Despite the success of Mario Kart 8, Nintendo has posted $97.2 million operating loss for the quarter ended June 30 this year.
Nintendo reports that its Wii U gaming console sold 510,000 globally in the quarter, when compared to only 160,000 units sold in the same quarter of 2013.
According to the Consolidated Financial Highlights released by Nintendo for April to June this year, Wii U sales increased in the Americas and Europe but sales dropped in Japan. Wii U's total shipments as of June 30 this year stands at 6.68 million. Nintendo is expecting to sell a total of 3.6 million units in this fiscal year, which will take the total sales of the gaming console to over 9 million units by March 2015.
Nintendo admits that the Wii U is facing stiff competition from rivals, but hopes to revive from the feat of Mario Kart 8 with the launch of Super Smash Bros. and its set of Amiibo figurines this fall.
Nintendo released Mario Kart 8 in Japan on May 29, in Europe and North America on May 30 and in Australia on May 31. The game has received a lot of popularity in the gaming industry and the company has sold 2.82 million copies globally by the end of June this year. Nintendo will anticipate that the game attract more customers in the current quarter.
The International Data Corporation (IDC) reported in 2013 that the gaming console industry has a lot of potential and the number of web-connected gaming consoles will top 200 million by 2017.
"There should be over 150 million online console gamers globally by 2017 as well, so the opportunity to sell these gaming enthusiasts digital assets through Wii U, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 consoles will be substantially larger than it is today," says Lewis Ward, an IDC's research manager.
The market potential for gaming consoles like Nintendo Wii U is huge but it will also face stiff competition from rivals such as Sony PlayStation 4 (PS4) and Microsoft Xbox One. However, the success story of Mario Kart 8 may pep up the Japanese company to develop more attractive games that may entice gamers and improve the company's future profitability.
Nintendo has not altered its operating profit forecast for the fiscal year 2014, which means that the company still hopes to rebound in the next three quarters.
