Nintendo released their latest financial earnings statement for October-December 2015, and it was a bout of some good news for the beleaguered company which has recently come under fire owing to the poor performance of its Wii U and 3DS flagship products.
On the console side, the Nintendo Wii U has now sold 12.6 million units worldwide, up from 10.75 million units just three months ago on September 30; the Wii U had its best quarter since launch yet, with almost 2 million units sold worldwide in the last three months. Since April 1 2015, the Wii U has already sold 3 million units, of which 2 million were sold in the last three months alone. Nintendo attributes the Wii U’s improved performance to the release of hit games such as Splatoon and Super Mario Maker, which were able to revitalize the platform when proven hits like Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. could not.
On the handheld end, the Nintendo 3DS is definitely slowing down now, as it nears the end of its life. Its lifetime sales are now at 58 million units sold worldwide; it sold 3.6 million units in the last three months, and has sold 6 million units worldwide in the last three months, a dramatic decline from its performance in the previous few years.
Nonetheless, overall, Nintendo’s handheld performed fairly well now, and in conjunction with Amiibos (which have now sold 20.1 million figures worldwide, and as many cards) allowed Nintendo to post a profit of $262 million- a healthy number that should allow Nintendo to prepare for the upcoming launch of the Nintendo NX later this year.