Report: Nintendo to post $1.32 billion in losses for first half of 2011

Tomorrow is going to be a long day for Nintendo, as a newspaper out of Japan is reporting the video game giant is preparing to announce a recurring loss of nearly $1.32 billion for the first half of its 2011 fiscal year, which ended September 30th. If true, this means Nintendo's first half losses will come in at nearly twice its predicted $723.4 million total. In non-economist lingo, Nintendo will have some 'splaning to do.

According to the foreign report from the overseas newspaper Nikkei (translated by Reuters), the loss is being attributed to foreign exchange losses, and an overall global sales slump. Since Nikkei's story went to print, Nintendo stocks had dropped in value by 7.5%.

Signs of trouble date back to July when Nintendo announced it would be slashing the 3DS's priceby nearly 32%, following lower-than-anticipated launch sales and a general lack of excitement for the handheld --or more specifically-- it's lackluster library. Combined with increased competition from the mobile app market, a dearth of must-have games for the Wii, and a lukewarm response to the Wii U announcement, it's safe to say this has not been a banner year for The Big N.

There is, however, hope. Nintendo's 3DS price drop is already equating to some gains, and we're starting to see gift worthy games like Kirby's Return to Dream Land pass our desks. Even more promising is the arrival of both Super Mario 3D Land, The Legend Zelda: Skyward Sword, Mario Kart 7, and new DSi XL bundles just in time for the holidays. True, 2011 may have started slow, but we're predicting Nintendo will have some better news to report in the new year.

Oct 26, 2011