Nintendo Sputters While Seeking to Reignite Growth Engines
- Switch, Super Mario Run will have to make up for weaker sales
- Hefty boost from Pokemon Go fails to make up for slump
Pokemon Go Fails to Boost Nintendo
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Nintendo Co.’s plan to get its business back on track with mobile games and a new console is coming up against a hard reality: the core business is getting weaker.
Pokemon Go, which gave investors and customers an early indication of the company’s potential to carve out a significant share of the smartphone gaming market, delivered a 12 billion yen ($115 million) boost to the bottom line. Still, that wasn’t enough to make up for a stronger yen that reduced the income Nintendo earned abroad, as well as big declines in hardware and software sales. Shares fell in Tokyo trading after the Kyoto-based company slashed its operating profit and sales outlook for the fiscal year to March.