Jump to content
NEurope

Recommended Posts

Ahead of its second quarter financial results expected July 30th, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has predicted Nintendo will report sales above ¥421 billion ($3.91 billion) and raise yearly guidance to near ¥1,907 billion ($17.7 billion), adding that the company hasn't abandoned core gamers.

 

Pachter's estimates are above consensus estimates of ¥400 billion ($3.72 billion) for the quarter, and yearly guidance is above the company's own current guidance of ¥1,800 billion ($16.7 billion) and ¥325 billion ($3.02 billion) in profit, with more conservative estimates for software sold, especially in the U.S.

 

"Nintendo's recent financial performance has been spectacular and we expect this to continue in FY:09," said Pachter, "Nintendo's Wii and DS appear to be selling even better in FY:09 than in FY:08, and we believe the momentum will last through the end of FY:09."

 

He concluded that while "some hardcore gamers were critical of Nintendo's failure to announce new Mario and Zelda games at the show... we think that Nintendo focused upon building upon its formidable lead with the mass market, and do not consider the lack of major hard core game announcements to be an abandonment of its core."

 

www.gamasutra.com

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

we might see projections in their future sales..including named big titles.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Their next console better be a technological marvel with all this profit they're making....

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Their next console better be a technological marvel with all this profit they're making....

 

And they could give it away too, right? :indeed:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Edge Online has documented its top 20 publishers of 2008, based on various criteria including revenues, profits, growth and publishing success in the industry's definitive annual game publisher rankings.

 

This feature lists each publisher in the top 20 and has aligned all companies' fiscal years to 4/1/2007 to 3/31/2008 for the sake of comparison. You can view exact criteria here.

 

Here you'll learn each publisher's strengths, weaknesses, potential for greatness and potential for failure in careful detail. To set the tone, here are a few overall graphs.

 

game_pub_revenue.gif

 

Next, here is a graph of the net profit/loss (or operating profit/loss) for each of those same 20 companies.

 

profit_or_loss.gif

 

 

1. Nintendo

nintendo_finances.jpg

 

FY08 Revenue: $16,858M (including hardware), +106% (Rank: 1)

FY08 Profit/Loss: $2,595M (Rank: 1)

FY08 Software Revenue: $5,968M, +85% (operating profit/loss unknown)

FY09 Revenue Expectations: $17,300M (including hardware), +5%

Titles in Global Top 100: 12 (Rank: 2)

Units in Global Top 100: 29.2M (Rank: 2)

Review Average: 75.1% (Rank: 2)

Explanation of ranking: In the past year Nintendo dominated the top 10 software, recording extremely high revenues and profits. Finances aside for the moment, Nintendo's games are defining this generation. As other publishers rush out copycat games, Nintendo shows how to update old ideas, introduce new ones, and make a some cash in the process.

 

Nintendo's strength in software is built upon the foundation of two dominant hardware platforms, the Wii console and the Nintendo DS handheld. Nintendo titles made 38 appearances on the NPD Group's monthly Top 10 Console and Handheld Software list in the twelve months from April 2007 to March 2008. The software/controller combination known as Wii Play has claimed one on those spots in the top 10 each month since its launch sixteen months ago. Moreover, four Nintendo titles appeared in NPD's list for Top 10 Software Sales in 2007 – only four games totaling nearly 11 million units of software.

 

Those figures, of course, are just for the United States. Globally the Wii and Nintendo DS have moved massive amounts of software, much of it published by Nintendo itself. In its latest annual report Nintendo showed nearly $6 billion in software revenue (some of which comes from licensing other companies to publish on its hardware platforms).

 

For the coming year, Nintendo expects its revenues to rise to $17.3 billion (for hardware and software combined). Its net profit is expected to rise to $3.1 billion.

 

 

4. Microsoft

microsoft_finances.jpg

FY08 Revenue: $7,734M (Entertainment and Devices Division), +25% (Rank: 3)

FY08 Operating Profit/Loss: -$574M (Rank: 19)

FY09 Revenue Expectations: $8,500M (Entertainment and Devices Division), +10%

Titles in Global Top 100: 3 (Rank: 9)

Units in Global Top 100: 11.5M (Rank: 4)

Review Average: 69% (Rank: 6)

 

Explanation of Ranking: Microsoft had a banner year for software with its flagship title Halo 3 and the acclaimed Mass Effect. It also published two key racing titles, Forza Motorsport 2 and Project Gotham Racing 4. (Note: Microsoft's fiscal year ends on 30 June, but for the sake of temporally similar comparisons in this article, we have computed their figures for the 12 month periods ending on 31 March--EDD mo posted a fiscal full-year profit.)

 

Microsoft Game Studios (MGS) is housed within the Entertainment and Devices Division (EDD) of the larger Microsoft Corporation. As such, we cannot directly see Microsoft's publishing figures and must rather look at the EDD revenue and operating profit/loss as well as external measures like unit sales for its titles.

 

Halo 3 was perhaps the single biggest game launch of 2007, second only to Guitar Hero III. The key difference, of course, is that Halo 3 launched on a single platform – the Xbox 360 – while GH3 launched on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii. With over half the Xbox 360 userbase purchasing Halo 3 within the first few weeks of launch, Microsoft could not only claim one of the largest game launches of 2007, but in the history of the industry.

 

In November 2007, Microsoft Game Studios also launched Mass Effect, the role-playing game by acclaimed developer BioWare (now owned by Electronic Arts). The highly acclaimed game sold more than 1.6 million copies during the six weeks after its release. MGS also released two highly regarded racing games, Forza Motorsport 2 and Project Gotham Racing 4, the former of which made the top 10 sales list the month of its release in the United States, despite only a few days of sales.

 

Looking forward, MGS has a full slate of games for 2008: Gears of War 2, Halo Wars, Fable 2, Alan Wake and Too Human. With the EDD's first full-year profit, the $1 billion Xbox 360 warranty issue receding into the past, and a pile of anticipated titles to round out the year, Microsoft's prospects for FY09 are quite high.

 

 

8. Sony

sony_finance.jpg

 

FY08 Revenue: $12,945 (includes hardware), +50% (Rank: 2)

FY08 Operating Profit/Loss: -$1,255 (Rank: 20)

FY09 Revenue Expectations: Revenues down, but positive operating profit

Titles in Global Top 100: 6 (Rank: 5)

Units in Global Top 100: 6.1M (Rank: 8)

Review Average: 78% (Rank: 2)

 

Explanation for Ranking: Since Sony's publishing business is buried within its Games segment, the reported revenue and operating profit/loss are of limited value. A quick check of Sony's software figures just in the U.S. for the past year shows a revenue in excess of $3 billion. Unfortunately, several of Sony's efforts in FY07 were less successful than anticipated, especially on the PlayStation 3. The Games division as a whole (which includes hardware and software) lost over $1.25 billion, most attributable to losses on PlayStation 3 hardware production and sales.

 

Sony bet on new IP with the first year of the PlayStation 3 and it came up short on a commercial level. Although the effort is to be commended – especially in an industry where sequels are so common – the new properties have almost all failed to ignite the fire that might have added much-needed momentum to Sony's flagging hardware sales.

 

Yet it was titles like God of War II, a sequel on Sony's last-generation platform, that put Sony on the charts. New titles like Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Lair, Heavenly Sword, and Folklore sold weakly to existing users, much less to new potential customers, and some may even have contributed to the company's loss. Only Motorstorm and Resistance: Fall of Man (a launch title) could be considered true first-party successes in Sony's first year with a new system on the market.

 

Despite these difficulties, Sony has blazed new trails as a publisher on its own platform, the PlayStation Network. Free to publish even large games online, Sony has sold Warhawk both in retail stores and through its PlayStation store, directly to system owners. (Gran Turismo 5: Prologue was the second such release in April 2008.) Furthermore, Sony has selected several unique titles like Everyday Shooter and PixelJunk Monsters for publication exclusively through its online store. (Everyday Shooter also later appeared on Valve's Steam service for Windows computers.)

 

Going forward, Sony itself has said that it expects a positive operating income for its Games division in FY09, despite a $1.25 billion operating loss for FY08. It bases this expectation on hardware cost reductions but also on an “enhanced line-up of software” for the PlayStation 3.

 

the other infomation of companies can be found here.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Their next console better be a technological marvel with all this profit they're making....

 

How much they make has nothing to do with how good their next gen system will be. They could have made the Wii more powerful than any library sized supercomputer on the planet, but that would give it an uncompetitive price. I'm not willing to pay 6000 euro for a console that'll get a successor in maybe 5 years, and the casuals are way cheaper than that.

 

What I want is for Nintendo to make a bunch of new teams and tell them to make core games like pilotwings, 1080, waverace, excitebike, and maybe even a GT beater.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Do Nintendo think that only Mario and Zelda games are core games?... Every announcement about them bottling E3 says something about those two franchises, its not just those two they could have mentioned.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Do Nintendo think that only Mario and Zelda games are core games?... Every announcement about them bottling E3 says something about those two franchises, its not just those two they could have mentioned.

 

Tell me about it. I hardly give a flying toss about Zelda right now and I'm not expecting another Mario announcement for at least 2 years (for the Wii anyway).

 

I'm more worried that Nintendo hasn't really had any new core IPs. Anyone share that thought?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hahha I love the one that shows Nintendo in the big profit and sony making the biggest loss, wooo! Take that Playstation lol

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Tell me about it. I hardly give a flying toss about Zelda right now and I'm not expecting another Mario announcement for at least 2 years (for the Wii anyway).

 

I'm more worried that Nintendo hasn't really had any new core IPs. Anyone share that thought?

 

It does seem to be looking like that. They may fool us all but they do like to use the 'zelda' and 'mario' word when talking about core games.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Nintendo Co Ltd's (7974.OS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) quarterly profit rose 31.5 percent on the runaway success of its Wii game console, but the Japanese video game maker kept its annual outlook that falls well short of market expectations.

 

April-June operating profit at Nintendo, which is waging a three-way battle with Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in the global video game industry, rose to 119.2 billion yen ($1.10 billion) from 90.63 billion yen a year earlier.

 

Nintendo's Wii, competing with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360, has enjoyed brisk demand thanks to its easy-to-learn motion-sensing controller, low price and innovative titles such as the "Wii Fit" exercise game.

 

For the full year to March, Nintendo kept its operating profit forecast of 530 billion yen, up 8.8 percent on the year, but below a consensus of 597.1 billion yen in a poll of 20 analysts by Reuters Estimates.

 

Shares in Nintendo, creator of iconic game characters such as Mario and Zelda, have fallen 16.9 percent this year through Tuesday, underperforming the benchmark Nikkei average .N225, which is down 14 percent.

 

Ahead of the results, shares in Nintendo closed up 3.6 percent at 57,600 yen, outperforming the benchmark Nikkei average .N225, which rose 1.6 percent.

The stock lost 16.9 percent this year through Tuesday, while the Nikkei slid 14 percent.

 

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka, editing by Ian Geoghegan)

 

Operating Profit ~$1.1 billion

Net Profit ~$1 billion

 

Wii HW Q1 - 5.17 million (an increase of 1.74 million from last year) (29.62 million total)

DS HW Q1 - 6.94 million (a decrease of 0.04 million from last year) (77.54 million total)

 

Wii SW Q1 - 40.41 million (an increase of 24.42 million from last year)

DS SW Q1 - 36.59 million (an increase of 2.33 million from last year)

 

Mario Kart Wii - 6.42 million

Wii Fit - 3.42 million

 

Cash and Deposits ~$6.6 billion (decrease mostly due to payment of dividends and income taxes)

Total Assets ~$16.4 billion

 

NCL Earnings Release: First Quarter Ended June 30, 2008 PDF

 

www.reuters.com

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wow, look at the Wii software go.

 

In the GameCube era, Nintendo wouldn't've made this money in a year.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
And they could give it away too, right? :indeed:

 

Im certainly not suggesting that....Im more than willing to pay for quality

 

. I'm not willing to pay 6000 euro for a console that'll get a successor in maybe 5 years.

 

Im certainly not suggesting they create a 6000 euro console either.....

 

 

 

I'm more worried that Nintendo hasn't really had any new core IPs. Anyone share that thought?

 

WarioWare: Smooth Moves

Super Paper Mario

Mario Party 8

Mario Strikers Charged

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

Super Mario Galaxy

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Mario Kart Wii

Mario Super Sluggers

Wario Land: Shake It!

Dr. Mario Online Rx

 

 

I share it! Mario and his derivatives have seen more than enough of the Wii spotlight in such a short amount of time. We get it Nintendo..Mario is your go-to guy. Can we move on now?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I'm not willing to pay 6000 euro for a console that'll get a successor in maybe 5 years, and the casuals are way cheaper than that.
Nobody wants that. Fact is, Nintendo were already making ridicilous profits on the Wii when it came out, the console was in fact overpriced for its package. This is probably the only system in modern gaming history to have done that.

 

I want Nintendo to spend ridicilous amounts of R&D money on the Wii2, so I can hand over 250 euro because the it's physically worth it, and not because it's Nintendo and therefore it's a must-buy for me.

 

Wii2 could easily give us an evolution of the Wii with a built-in WiiMotionPlus, WiiSpeak, movement camera, hard-drive/expandable SSD, and some HD capable multiprocessor DirectX 11-grade hardware setup that would be able to run circles around the PS360 hardware.

 

They're probably not going all out on maximising the console's value as Nintendo's smarter than that. It would be great for the core audience though. Also, Nintendo needs to have learned their lesson - if they make the hardware gap between the Wii2 and the PS4/Xbox 1080 as small as possible, their third party support would be incredibly much better. The Wii is physically unable to run anything that's made with a PS360 in mind, the Wii2 shouldn't have that problem. I don't mind if it's weaker (if that allows for a cheap quiet console, I'm all for it), but as long as it allows porting and sharing rescources.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Hahha I love the one that shows Nintendo in the big profit and sony making the biggest loss, wooo! Take that Playstation lol

 

Yes! Lets throw a party! :zzz:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think it's funny to complain about Nintendo not having new IPs when most new IPs are just that: new IPs, aside from the name, they're the same games as before.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I think it's funny to complain about Nintendo not having new IPs when most new IPs are just that: new IPs, aside from the name, they're the same games as before.

 

Yeah, I agree really. To me, the point of a new IP is to demonstrate a new type of gameplay or hardware. In this regard, Wii Sports is as valid as any. For more traditional games, Nintendo has enough characters - Mario, Link, Samus, Pitt - to use.

 

Completely agree with DCK about horsepower though.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Leading Market Research Firms Join Forces to Provide First Multi-CONTINENT View of Video Game software sales

 

New Report Provides Comprehensive View of Global Video Games Sales in World’s Largest Games Markets

 

NEW YORK, TOKYO, LONDON, August 21, 2008 – Leading providers of consumer and retail information in the video games industry, The NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track Limited and Enterbrain, Inc., today announced the release of Top Global Markets Report, the first report to integrate point-of-sale (POS) data for video game software sales in the world’s largest games markets.

 

The leading games information sources in the U.S, U.K. and Japan – the largest games markets in the world – have joined forces to provide the gaming industry with a single source for sales data providing detailed insight into what’s happening in these important markets.

 

Top Global Markets Report gives the video game industry the ability to equip itself with a monthly report that provides jointly-contributed, title-level video games software sales by country. Data can be viewed as an integrated total market view or as side-by-side country comparisons.

 

“The video games business has become increasingly global, with the majority of the publishers releasing games in multiple markets,” said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. “The U.S, as the world’s largest market will be able to view and compare sales for the first time outside of their own market.”

 

The report allows users to track titles, unit sales and share, as well as dollar sales and revenue share in order to quickly respond to shifts in the marketplace. It gives users the ability to know the market and competitors across countries in order to analyze and respond to global gaming market trends.

 

"We are excited to be working more closely with NPD and Enterbrain,” said John Pinder, Managing Director, GfK Chart-Track Limited. “This partnership represents a great opportunity to benefit not only our clients but the industry as a whole by providing a comprehensive, industry-supported view of sales across the three largest video game markets,

 

“We are very grateful to start such a valuable service and alliance with NPD and GfK Chart-Track Limited,” said Hirokazu Hamamura, President, Enterbrain, Inc. “This service gives us the ability to better help game publishers and developers by providing them with a more global view of market performance.”

 

Year-to-Date* Top 5 Video Game Titles

Top Global Markets Report

Ranked By Units** 
Rank 	Title 	                  Total         US          UK          Japan
1 	GRAND THEFT AUTO IV       6,293,000 	4,711,000   1,582,000          --
2 	SUPER SMASH BROS: BRAWL   5,433,000 	3,539,000     213,000   1,681,000
3 	MARIO KART WII            4,697,000 	2,409,000     687,000   1,601,000
4 	WII FIT                   3,604,000 	1,433,000     624,000   1,547,000
5 	GUITAR HERO III: LoR      3,475,000 	3,037,000     412,000      26,000

 

*Jan.-July 2008

 

**Unit sales figures rounded

 

Methodology

 

Information in this report is based on POS data that comes directly from the leading games sales data providers in each country covered by this report.

 

Source: Top Global Markets Report / Retail Tracking Service

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

New figures from data specialist GfK Chart Track have revealed the current installed base for console hardware in the UK.

 

As of September 2008, the PlayStation 3 has reached 1.4 million units, the Xbox 360 2.3 million and the Wii 3.6 million units.

 

The numbers show considerable growth from 2007 – both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 have shifted a million units since the same period last year when their installed base was 0.4 million and 1.3 million, respectively.

 

However, it's Nintendo's Wii that has boomed in the region, from 1.1 million units in September 2007 to the current 3.6 million units.

 

In the battle of the handhelds, the DS has also shot up in the UK from 3.8 million to 7.1 million units in the space of a year, while the PSP has registered a more modest growth in comparison, from 2.2 million to 2.9 million units.

 

The installed base for all five consoles has almost doubled in the UK from 8.8 million to 17.3 million in twelve months

The data comes from High Street retailer The Game Group, which estimates that by Christmas the installed base for the Wii will reach 4.9 million units, the Xbox 360 2.8 million and the PS3 1.9 million units.

 

DS units are expected to climb a further 1.2 million to 8.3 million and the PSP to 3.1 million.

 

www.gamesindustry.biz

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
the DS has also shot up in the UK from 3.8 million to 7.1 million units in the space of a year

 

Jesus H. Christ. And all it took was Patrick Stewart pretending to be going senile and Vernon Kay acting like a prat?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

×