Its only fifteen million dollars. If the guy has a case Nintendo should just shut up and pay up. Many people have sued the gaming industry over patent issues. Move on, Nintendo is innovative in the gaming industry but outside of it they are just another guy.

I thought it was...goes to show.

There is a difference between being profitable for the year and being overall profitable. It had a dismal first year and add on top of that the R&D, it was one of the reasons Nintendo didn't make a profit in the 2011 business year. So it is currently making a profit, it just didn't make back the money invested into it, which is what the judge looks. Because to award the correct judgement they want to look at the items as a whole and not just what year they are having.

Great, another reason to loss lead and make it up in high software prices.

Didn't Nintendo make a statement that the Wii U is the only console they've sold that they lose money on each console and it's required to sell atleast one game to make a profit?

I think the judge was ruling it based on the money that the 3DS makes alone and they're not including the software, which is a bit ridiculous since Nintendo is making money on everything, not just the console.

It's the same kind of accounting that makes sure Darth Vader gets no royalties from Return of the Jedi because it somehow isn't profitable.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/09/how-hollywood-accounting-can-make-a-450-million-movie-unprofitable/245134/

At launch. Remember the 3DS had to take that massive price cut very early in life.

And the 3DS was overpriced to begin with.  Nintendo admitted they overpriced it due to everyone's reaction of the system when it was first announced.

Websites who took the 3DS estimated that the cost of parts in the 3DS cost $101 at the time of launch.  Manufacturing and shipping is going to cost them, but Nintendo isn't losing a dime even after those costs.  Not even close.  http://www.joystiq.com/2011/03/24/report-3ds-components-cost-about-100/

The 3DS has been out for two years now, that initial $101 in parts is going to be less.

1. That's an estimate an may not have been accurate in the first place.

2. The value of the yen has fallen, and it may very well cost Nintendo more than it did at launch.

3. Bill of materials does not include costs like R&D, software development, marketing, packaging, patent licensing, shipping, warranty, customer service, retail markup, and administrative overhead.

Nintendo's business operations are still running at a loss.  So it isn't making up for the Wii U or making "that much profit" on top of it.  The 3DS also has a pretty poor attach rate so far.  That isn't to say the overall 3DS business isn't profitable, but it isn't as rosy as you paint it.