Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima says that the Wii U was sold at a loss because the yen was very strong at the time – a situation the NX won’t get.
Those of you expecting Nintendo’s upcoming super dooper secret NX console to be an ultra-high definition power-hungry machine that Nintendo will sell at a loss, think again! Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima has stated at a recent investor’s call that the company’s new console will not be sold at a loss like the Wii U, and is being designed around this fact.
“We are not thinking of launching the hardware at a loss,” said Kimishima. “When Wii U was launched, the yen was very strong. I am assuming that situation will not repeat itself. Selling at a loss at launch would not support the business, so we are keeping that mind in developing NX.”
The Wii U, which launched in November, 2012, didn’t become profitable until May of 2014.
Additionally, Kimishima once again pushed Nintendo’s mobile initiatives, stating “we want to grow smart device gaming as one of the pillars of Nintendo’s revenue stream.”
In fact, even Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto has been put onto smartphone development, as Kimishima explains “Of course, Mr. Miyamoto, our Creative Fellow, is also supporting the business for smart devices from a company-wide perspective. To explain the level of engagement of Mr. Miyamoto, he is having specific talks with developers of games for smart devices on what would be desirable overall. In that sense, what you see from the outside may be markedly different from what we see on the inside.”
Not sure what this means for the NX, but we can probably expect a much more conservative machine, with a lot of smartphone integration.
Source: Nintendo
