Just like ----.

at least they were very profitable with their handhelds and consoles. something microsoft and sony probably never managed with any gaming device.

Same here!  Well assuming they are well reviewed, which seems pretty certain.

I'd love to help out by buying some great Virtual Console games, like tons of GBA and N64, but apparently they don't want my money.

You forgot hookers...

Well in fairness, there would be no Wii U to try to replicate the Wii success if that console failed, and instead it would be a whole new console.  I can't see how it could have been worse, especially if they focused on better specs and dropped the gamepad, thinking a control gimmick could equal the success of motion controls. 

even if microsoft and sony will make 10 billion profit this gen and nintendo will lose 5 billion, microsoft and sony made still less money with gaming and invested probably more... that doesn't really help nintendo but it shows how laughable sony's and microsoft's financial success in gaming really is even with consoles like the ps2.

btw i didn't mean that sony wasn't profitable. just not "very" profitable.

Roughly $5 billion in cash, $5 billion in bonds, plus buildings, facilities, studios and IP that hasn't got a fixed cash value, but is pretty damn valuable.

I think I'll write to Nintendo and ask them for money.

Is it really only the beginning? It's the third year of operational losses. So long as their next platforms don't go horrifically wrong, I'd guess this is somewhere around the middle point of the difficulties Nintendo are going through. The rest of this generation will be spent pushing Wii U into a profitable situation, as they had to do with GameCube, and wringing as much as they can from 3DS. 

Nintendo also acknowledged that this financial year has been particularly expensive for them, due to greater R&D expenses, unifying departments and the final costs for new facilities, all of which are vital long-term investments. There's also a tax issue I'm not very clear on, but my understanding is it was deferred from last year, and will now be tallied into this year's losses, exacerbating Nintendo's losses. In fact, in their financial statements, the deferred tax is noted as turning what would have been a net profit into a net loss, rather than just an operational loss and net profit. 

Are these results bad? Yes, certainly. Wii U sales are a disaster. Is this a sign Nintendo are going to lose billions in the years ahead? I really don't think so. There's not going to be some miraculous return to Wii/DS profits and revenues, but I think thanks to the investments they've made, the greater proportion of digital sales, the weaker yen, and their devilishly clever accountants, Nintendo will return to grinding out profits in the years ahead. In the long term, a significant shift is required, but the groundwork is being done, and this is a situation they have the resources and knowhow to endure.