Nintendo Posts Surprise Profit As Wii U Console Sales Double Up
After falling on tough times for the past several quarters, Nintendo appears to be back on track, at least momentarily. The Japanese video game company surged to an operating profit of 9.3 billion yen (around $86 million in U.S. currency) during its fiscal second quarter, an impressive turnaround from an 18 billion yen (around $166.4 million) loss in the same quarter a year ago.
A big reason for the turnaround is increased Wii U console sales. Nintendo reported 1.1 million Wii U game system sales during the six-month period from April to September, which is more than double the 460,000 Wii U consoles it sold a year ago.
Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata credited the upswing in Wii U sales to Mario Kart 8, which hit store shelves in May. Given that the holiday shopping season is just around the corner, Satoru still believes Nintendo can hit its goal of selling 3.6 million Wii U consoles by March 2015, the end of its fiscal year.
"Through April to September we saw [Wii U console] sales improve, especially overseas in the U.S. and European markets," Iwata said. "This year is different to last year, when we headed into the year-end without momentum or good software prospects...The goal is fully achievable."
As for software sales, Nintendo sold 9.4 million Wii U games worldwide during the six month period, with Mario Kart 8 accounting for 3 million.
A big reason for the turnaround is increased Wii U console sales. Nintendo reported 1.1 million Wii U game system sales during the six-month period from April to September, which is more than double the 460,000 Wii U consoles it sold a year ago.
Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata credited the upswing in Wii U sales to Mario Kart 8, which hit store shelves in May. Given that the holiday shopping season is just around the corner, Satoru still believes Nintendo can hit its goal of selling 3.6 million Wii U consoles by March 2015, the end of its fiscal year.
"Through April to September we saw [Wii U console] sales improve, especially overseas in the U.S. and European markets," Iwata said. "This year is different to last year, when we headed into the year-end without momentum or good software prospects...The goal is fully achievable."
As for software sales, Nintendo sold 9.4 million Wii U games worldwide during the six month period, with Mario Kart 8 accounting for 3 million.
