Knew I was forgetting something. But yes, Nes mini is also helping a lot. 3 consecutives hits in less than a month!

People still don't get it. It isn't about whether or not Nintendo is losing money. It isn't even about whether or not Nintendo is making money. Nintendo is literally about one thing and one thing only: maximizing profit, and putting Nintendo is a position to maximize profit in the future.

That's it. Nothing more. Nothing less. Not honor. Not loyalty. Not respecting its fans. It's just about making as much money as possible. Every decision they make, every statement they make, every game they make, every ad they make is made because they feel that decision will make them the most money for the company long-term. Period.

So the real question you need to ask yourself is whether or not the Board of Directors at Nintendo believe that Nintendo continuing to make hardware in the future will make them the most money. Not break even. Not make them a little bit. Not lose a bit. I mean literally meeting its profit goals that Nintendo's Board of Directors have set, that Nintendo's share holders invested in Nintendo to see that return. If the board feels that Nintendo pouring its resources into nothing but mobile games for the next 10 years will maximize the profit of the company long term and put them in a better position financially than they will making consoles of any kind - that is the decision they will make. if they feel that investing the resources in developing and making miniature versions of the SNES and N64 next year and the year after will make them more money than investing in a new Metroid game, that's what they'll do.

Will they make the choice to stop putting out hardware? Almost undoubtedly no. At least not now. If the NX performs around the levels of the Gamecube or worse, while their mobile games are huge hit after huge hit after huge hit netting them more profit in a smaller time frame than the Wii and DS combined? Nintendo will probably start to think differently. Because money.

But people need to quit acting like Nintendo breaking even or making a slight profit over "this generation" means anything in terms of the decisions Nintendo makes for the future. They need to quit acting like Nintendo having billions in reserves means anything in terms of decisions Nintendo makes in the future. It really doesn't matter that much. It just means that Nintendo might be able to afford to take more risks in terms of that they feel might generate more profit, but it certainly doesn't mean they'll continue to settle for mediocrity in the console space just because it didn't cost them any money overall. it doesn't mean they'll continue with the status quo because they can afford to do that. Remember, there is still hundreds of millions in potential profit they threw away by putting out a terrible console no one wanted in the Wii U. Don't forget that, because Nintendo's shareholders and Board of Directors sure don't.

^Yup. This.

"So the real question you need to ask yourself is whether or not the Board of Directors at Nintendo believe that Nintendo continuing to make hardware in the future will make them the most money."

Yes. They define a gaming experience that requires they own the software and hardware. They are an end-to-end experience company, similar to Apple.

You don't see Apple putting any new software exclusively on another company's platform. Could you imagine Sony making a new game with one of their iconic IPs and only putting it out for PC and Mac? Can you imagine Microsoft putting out a new game with one of their iconic IPs and only putting it out on Android and iOS? Nintendo might have been an end-to-end experience company, but their foray into the mobile space means they no longer are.

Otherwise Pokemon Go would be a 3DS game, and it would have came and went with no one other than Nintendo fans giving a damn.

what about Before the Nexus & Run Sackboy Run? Sony games based on their beloved IP exclusively on iOS/Android.

... and what OS did Sony Branded phones run on at the time?

Android.

So they made games for a platform of which they were (and are) a hardware creator. Nintendo doesn't make smartphones last I checked.

I think Samsung would jump at the chance to work with Nintendo on a phone given where Nintendo's stock is now.

These are really good points.

Everything that comprised the Wii U utterly failed from a profitability and opportunity cost standpoint, so Nintendo is logically trying the antithetical to the Wii U in search of explosive profit ala. the Wii or Pokemon Go.

The WIi U burned Nintendo...badly....so we're going to get a console which will undoubtedly surprise us as an experiment to see if the dedicated console market is still viable. Anyone who thinks differently about the NX doesn't understand the implications of Nintendo being a massive, profit-maximizing corporation accountable only to their shareholders and no one else.

I don't think Nintendo expected mobile to be this big this fast for them. No one could have, not even me, and I even said they would become the biggest mobile game company in the world the day they announced that DeNA deal.

I think it's radically altered a lot of things for Nintendo. NX ... doesn't carry the fate of the company anymore. If it does great, great. If it doesn't, Nintendo has many, many options they can pursue in that scenario.