Nintendo shares dive on loss warning (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgav2_Skzh8prBO9oUvAa4e0jO0vQWMc8b1tXByUnAn6II5XvJSxiEl5dXst8Obu40Jamm4zgiOb6hUM7eKd-m4znQLU-uqXrhoaHtQcVhgRGmoKvC1e3ijXvMgyO1v9NwRPGkLmeWj9sk/s1600/37a98c03e25acac9bce98be723fc36cf345092b6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgav2_Skzh8prBO9oUvAa4e0jO0vQWMc8b1tXByUnAn6II5XvJSxiEl5dXst8Obu40Jamm4zgiOb6hUM7eKd-m4znQLU-uqXrhoaHtQcVhgRGmoKvC1e3ijXvMgyO1v9NwRPGkLmeWj9sk/s1600/37a98c03e25acac9bce98be723fc36cf345092b6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390232626529_15077" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Tokyo (AFP) - Nintendo shares plunged nearly 19 percent Monday before recouping most of those losses after the Japanese gaming giant warned it would slip back into the red on poor sales of its Wii U game console.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390232626529_15100" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Shareholders unloaded the stock at the opening bell Monday after Kyoto-based Nintendo said it would lose 25 billion yen ($240 million) in the fiscal year to March, reversing an earlier 55 billion yen net profit forecast.The warning, released after the Tokyo market closed Friday, highlighted a growing chasm between Nintendo and global rivals Sony and Microsoft, as well as the trio's battle against cheap -- or sometimes free -- downloadable games for smartphones and tablets.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390232626529_15110" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">But the shares recovered from their morning losses to close 6.14 percent lower at 13,745 yen.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390232626529_15120" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Nintendo, maker of the Donkey Kong and Super Mario brands, blamed the downgrade on expectations it would now sell just 2.8 million units of the Wii U worldwide in the current fiscal year.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">That is less than a third of its earlier prediction for 9.0 million consoles, and deals a blow to high hopes it would match the blockbuster success of the original Wii.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp portrait onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="8" data-uuid="bda1a34a-1dd8-3536-8296-46f71041b893" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/family-plays-nintendo-39-portable-video-game-console-photo-024151375.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="A family plays Nintendo&#39;s portable video game console&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 415px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="A family plays Nintendo&#39;s portable video game console&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="415" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/cs9SmFRqFNyqSFnPIoxu9Q--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTQxNTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/15f99de42a78ffd04348b20e3a6b90d28f3db7be.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">A family plays Nintendo's portable video game console at an electronics shop in Tokyo on January …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">In contrast, Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One have seen huge demand for their new consoles as the firms battle for control of a global sector worth about $44 billion annually.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">On Friday, Nintendo said that holiday season demand failed to boost flagging sales, forcing the company to slash forecasts as sales of the console's high-margin software slumped.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">For Nintendo, the grim forecast is especially disappointing after it scratched its way back to profitability last year thanks to a sharply weaker yen, which inflates Japanese firms' repatriated profits.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Investors had been praying for a strong recovery but what's obvious now is that the company is lagging behind," said Hirokazu Kabeya, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Both the hardware and software businesses were bad. It was as if the company got a 'no' verdict on all aspects.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="9" data-uuid="f5e65889-4868-3f72-8b7c-13e193f308a1" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/man-walks-past-poster-nintendo-video-game-character-photo-102008807.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="A man walks past an advertisement for Nintendo at an&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 195px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="A man walks past an advertisement for Nintendo at an&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="195" src="http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/XVK.VcNbwf7YN2ZbduGqmA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE5NTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/1841f62a10d4f07db4da875a4b196cce3cdce151.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">A man walks past an advertisement for Nintendo at an electrical shop in Tokyo, on April 24, 2013 (AF …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"We should closely watch how the company will rehabilitate itself from here," he added.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Nintendo has previously blamed weak earnings partly on high development and marketing costs for the Wii U, launched in late 2012, although sales of its 3DS handheld console and related game titles fared better. It cut prices on both consoles to boost sales.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Nintendo President Satoru Iwata apologised to shareholders at a press briefing on Friday, saying that "my duty, more than anything else, is to revive our business momentum".</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The company is to hold a briefing about its new strategy on January 30.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Nintendo's grim downgrade came as key domestic rival Sony saw record demand for its new PlayStation 4 console, which had already sold more than 4.2 million units by the start of the year.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The console was launched on November 15.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">US rival Microsoft has also seen robust demand for its Xbox One console, which sold more than one million units in the 24 hours after its November release.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The firms are giants in the global videogames industry, but they have faced tough economic conditions in the US and Europe, while also battling a move to smartphone games.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"One smartphone does everything for many people and so they don't feel the need to have game consoles," Daiwa's Kabeya said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">He added that Nintendo had plenty of cash on hand so its balance sheet was safe for now, but "its finances will become severer and severer if thing carry on like this".</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Shinkin Asset Management fund manager Naoki Fujiwara saw little hope for Nintendo after the Wii U failed to live up to expectations.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Growth is nowhere to be seen," he said.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1390232626529_15146" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">-- Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this article --</div></div>

Nintendo shares dive on loss warning (BLOG)

Tokyo (AFP) - Nintendo shares plunged nearly 19 percent Monday before recouping most of those losses after the Japanese gaming giant warned ...

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