Kimishima
Image: Nintendo

It's another big year for Nintendo, as it continues to move towards the NX generation of hardware and increase its output on smart devices. With the Wii U estimated to ship less than a million units and with the 3DS projected to decline again, the big N will need new products to perform well to hit its profit targets for the financial year; in its annual results it estimated net profits of 35,000 million Yen - roughly $314.9 million / £216.1 million / €278.2 million - up to the end of March 2017.

In the officially translated transcript of Nintendo's recent 76th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, company President Tatsumi Kimishima answered a rather tough question that suggested Nintendo's projections for operating profit were "less than fully credible" - ouch. Kimishima-san highlighted, however, that NX, 3DS and mobile releases can help the company hit its targets.

The Nintendo 3DS business has already surpassed cumulative global hardware sales of 58 million units. We believe that the Nintendo 3DS business will generate sufficient profit as long as we can deliver the software titles that are planned for release. The Pokémon series is marking its 20th year since the first title was released, and the series has topped total sales of 200 million games worldwide. Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon are the latest series titles, scheduled for release in November 2016, and we expect these to make a substantial profit contribution.

While we announced our shipment forecast of 800,000 Wii U hardware, we are forecasting total sales of ¥500 billion for this fiscal year, about the same as last year. I am not currently able to talk about concrete figures for unit sales, but we are planning for NX to make up for falling Wii U sales. Software for NX will also contribute to sales and profit.

We are preparing to release around five smart device applications (including Miitomo) by next March, and predict that the smart device business will also contribute to profit.

One factor that merits caution, however, is the UK's decision to leave the EU. While we still do not have a clear picture of how this will affect exchange rates, a continued strong yen may impact our sales and profit, as overseas sales account for more than 70% of our total sales.

It's reassuring that Nintendo is still, at this stage, sticking to its announced plan to release NX in March 2017. Now if only we knew what it was, that would be handy - it's stated elsewhere in the Q & A that production is currently being put in place for NX, so perhaps the inevitable leaks from a manufacturing plant are only a few months away.

Or Nintendo will announce it first - either option is fine by us.

[source nintendo.co.jp]