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Nintendo has revealed its latest financial results for Q3 of the 2015 / 2016 year, which run from 1st April to 31st December last year and, as a result, provide an indication of the company's performance over the critical Holiday period. The outcome is rather mixed, with some positive sales figures (in terms of hitting targets) being let down by net sales and profit below the equivalent period last year.

To begin with the main figures for this nine month window we have a net income profit of 40,558 million yen, which amounts to around $336.4 million / £233.9 million / €308.4 million and a 31.9% drop on the previous year's equivalent. Net Sales are down by 3.9% over the equivalent period from last year, while the core business of making and selling products is actually up by 34.4%, bringing an operating profit of 42,485 million Yen, which is around $352.4 million / £245 million / €323.1 million.

The positives in the results are largely attributed to familiar titles such as Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer on 3DS and Super Mario Maker and Splatoon on Wii U. The amiibo range seems to have been the true star, with the brand bringing 20.5 million figure sales and 21.5 million unit sales of amiibo cards for the financial year.

Nintendo is once again sticking to its sales and profit projections for the year, re-affirming that Miitomo is scheduled for release.

For Nintendo 3DS, we will globally release a special edition hardware pre-installed with Pokémon title(s) from the original Pokémon series on February 27 which marks the 20th year since the original Pokémon series release. Furthermore, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and key titles from third-party publishers are scheduled for release.

For Wii U, we will strive to maintain the attention level of Splatoon and Super Mario Maker, which are continuing to show steady sales, while introducing new titles such as The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD.

Meanwhile, for amiibo, we will continue to expand the product lineup in order to maintain momentum. At the same time, we will aim to further expand sales by offering new gaming experiences with the use of amiibo. In addition, the first application for smart devices, Miitomo, is scheduled for release.

Those financial targets then, for the record, remain as an operating income of 50 billion Yen, around $413 million / £287 million / €379 million, and a net income profit of 35 billion Yen, roughly $290 million / £201 million / €266 million.

Shifting focus to hardware and software sales figures you can see some of these below; Nintendo is sticking with the targets it set back in early April.


Wii U

Hardware Sales (Q1 to Q3) — 3.06 million units
Hardware Sales (1st October to 31st December) — 1.87 million units
Hardware Sales (life to date) — 12.6 million units
Hardware Sales Projection (2015 to 2016) — 3.4 million units
Software Sales (Q1 to Q3) — 22.62 million units

3DS

Hardware Sales (Q1 to Q3) — 5.88 million units
Hardware Sales (1st October to 31st December) — 3.6 million units
Hardware Sales (life to date) — 57.94 million units
Hardware Sales Projection (2015 to 2016) — 7.6 million units
Software Sales (Q1 to Q3) — 38.87 million units

Wii

Hardware Sales (Q1 to Q3) — 110,000 units
Hardware Sales (1st October to 31st December) — 40,000 units
Hardware Sales (life to date) — 101.63 million units
Hardware Sales Projection (2015 to 2016) — 100,000 units (clearly out of date, but not updated)
Software Sales (Q1 to Q3) — 6.18 million units


The Wii U is matching up with and slightly exceeding the equivalent figures from a year before, and has actually seen overall software sales rise by a little over two million. The 3DS is still in decline, though, and hoping for a strong final quarter to hit its targets; overall software sales for the portable are over 14 million units down on the previous year, which is a sizeable blow.

The overall outcome seems mixed, with some obvious highlights let down by a drop in profit compared to the previous year and some grim 3DS software numbers. The amiibo range, meanwhile, continues to lead the way as a major sales success.

[source nintendo.co.jp]