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Analyst doubts Wii price cut, recommends more peripherals


Mito Securities analyst Yoichiro Watanabe has weighed in on the buzz surrounding tomorrow's Nintendo Media Summit, suggesting that a Wii price cut is unlikely. Frankly, it's hard to disagree with the man. As Watanabe points out, demand is still through the roof, and the Holiday season is only going to ramp up Wii fever to ridiculous, hair-pulling levels.

More controversially, Watanabe thinks Nintendo should force us all to add to our growing collection of plastic doohickeys and controller shells, on the basis that adding new peripherals to the Wii has worked well for the company. That's not exactly a move we're in favor of (our living rooms are now mostly plastic), and Iwata has already stated that new add-ons are unlikely.

[Via Gamasutra]

Nintendo makes boatloads of money during fiscal Q1 [update]

To the surprise of, well, no one, Nintendo had a pretty stellar first fiscal quarter of 2008, raking in a net profit of nearly 1 billion dollars (107.2 billion yen). Wii hardware was responsible for $5.17 million of that profit, which is an increase of almost $1.75 million from last year's fiscal Q1. Meanwhile, Wii software raked in $40.41 million (up $24.42 million).

Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit were part of the reason for this software success, since in the quarter Wii Fit sold 3.42 million copies and Mario Kart sold a whopping 6.42 million units. And, if you weren't yet convinced that Nintendo deserves the "printing money" meme, the company is projected to bring in a net profit of about $3 billion dollars for the year.

We don't know about you, but our own wallets and bank accounts are growling with envy.

Update: Fixed some typos. Thanks for the heads up, Sonic_13!

[Via NeoGAF]

The rising costs of multiplayer Wii


We're already fascinated by the potential of the Wii MotionPlus, but there is one potential sticking point: the price. Gizmodo went to the trouble of calculating how much the Wii would cost with enough Wii Remotes, Nunchuks, and MotionPlus add-ons (the site estimated -- conservatively in our view -- that the device would cost $15) for four players, and promptly saw the Wii's "cheapest console" tag evaporate.

According to Gizmodo's math, a fully equipped four-player Wii set-up would cost $490 -- just $60 less than the PS3 with four controllers and $20 more than the Xbox 360 with four pads; the fact that the Wii is seen as a social gaming console hardly makes thing much better. Maybe a price drop for the Wiimote is in order before the MotionPlus hits stores?

Gallery: Wii and friends: A Great Match

The Wii and FriendsLocal vs. Wi-FiSuper Smash Bros. BrawlThe man has some smooth movesParty people, this one's for you

Nintendo stocks rise, execs get jewel-encrusted unicorn bonuses

Or, in the case of the fellow to the right, the Tony Montana bathtub.

For those of you who've been keeping track of the business situation with Nintendo, then you've already got your party hat on and have made several copies of your butt with the Xerox machine. Nintendo's stocks are on the rise. In fact, they're at a five-month high.

What's behind this rise? Well, The Telegraph is reporting that it's due to those of us here in the United States, because we've been buying up Wiis and Nintendo products like it's going out of style. So, if you've bought a Wii or Nintendo game recently, pat yourself on the back. You're helping Nintendo prosper.

[Via GamesIndustry.biz]

Hiroshi Yamauchi rolling in gold coins



After coming third last year, former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi is now the richest man in Japan, according to Forbes. Current estimates place Yamauchi's net worth at $7.8 billion, a figure that would see the 80-year-old place 40th in the equivalent U.S. list, and 149th in the world. You would think he'd have bought some new glasses by now.

It's pretty obvious that Nintendo's recent success with the Wii and DS have inflated Yamauchi's fortune massively; though he left the company in May 2002, Yamauchi retained stock in Nintendo, which was founded by his great-grandfather in 1889. "... Yamauchi's net worth soared $3 billion in the past year and has tripled since 2006, thanks mostly to booming sales of the Wii gaming device," notes Forbes.

"It's truly incredible," added Chris Greenhough, seventh richest blogger on the Wii Fanboy team.

World: 'How about a Wii price cut, then?' Nintendo: 'Ahahahaha'

Looks like we'll be waiting a little while longer for any price cut on the Wii. As in, until 2009. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has revealed to analysts that no price cut is planned for either the Wii or DS this year, and while both consoles are selling out pretty much everywhere, we can't say we're bowled over by that decision.

As yesterday's financial report demonstrated, Nintendo's practically bathing in money, and it expects to make plenty more over the coming twelve months -- $5.14 billion of it, to be precise. If you are still searching for a Wii, looks like you won't even have the consolation of paying a non-launch price!

[Via Joystiq]

Nintendo rolling in money as Wii nears 25 million units

Nintendo hasn't just been sitting prettily on its laurels these past twelve months. Nope, the Kyoto firm has kept itself occupied by generating giant wads of filthy lucre, in readiness for when it takes over the world with Satoru Iwata as our new supreme overlord, and Shiggy his ruthless, iron-fisted deputy. Or something.

The company has released details of its full year results for the period ended March 31st, 2008, and guess what? Nintendo is rich. Profits shot up by 47.7 percent, while sales rose by 73 percent (to ¥1.67 trillion, or $16.1bn).

Not only that, but the Wii sold 18.61 million consoles in the last fiscal year, bringing it to a lifetime total of 24.45 million units (and, as we're now in late-April, we can safely presume that that figure has passed the landmark total of 25 million). On the software front, the console now has 26 million-sellers (up from five last year), 1.8m Japanese consumers risked their hamstrings by picking up Wii Fit, and Brawl sold 4.85 million units in the U.S. and Japan (and might even sell a few more when it launches in Europe this June).

Confirmed: our future lies on the Canary Islands



As if picture-perfect beaches, low taxes and fifty weeks of sunshine a year weren't already good enough reasons to emigrate to the Canary Islands (linked for Americans ... I kid!), then we just found the absolute clincher: a bank in the region that is giving away Wiis ... for free!

Of course, when we say "for free," what we actually mean is "in the form of a €300 loan (with 0% interest) that must be paid back within six months, providing you like the idea of keeping your house." That does mean you'll be paying an extra €50 on top of the usual price of a Wii in Europe, but we suppose the fact you don't have to cough up for six months makes things all better, or at least it does until Dad has to go to jail.

Oh, and what is this fabulous promotion called? Why, it's the CrediWii. Ugh, they're not even trying now.

[Via NeoGAF]

Wii Warm Up: Splashing the cash

It looks like Wii fever on eBay is finally fizzling out, ending weeks of people paying crazy money for Nintendo's console. But just the thought of all that wild, unabated spending got us reflecting on some of our own high-priced video game purchases.

Back in the day, in a (ultimately unsuccessful) bid to complete the Dreamcast library, yours truly once threw $250 at a Samba De Amigo bundle (a purchase that now, with the benefit of hindsight, looks rather unnecessary). Then again, we sense that may be rather tame compared to some people, so tell us: what's been your most outlandish gaming purchase?

UK Wiis no longer going for a small fortune

Ah, can you smell that? That's the sweet, sweet aroma of a thousand eBay scalpers' plans going up in smoke. Yep, it looks like the bubble has well and truly burst for those hoping to make fat profits from the Wii on eBay, at least here in the UK. Scottish tabloid The Daily Record reports that the consoles are now going for as little as £147 ($290) on the auction site, a full £33 below the retail price.

A heart-warming bit of news for sure, though those Brits who drove/caught the train/swam to France may be regretting their decision now.

[Via The Tanooki]

Nintendo missing out on $1.3 billion because of shortages


Did you know that every time someone can't find a Wii console to buy, God kills a kitten? Okay, maybe not, but the shortages are definitely costing Nintendo a lot of money. The total adds up to an estimated $1.3 billion, which we're sure Nintendo would like to have in its pocket.

Analyst James Lin of the MDB Capital Group believes that Nintendo could sell twice as many Wiis as it's making each month. Since 1.8 million consoles are produced on a monthly basis, that means Nintendo might be missing out on a heck of a lot of sales. Just because it's not making as much money as it could be, though, doesn't mean that the company is hurting for it. In fact, we think Nintendo will be just fine.

[Via NeoGAF]

Wiis going for tons of money on Ebay


With the holidays coming up, inflated Wii prices on Ebay are to be expected. Yet, the prices that Wiis are going for right now (and it's only late November!) are surprising even us. They seem to be selling somewhere in the range of $500 to $650, and that's without even factoring in the shipping costs.

We knew that the situation was dire in the UK, but we didn't realize how deep the desperation was around these parts until checking out these exorbitant prices. It's just madness that a one-year-old console is going for at least twice its worth. This also seems like a huge jump from last week's Ebay sales, during which the average cost for a Wii was $377 (according to Terapeak).

The holidays are a scary time, indeed. Run while you still can.

[Via NeoGAF]

You don't say: Guitar Hero III bringing in the big bucks

Earlier today, Activision announced Q2 revenues of $318 million, a 69% increase on the same period last year.

Now, those figures alone are worthy of applause, if that kind of thing floats your boat. However, the recent release of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock on the Wii (and, y'know, some other consoles you may have heard of) is tipped to boost Q3 earnings to unprecedented levels, with many expecting Activision to shatter the $1 billion mark in net revenue. And sure enough, despite the odd issue, the game has made a fine start in the US, with Activision crowing today about first week revenues of $115m.

Of course, it's not exclusively the Wii version of Guitar Hero III that will have contributed to that mind-boggling number, but you can bet your bottom dollar it will have played its part, thanks to the sheer ubiquity of the Wii, not to mention its popularity at social occasions. So "yay" for the Wii, "yay" for Guitar Hero, and "yay" for capitalism. A winning combination.

Incidentally, don't forget that Legends of Rock headbangs its way into Australasia tomorrow, while Europeans will be rocking out from November 23.

[Via Joystiq]

Wii Warm Up: On the fence

There are some games that we'll buy without a second thought. Even if times are tight, we'll make sure they end up in our collection somehow. Games cost money, though, and since we're not rich, we just can't buy them all. Therefore, we sometimes waiver over a game, or two, or ten.

Which present and future Wii titles are you on the fence about? Feel free to include Wii Ware and Virtual Console games. If there's something you can't decide whether or not to buy, let us know!

Confirmed (again): Nintendo nauseatingly rich



Once upon a time, in a land called Eighteen Months Ago, a new games console called "Wii" was announced. With its easily manipulated name, unusual motion-sensing controls and standard definition visuals, many onlookers instantly chose to hoot and holler at this most unconventional piece of hardware. Amidst much snickering, God-awful puns and subtle anatomical jokes were cracked.

Fast-forward a year and a half, and it is Nintendo that is laughing longest, loudest, and yes, hardest. Earlier today, the company published a half year profits forecast that practically glowed with positivity: profit is expected to treble for this fiscal year, the previously mocked Wii is expected to sell 17.5m units by March 31, and Ninty has raised expected software sales during this fiscal year by 35%.

Translation: Nintendo is neck-deep in lovely, filthy lucre. And to think both Wii Fit and Brawl are yet to touch down in stores.

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