O.K, first off, despite Pachter being wrong on numerous occasions, i still respect him as an analyst. That being said, analysts are often wrong - sometimes more often than they are right. To call Nintendo's success with the Wii "Lucky" is absurd. It may have it's detractors, but the Wii was such a shift, it disrupted, was marketed extremely well, and even rode the coat-tails of apple's ''glossy white'' appeal. I was in my early 20s when it launched, i'm not an analyst by any means, but it's potential success at that time was written on the wall. As for the WiiU, It may not capture lightning in a bottle again - i think it's obvious with the way it's being marketed, and how everyone from gamers to CNN analysts (wrong again, go figure), are confused and unsure if it's an add-on or a new console.. But there is a shred of brilliance here. Like the Wii before it, Nintendo gets it. Hardware like the 360 and PS3 that push power over innovation are increasingly being regarded as low end PCs. Nowadays, PC gamers can access pretty much any game for much cheaper, they can hook it up to their HDTVs, they can choose from a plethora of controllers, they can mod, they can establish and participate in communities.. The barriers for PC gaming that existed in the past are now gone. Gamers are slowly starting to realize this, and the benefits of owning a console are slowly fading away. With the WiiU, Nintendo's added strength aside from the exclusive content, and often best games any given generation has to offer - is the fact that WiiU games can ONLY be played on the WiiU. The tablet controller ensures this. No ports, no cheaper PC version, no illegal downloads. The tablet is a requirement. This generation i own all three consoles. The generation before it was the same. As PC gaming barriers are taken down, and consoles now involve what PC gaming was once notorious for, with barriers like game installation and DRM, odds are i'll finally be getting a gaming PC. And when i do, i'll likely see no point whatsoever to get a 720 or PS4. But the WiiU - that I'll be buying. I need my Nintendo games, and without the tablet controller, i won't even be able to rely on pirates! there's a reason why Nintendo is so efficient, and why they've been around for nearly 3 decades. They get it.
Wii U arriving this holiday season
Tablet-based console coming to the US, EU, AU, and Japan before year's end; Nintendo reveals operating loss of $624 million; 3DS sales climb to 15 million, Wii to 94 million.
The Wii U is launching during this year's holiday season, according to Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. The new tablet-based console will launch in North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia before the year is out.
The announcement followed Nintendo's quarterly financials for the period April to December last year, which revealed an operating loss of ¥48.4 billion ($624 million, £397 million) down from a ¥49.6 billion ($640 million, £407 million) profit for the same period in 2010.
Nintendo is now predicting an annual operating loss of ¥45 billion ($580 million, £370 million), dwarfing analyst expectations of a ¥4.2 billion ($54 million, £34 million) loss. Nintendo also cut its forecast for annual sales of the Wii to 10 million from 12 million, and sales of the 3DS to 14 million from 16 million.
"We had higher expectations for the year-end season, but failed to meet them," Iwata told reporters.
Nintendo already slashed the price of the 3DS in an effort to boost sales, just six months after its launch. Today, Nintendo updated sales figures for the 3DS, saying it has now sold 15 million units worldwide since launch. Additionally, the Mario maker said lifetime sales of the DS family of systems (of which the 3DS does not belong) now stands at over 150 million.
As for the Wii, lifetime global sales for that console now stand at 94 million units.
The less-than-rosy financials come amid increased competition from rivals Microsoft and Sony, whose Kinect and Move motion controllers compete with the Wii. Nintendo also faces a tough time in the handheld market, thanks to mobile devices such as the iPad, iPhone, and Android.
On Tuesday, Apple announced its quarterly earnings, revealing record-breaking numbers of $46.33 billion (£29.5 billion) in revenue and profits of $13.06 billion (£8.32 billion). The company now boasts a cash stockpile of over $98 billion (£62.4 billion).
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