Record loss for Nintendo in Q2 2010

July 29, 2010 - PRLog -- Japanese Video game giant, Nintendo, has just recorded a Q2 loss of 25.22 billion yen ($288 million) compared to a net profit of ¥42.32 billion during the same 3-month period a year earlier. Sales also dropped 25.6 percent to 188.6 billion yen.

“The foreign-currency fluctuation exposure and sluggish consumer demand in the U.S. add up to a rather bleak outlook for the company,” said Kiyoshi Ishigane, a Tokyo-based senior Strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co.

Nintendo said the euro weakened to 107.81 yen in the quarter, from 124.92 yen as of March 31, while the dollar fell to 88.48 yen from 93.04 yen. A stronger Japanese currency reduces the value of Nintendo’s overseas sales.

Furthermore, Nintendo, the maker of the Wii game console and the DSi handheld game console, faces more competition than when it began sales of the Wii in 2006 and was the only major producer of motion- sensing personal-gaming machines. Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. plan to introduce their own motion-sensing accessories for their video-game consoles, while Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPad devices are increasingly being used for gaming.

The sharpest decline was in demand for the Nintendo DS, of which global sales dropped by almost half, to 3.15 million units during the period.

Sales of the Wii console were up overall, but demand varied by region. Sales more than doubled in the Americas, but were down in Japan, Europe and Australaia. Globally, the strong American sales helped push total Wii sales up by a third to 3 million units.

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