Reconstructing Gaming History: NYTimes From 6/1/1991 - NES @ 9m in 1989?

[TheSource]

Anyone else have access to business databases through their universities? I've found some interesting stuff in Galenet

First of all:

Effective September 1, 1989, the company changed fiscal year-end from August 31 to March 31. As a result, fiscal 1990 consisted of seven months, compared to 12 months in fiscal 1991.

And Then I found:

FORTUNE has used estimates for annual sales and profits because Nintendo recently changed its fiscal year from August to March without restating historical results. For the seven-month period ended in March, it reported $208 million of profit on $1.5 billion in sales.

Then this:

Full Text: COPYRIGHT Geyer-McAllister Publications Inc. 1991
REDMOND, WASH. -- Nintendo Company Ltd. has announced gains in both sales and earnings for the past year.

Fiscal 1991's consolidated net earnings of $489 million were 22 percent higher than fiscal 1990, and consolidated sales of $3.343 billion from the previous year increased 14 percent.

Because the company changed its fiscal year-end, fiscal 1990 consisted of only seven months while fiscal 1991 year-end included 12 months.

Comparisons between the two years are based on their respective net income and sales dividend by the number of months in each fiscal year.

Nintendo Entertainment System sales showed continued momentum, with worldwide system shipments surpassing the 48 million mark (This mean 48 million NES units were shipped worldwide as of March 31, 1991). Over 450 software titles are now manufactured for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Nintendo's compact video game system, Game Boy, also showed growth. The Game Boy worldwide installed base now stands at 12 million units. More than 150 titles can be played on the Game Boy system.

In November, 1990, Nintendo launched the 16-bit Super Famicom system. Within five months, Super Famicom system sales have exceeded 1.4 million units and claims a majority of the 16-bit market in Japan.

This fall, the company will launch the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the North American counterpart of the Super Famicom, in the United States.

Still looking...