, is selling in the United States and will hit stores next month in Japan.

Shouldn't that be "are"???

 

[Myoclonic Jerk]

DS will sell, I'm not sure why all the negativity on this board against Nintendo ..

some ppl are killing themselves to shoot down every positive Nintendo news, wheter its an announcement or a sales figure, anything positive..

nintendo will keep selling consoles and games, and profits alot out of tem whether you haters like it or not, and they are so far from the 'd00m3d' image that you're trying to believe..

 

[Myoclonic Jerk]

GC = Dead.

guess Zelda can give it a nice sending off...

no, just watch the sales figures of this holiday and you'll swallow your own words ..

they won't outsell any of the other consoles, but they'll be pretty close ..

bookmark this page, and if I was wrong I'll change my Icon to Master Cheif's lol

 

[LowTecky]

Does Nintendo make a large percent of its profit from their liscenced TV shows, toys etc?

 

[Prine]

no, just watch the sales figures of this holiday and you'll swallow your own words ..

they won't outsell any of the other consoles, but they'll be pretty close ..

bookmark this page, and if I was wrong I'll change my Icon to Master Cheif's lol

done

Im expecting a gap of 1 million between Xbox and GC by the end of the year WW

 

[Azih]

Yeah we need a definition of close almolka.

Plus a mod should give you a tag if you lose, adn you should be able to pick your own tag if you win.

Edit: And er... define holiday season, is this North America or worldwide?

 

[SomeDude]

Glad to see Nintendo is making a profit. They've made some really good games this year.

 

[Notorious]

Nintendo hopes the DS will appeal to a wide audience at a time when video gaming is increasingly appealing to a niche market.

:lol :lol :lol

 

[Prine]

the first reports that surface from both companies after the holiday season. ANyone know the dates?

 

[SomeDude]

:lol :lol :lol

They're talking about the japanese market obviously.

 

[Kon Tiki]

Life-To-Date Hardware Figures:

GameCube: 15,970,000 units
Game Boy Advance: 58,130,000 units
Life-To-Date Software Figures:

GC figures are pretty bad. Not even a million sold since may??

They expect 20Million by march. :lol

 

[Azih]

They're talking about the japanese market obviously.

Which has been their problem for the entire gamecube generation. Myopic view of the world that only includes the Japanese market.

 

[Gahiggidy]

 

[SomeDude]

Which has been their problem for the entire gamecube generation. Myopic view of the world that only includes the Japanese market.

Do you really think Nintendo can win if they compete with Sony or MS directly?

 

[king zell]

They expect 20Million by march. :lol

I know GC is not selling that well now

but 4 million worldwide in 6 months (including holiday season and January release of RE4) is not far from reality

 

[bitwise]

I know GC is not selling that well now

but 4 million worldwide in 6 months (including holiday season and January release of RE4) is not far from reality

uhhh.. tune into reality FM

 

[SantaC]

uhhh.. tune into reality FM

nintendo made a profit regardless how you spin it. That might hurt your reality.

 

[DCharlie]

does this mean more profits for Nintendo than the whole of Sony (again) ?

 

[mumu]

In other news: Nintendo not doomed, non-Nintendo fanboys still in denial.

 

[CrisKre]

They prove time and time again that they know how to run their business.
Other companies should be taking note.

 

[gofreak]

Jeez, $451m would be acceptable for a full year, let alone a half-year. If they do end up hitting $875m, this will be one of their more profitable years of the recent past, iirc.

It's easy to be surprised by these numbers when looking at all the doom-mongering on the web.

 

[Gchaime]

In other news: Nintendo not doomed, non-Nintendo fanboys still in denial.

Imagine how big nintendo's profits would have been if they had a game as huge as halo or GTA. My god then they could buy every big name publisher, and still have change left to treat them all to icecream.

 

[Azih]

Do you really think Nintendo can win if they compete with Sony or MS directly?

I think that Nintendo would be doing much much better if they acknowldged non Japanese video game markets that are thriving, booming, and are bigger than the Japanese market anyway. Their obsession with 'saving' gaming in Japan by going crazy quirky has blinded them to the amazing amount of interest in gaming in North America and Europe.

Edit: To be perfectly honest I do not think that Miyamoto ever got over Tamagotchi outselling Mario 64 back in 96.

 

[SantaC]

Imagine how big nintendo's profits would have been if they had a game as huge as halo or GTA. My god then they could buy every big name publisher, and still have change left to treat them all to icecream.

yeah the gamecube is selling like shit, but I expect a small jump in sales in the November NPD.

I think that Nintendo would be doing much much better if they acknowldged non Japanese video game markets that are thriving, booming, and are bigger than the Japanese market anyway. Their obsession with 'saving' gaming in Japan by going crazy quirky has blinded them to the amazing amount of interest in gaming in North America and Europe.

They are learning. They launched the DS in NA before Japan.

 

[Link316]

does this mean more profits for Nintendo than the whole of Sony (again) ?

nope, Sony's ahead with 53B Yen, forecast of 110B Yen for the year

 

[Azih]

They are learning. They launched the DS in NA before Japan.

Yeah the problem is that either they haven't learned the lesson well enough or are taking too damn long to adjust. They had the 'smaller quirky games for whole family to save gaming' idea at the launch of the GC, and that was fine, they're going for a different approach. It failed miserably, but they repeated the same damn 'we must save gaming via Pacman' E3 debacle and that was after two years of dissapointing sales. And they STILL trot out the fool 'gaming is becoming niche!!!!' quote in ferking Nov 2004, as long as that attitude still persists they'll fail to take advantage of the hot hot N.American/European market.

 

[ypo]

"does this mean more profits for Nintendo than the whole of Sony (again) ?"

:lol Look at him go!

 

[cja]

Quick skim through of the PDF reveals Nintendo have the Seattle Mariners (I assume that's who "The Baseball Club of Seattle, L.P" is refering too) in their company group info for the first time. So something has gone on with ownership between Yamauchi and Nintendo.

If they started production of DS before September 30th it doesn't really show based on those handheld production costs. Sold some dollars, bought a few Euros and Yen. Ridiculously healthy balance sheet as ever.

 

[SantaC]

Quick skim through of the PDF reveals Nintendo have the Seattle Mariners (I assume that's who "The Baseball Club of Seattle, L.P" is refering too) in their company group info for the first time. So something has gone on with ownership between Yamauchi and Nintendo.

If they started production of DS before September 30th it doesn't really show based on those handheld production costs. Sold some dollars, bought a few Euros and Yen. Ridiculously healthy balance sheet as ever.

wtf. Seattle Mariners?

 

[gofreak]

Quick skim through of the PDF reveals Nintendo have the Seattle Mariners (I assume that's who "The Baseball Club of Seattle, L.P" is refering too) in their company group info for the first time. So something has gone on with ownership between Yamauchi and Nintendo.

If they started production of DS before September 30th it doesn't really show based on those handheld production costs. Sold some dollars, bought a few Euros and Yen. Ridiculously healthy balance sheet as ever.

They should breathe some life into their seemingly abandoned attempt to start a sports line with a mariners-endorsed baseball game.

Mario Baseball is nice, and all....but a realistic take would be welcome too.

 

[gofreak]

wtf. Seattle Mariners?

It's well known that Yamauchi and Howard Lincoln, among others, came to the Mariners financial rescue some time ago. Lincoln is in a position there now, iirc. Obviously Yamauchi must have sold his investment to Nintendo or something.

 

[Pimpwerx]

Get it right guys, the doom and gloom has always been predicted for late next year. The DS is launching against not enough PSPs, basically, and the GBA is still gonna sell for the next couple years. So I think it's safe to wait for the next Zelda before selling the GC, b/c it will truly be ALL OVAR!!!!1111 :lol PEACE.

 

[cja]

"The Baseball Club of Seattle, L.P.", is the Mariners:
http://www.hoovers.com/seattle-mariners/--ID__46743--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml

And the company was not present six months ago the last time Nintendo fully disclosed their subsidiaries:
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/news/040527e.pdf

Perhaps just a technical accountancy or taxation move but interesting nonetheless, Seattle Mariners are now officially an affiliate of Nintendo.

 

[Shin Johnpv]

Imagine how big nintendo's profits would have been if they had a game as huge as halo or GTA. My god then they could buy every big name publisher, and still have change left to treat them all to icecream.

I like icecream.

 

[Broshnat]

I know GC is not selling that well now

but 4 million worldwide in 6 months (including holiday season and January release of RE4) is not far from reality

Yeah, it'll be upto 20m by next March no problem. Will do a couple of million plus comfortably Oct-Dec, then another million or so through to march will be easy. If not 20 million, it'll be close to.

If you look at Sony's figures, the PS2 hasn't sold more than about 1 million PS2 since March. These are shipped numbers tho- it means there are loads still in stock in the stores. Don't read too much into quarterly shipped numbers.

 

[Gahiggidy]

Nintendo took a 3.2 billion yen charge to increase its stake in U.S. Major League Baseball team Seattle Mariners, the home team of players such as Japanese star Ichiro Suzuki, according to today's report.

With the company now owning more than 50 percent of the team, Nintendo will benefit from broadcasting and merchandise revenue from the Mariners, which had the third-worst record in the MLB in the most recent season.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000101&sid=aI4Qj_0rwKBc&refer=japan#

Rumor is that the Baltimore Ravens are next.

 

[SantaC]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000101&sid=aI4Qj_0rwKBc&refer=japan#

Rumor is that the Baltimore Ravens are next.

lol i found it unexpected that Nintendo throws money at an american sports team. cool I guess.

 

[Pimpwerx]

Yeah, it'll be upto 20m by next March no problem. Will do a couple of million plus comfortably Oct-Dec, then another million or so through to march will be easy. If not 20 million, it'll be close to.

If you look at Sony's figures, the PS2 hasn't sold more than about 1 million PS2 since March. These are shipped numbers tho- it means there are loads still in stock in the stores. Don't read too much into quarterly shipped numbers.

Based on what? The GC sales haven't been moving anywhere. Sorry, but the little box is as dead as dead. They will be lucky to sell 2M before March. All that will come before December...again, if they're lucky. Jan-Mar will be like 500K if they're lucky. I think your numbers are extremely optimistic, but we'll see. Haven't GC sales missed the mark every year so far? PEACE.