Nintendo is doomed. No, wait.
If there is one thing that the company’s thirty plus year history in the video game market should prove, it is that one should never count them out. Since the early 1990s, people have constantly proclaimed doom for the company, pointing to trends, fads, numbers, charts, market conditions, what have you, to decidedly demonstrate that the company is on the decline, and the way out, and each time, the company has struck back and returned stronger than before.
This has never been more marked than now, with the 3DS and Wii U, Nintendo’s worst performing handheld and console in history respectively, and with four consecutive years of them posting losses. But now, as one should have expected all along, Nintendo seems to be striking back. We already knew that, in the wake of Mario Kart 8, Wii U sales are rising; we knew that, in the wake of that game and a very successful E3, more people are inclined to get the Wii U than ever before; we already knew that they had posted a profit last quarter, and expected to post a profit for the entire year.
What we didn’t know was just how crazy it would all be. It appears that the triple whammy of Pokemon OmegaRuby/AlphaSapphire (which has already sold 7.7 million units worldwide), Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and- and this is the most important one- Nintendo’s NFC figurines, Amiibos have given Nintendo incredible momentum going into this holiday season, and their profits are expected to triple, according to Bloomberg.
“Nintendo has picked up good momentum heading into the Christmas season,” said Tomoaki Kawasaki, a Tokyo-based analyst with Iwai Cosmo Securities Co., who raised his rating to neutral plus last month. “This time they have a hit lineup. Amiibo represents a new revenue source, and we are watching it very closely.”
Bloomberg itself estimated that sales of Amiibo are expected to raise $1 billion in revenue in the US alone- such crazy sales would single handedly make up for the losses Nintendo has suffered over the last four years, and would provide them with the necessary financial footing to go into the next generation on a strong foot.
Wii U lifetime sales currently stand at 7.2 million units, although Nintendo expects the number to be at 9.5 million units by the end of this financial year; the 3DS currently stands at 45 million units, though Nintendo is aiming for that to be over 50 million units. Recent hits for both platforms, in addition to the ones stated- Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, Bayonetta 2, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Hyrule Warriors, and Mario Kart 8, of course- should all help maintain momentum.