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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - How does Nintendo possibly post a profit next fiscal year?

Games sell hardware & both makes profits. I think Nintendo has got the message & wii are in for a crazy E3.



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Soundwave said:
vkaraujo said:

1- They do have a ¥160bn in inventory. If half of that are Wii Us, than they don't really have to produce anything this year (if their forecast is right).

2- Dropping the gamepad may also be plausible. I enjoy mine, but it is surely not helping. Even if they keep selling at zero profit after taking the gamepad, they would be able to sell more units and move more software.

3- They do have a good 3DS software line for this year, but it could use some improvement. For now they have:
Tomodachi Life (sure hit japan, risky on west)
Pokemon Ruby/Shappire Remake
MH 4 (early 2015, it may make it into this fiscal year)
Super Smash
Persona Q
Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright on West
One Piece: Unlimited World Red on West (Not sure this is as important, but i like it)

There are other games, but not as relevant.

4- If all Wii U exclusive games expected for 2014, do come this year to the west, its situation should improve:
Hyrule Warriors (Set for Japan Summer)
Bayonetta 2 (Set for Japan Summer)
Sonic Boom
Monolith's X
Super smash Bros
Watch Dogs (Selling poorly or not, it does improve Wii U library)

5- I do think they can profit if they make a good case as a second console, because this seems as a very weak year for the HD twins. For that, Wii U needs to accessible (as cheap as it can, thats why dropping the pad and still selling at loss/zero profit) and they will not risk so much towards gameplay with their main IPs, like they did on Skyward Sword (they are already doing that, that's why the pad is not necessary)


If they've already got a glut of Wii Us sitting in inventory, then presumably they've also manufactured the gamepads to go with each console ... which may be a pretty big reason why they won't drop the game pad. 

I also think Nintendo wants to take a crack at this NFC market, even if it is oversaturated, and the game pad with the NFC reader is probably integral to those plans. 

I think Nintendo's game plan now is to switch from having the Wii U gain a large userbase, but now to milk as much money off the small number of Nintendo fans who do buy in. So no price cuts for hardware, and probably a push for existing Wii U owners to buy NFC toys. 

Nintendo might miss their guidance by not by a huge margin.

As explained above by the previous user, the Wii U's are already manufactured, as such, any losses booked are already factored in FY14.

There will be no price-cut this fiscal-year.

3DS HW guidance is bullish however; 8-9 million seems much more plausible.

Announced Software line-up seems good:

MK8 (3.5-4 Million)

Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire (8-10 Million)

Smash Bros Wii U & 3DS (8-10 Million)

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (1.5-2 Million)

Yokai Watch 2 (1.5-2 Million)

Further emphasis on IP Licensing (Google, Adidas, Penzoil and Callaway to name a few)

Further emphasis on downloadable games (Virtual Console DS + Gameboy Advance) + downloadable content (Season Pass, DLC)

Possibility of Pokken Fighter with NFC figure, huge opportunity.

There are still alot of variables we do not know, but I envision a profitable FY15 with an Operating Income of 250 million, not the 400 million from Nintendo.



dudeitsminion said:
Mummelmann said:
dudeitsminion said:
Sell the Wii U for $199 and $$$$$$.


How will taking a massive loss on hardware help them make more money? If they're still losing money at 299$, 199$ would bleed them completely and they're not even guaranteed high sales at a lower price.

CNN estimates that the Wii U manufactures for $228 a unit.
http://www.destructoid.com/cnn-estimates-the-cost-of-wii-u-s-parts-to-be-228-249435.phtml

This article is a year old so I imagine the parts are even cheaper now. If they sold at $199 they would only be taking a small hit while selling millions more.


6$ for 2GB or RAM, 6$ for an 8GB SSD? Not mention that the most sold unit is the Premium, which holds a 32GB SSD, the Basic has been phased out. 228$ is simply too low, Nintendo reportedly says that they are still losing money on the hardware, so 228$ one whole year ago simply cannot be true. R&D, packaging and shipping surely bring up costs but that should usually start to even out after 18-24 months on the market and it's not like Nintendo have had a huge advertisement budget on the thing.

If Nintendo is still losing money on each unit at 299$ and CNN claims over a year ago that the components and assembly itself was 228$, that means that advertisement, packaging and shipment and trailing R&D coverage makes up probably more than 100$ per unit to this day (with inevitable drops in assembly costs over time factored in) and that's simply not possible.

199$ would be a death stroke to Nintendo's bottom line and ensure massive losses for the 2014/2015 FY. And, like I said; that price point wouldn't have guaranteed high sales. Claiming that a 199$ price point would only cause a "small hit" and help them sell "millions more" leads me to believe that you don't know fully how these things work and just how dire the whole Wii U situation is. By your logic; they should lower the price now along with Mario Kart, maybe slice off 50$, that should leave them in the black and sell heaps of consoles, right? There's a reason they're sitting idly by while the competition sells 2.5-5 times as much every week and there's a reason why they're pulling out of almost every mainstream press event and venue with traditional showings, they are planning something in the near future, as a direct consequence of having hit the wall running with the Wii U.

Edit; see, here's one source claiming the production cost is 180$, and that was even before the console launched, so about a year before the CNN report.

http://wiiudaily.com/2012/04/wii-u-costs-nintendo-180-to-manufacture-report/

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/126666-Wii-U-Still-Selling-Below-Cost

The above link is from August, where Nintendo states that the Wii U is "still selling below costs" and that was before the price cut (Premium was 349$ then and the best selling SKU by far) and a mere7 months before the CNN breakdown. How did the cost go down by over 120$ in a little over half-a year? You still want to insist that a 199$ price point would incurr a "small hit"? It was said that two pieces of software sold were needed to cover the losses when the Wii U launched, that would indicate an actual cost of about 370-400$ at launch time, making your statement all the more incredible.



I'm betting the Wii U will no longer be sold at a loss by the end of this year, if that happens money will start rolling in.

 

Edit: Ok, it's already no longer being sold at a loss. There's your answer.



Bets:

1. If the Wii U sells closer to 10 million LTD by 1/3/2015 I win. If it sells closer to 9.5 million LTD by 1/3/2015 OfficerRaichu15 wins (winner gets 2 weeks of avatar control)--Lost.