Nintendo market cap at $85bln, "almost double" Sony's

by Christopher Grant { Oct 15th 2007 at 2:40PM }

To be honest, we're kinda sick of reading (and writing!) about Nintendo's newfound riches. It's like that kid you knew in school whose Dad was a big shot and everyone couldn't help but constantly prattle on about their extravagant vacations and new cars. Just like that. Except they're a Japanese video game titan and instead of extravagant vacations, it's their ¥10 trillion ($85 billion) market capitalization.

For you kids keeping score at home, you can slide Nintendo up to the number three spot on your wall chart of most valuable Japanese companies, right there behind Toyota and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (that's Japan's largest bank, but you already knew that). Of course, Reuters expounds some 500 words on the tale of the once-struggling gaming company whose focus on easy-to-play games has not only brought smiles to the faces of elderly relatives everywhere but riches to their shareholders.

And, of course, every fairy tale has an evil wizard ... cue the Dark Lord Sony. The Big N, despite having less than an eighth of the revenue of their Japanese competitor Sony, has "almost double" the market capitalization thanks to the efforts (and money printing capabilities) of the Wii and DS. Make sure you're writing all this down for those internet flame wars you've been practicing for.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 15th 2007 2:43PM

OH MAN. NINTENDO BE MAKING MONEY OFF THAT WII SON!!!

Marty @ Oct 15th 2007 3:05PM

... Shut up.

Cyro @ Oct 15th 2007 4:06PM

Of course, they are selling $50 Piece of Sh#$@ hardware for $270 bucks. And add the fact that all soccer moms are playing it now and reitrement homes are going crazy about it. Its good times for Nintendo. I mean who would of thought that it would be so profitable to sell something at 4 times its cost!?

SoulBlade @ Oct 15th 2007 2:47PM

"To be honest, we're kinda sick of reading (and writing!) about Nintendo's newfound riches."

Wouldn't even be a second thought if it were MS I bet.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 15th 2007 2:49PM

So I guess today Joystiq is biased against Nintendo.

SoulBlade @ Oct 15th 2007 2:51PM

Nah - its more that I get this vibe that people are still shocked about Nintendo's success and that they don't really like acknowledging it.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Oct 15th 2007 2:53PM

JOYSTIQ IS TOBIAS!

borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Oct 15th 2007 2:56PM

"Wouldn't even be a second thought if it were MS I bet."

That's because everyone simply assumes that Microsoft oozes money. For a corporation with two mediocre console generations, it comes as a surprise to realize Nintendo is pummeling the corp with two successful last generations of consoles.

The Wii/DS combo really does print money. But Nintendo has a history of 'effin up success just as much as Sony does.

Christopher Grant @ Oct 15th 2007 3:02PM

Don't like acknowledging it? Uh ... we wouldn't write about it then, would we? We're *bored* of acknowledging it. Did you realize there's a "it prints money" graphic that, by this point, is entirely overused?

We are BIAS! ... against boring stuff.

SoulBlade @ Oct 15th 2007 3:06PM

Nintendo reported it's first actual loss sometime in 2003.. they rarely lose money. GB/GBA have been keeping them strong for a while, so the DS shouldn't be a surprise.

Sales are definitely a big part of the profit line, but they're not everything. Nintendo's been pretty smart from a business perspective since day 1... few people seem to acknowledge that.

Word of the street(IDF-Digital Ruler). @ Oct 15th 2007 3:22PM

Excuse me but I believe after H3 MS is doing pretty good in fact XB360 is the best console this generation while yeah the xbox 1 was mediocre it sold more units than the gamecube.

IMO the success of the DS is no wonder, it was affordable, the gaming library was better than decent (I'm not counting the GBA library) making it one great handheld but in the case of the Wii well what the hell? I see the Wii as this hobo that got lucky into boarding the DS success train.

SoulBlade @ Oct 15th 2007 3:26PM

MS still has that billion dollar hole they created w/ the warranty extension - I'm not sure they're making a profit yet, but Halo 3 definitely put a dent in it.

The Wii did something different - it may have rode a wave created by the DS, but everyone was bitching about the DS when it came out (OMG TWO SCREENS?! A TOUCH SCREEN!! TEH GIMMICK!!) - Nintendo saw they could either spend an insane amount of money to produce a powerful machine and not make money on hardware sales (which is something they're very against), or put a twist on the way people play the game (call it a gimmick, call it waggle, call it fun, call it whatever you want) and took the gamble. I think they marketed it well, and made it accessible enough to get more people interested in gaming, hardcore or not.

Christopher Grant @ Oct 15th 2007 6:32PM

There is no billion dollar hole (or loss in the Xbox division at all for that matter). These losses are bought and paid for every quarter. Remember this: http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2007/07/05/warrantyrelease.aspx

"Microsoft will take a $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion pre-tax charge to earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 for anticipated costs under its current and enhanced Xbox 360 policies."

SoulBlade @ Oct 15th 2007 6:42PM

I'm going by info like this:

"The first quarter of Microsoft's fiscal year ends five days after Halo 3's worldwide launch, and maths suggest that the game will net roughly $170 million in revenue to the company's gaming division, which would finally push the division into "slight profitability" for the quarter. This would be marked as the first time in the company's short gaming history that the division would pull in a profit for the company."

According to that, it'd be a first.

http://www.videogamechat.net/news/industry-news/Halo-3-Analysts-predict-title-will-push-Xbox-360-division-into-profit-320

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Oct 15th 2007 2:50PM

"Make sure you're writing all this down for those internet flame wars you've been practicing for"

Just so you know, it is you, the Joystiq staff, that has total universal power when it comes to flamewars in the comment thread.

Just making sure we're all clear on that one.

mr nimblewick (SegaDF - Jogurt Ring) @ Oct 15th 2007 2:50PM

It's nice to hear about a gaming-only company doing so well. It speaks volumes to the health of the gaming industry.

copa @ Oct 15th 2007 2:59PM

Exactly. Nintendo has a laser focus on one thing: delivering fun-to-play games.

They end up beating the crap out of the console companies that get completely sidelined with non-gaming-related A/V porn.

Mr. P @ Oct 15th 2007 3:36PM

They have an extremely loyal userbase, that's all. Nintendo pushes out little more than Pokemon, Mario, and Zelda spin-offs. You either live and die by them or you couldn't give two shits about them. I fall into the latter category.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 15th 2007 3:39PM

@P

The same could be said for any company, especially Sony.

josh @ Oct 15th 2007 5:00PM

Mr. P... if that's all it is, then why were the Gamecube and N64 generations so much less succesful than the Wii (so far)?

The Wii is a change of strategy compared to those consoles - embracing casual gamers and nongamers - and it has worked from a business perspective. Though at the cost of annoying hardcore gamers.

Tim @ Oct 15th 2007 2:51PM

Joystiq, why do you have to be so childish and biased for no reason? Is there really any point to this post other than to cause a flame war?

I mean, come on, "And, of course, every fairy tale has an evil wizard ... cue the Dark Lord Sony."? Real professional.

samfish (MSDF- Nurse Outfit!) @ Oct 15th 2007 2:56PM

Are you saying Sony isn't the Dark Lord?

Personally, I like to seem them more as Republicans.
"Soooo, what act of...unmitigated evil shall the Republican Party perform today?"

Christopher Grant @ Oct 15th 2007 2:58PM

Tim doesn't get it. Bye bye Tim.

GRANTED @ Oct 15th 2007 3:02PM

oh snap. hammer away.

borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Oct 15th 2007 3:08PM

"Soooo, what act of...unmitigated evil shall the Republican Party perform today?"

We haven't really made up our minds yet. Starting a war is so last gen. Perhaps we'll short Nintendo and then announce that the product is painted with lead.

Think of the Children.

Andy @ Oct 15th 2007 2:51PM

Microsoft Market Cap = $282 billion.

GRANTED @ Oct 15th 2007 2:55PM

whats a market cap = i dont know

Andy @ Oct 15th 2007 2:58PM

Market Capitalization is the value of the company on the stock market. If you wanted to buy Nintendo you would pay $80 billion. If you wanted to buy Microsoft you would have to pay $280 billion. If you wanted to buy Sony you would have to pay $40 billion. Of course in any real buyout the sale price is higher than the market cap, but it's a good ballpark number for the value of the company.

borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Oct 15th 2007 2:59PM

"whats a market cap"

A concept that only a few really understand and that everyone else from gamers to amateur investors use as smack talk or to fake brilliance.

File it away with the Dow Jones average, Price to Earnings Ratio, & EPS.

GRANTED @ Oct 15th 2007 3:00PM

danke!

borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Oct 15th 2007 3:03PM

Good summary Andy, for this amateur investor couldn't remember off hand.

Konny @ Oct 15th 2007 2:56PM

Wow, thats like $40 billion per non-minigame on the Wii. Have fun with your WiiFit, Pokemon 56, and Cooking Mama 13 guys... jump for joy all you want, thats what is driving their sales and what you will get more of.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 15th 2007 2:58PM

Translation: BAAAAAWWWWWW!!! WHY ISN'T MY CONSOLE DOING AS WELL AS NINTENDO?? I HATE YOU NINTENDO!!! I HATE YOU!!!!

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 15th 2007 3:00PM

Well it's glad to know that you'll be enjoying generic action-RPG 50 and generic shooter 12 for years to come.

Marty @ Oct 15th 2007 3:09PM

You guys are both ignorant losers.

borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Oct 15th 2007 3:11PM

Konny and Vegeta are like the "Odd Couple" show of Joystiq. Mostly family friendly and very entertaining.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 15th 2007 3:15PM

@marty

umm not really? At least I'm not.

BPM (FDF - Hypno-Toad) @ Oct 15th 2007 3:21PM

@ Borland:
If they were the Odd Couple of Joystiq, they'd actually be... funny.

Noshino @ Oct 15th 2007 3:24PM

@"vegeta"

The fact that you don't give a smart reply or that least you stay quite shows that you are.

I don't really know the phrase in English as it was told to me in Spanish by my grampa

"The Ignorant screams,
The Intelligent gives his opinion,
The Wise listens" :]

borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Oct 15th 2007 3:29PM

"At least I'm not."

If you're not then don't fall into the same trap I did with Fernando. Spitting back at a troll with troll-like language never makes you look good.**

**Unless you have a really, really good zinger. Then it is all right.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 15th 2007 3:31PM

Wait, so because I didn't say something wiity, I'm ignorant? That's a bit harsh don't ya think.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 15th 2007 3:38PM

I mean if I was ignorant I would have retaliated with "UR JUST MAD CAUSE THE WII IS MUCH BETTER THAN THE PS3!!! WII FTW." I was really just mocking him in the only way his poor unintelligent brain could understand.

Also wasn't really trying to be funny.

borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Oct 15th 2007 3:49PM

"Also wasn't really trying to be funny."

Then what separates you from Konny? Reacting with rather than initiating immaturity? Usually when I've been an ass in response to bait I realize it later. But you seem to think you're providing the forums with some sort of service.

Konny doesn't care and neither do the rest of us. If you actually want to play with a troll, then be reasonable and courteous. Short of failing to respond, nothing works better.

faqhalo @ Oct 15th 2007 4:04PM

that is so true. pokemon is on like 12 or 13. mario is older then i am. link has yet to go on a noteworthy quest. cooking mama from what i saw was the biggest pos on this planet next to mario party 8 and warioware and rayman. the game industry is lacking creativity. where most of the titles are hitting 4's and 5's final fantasy has hit 14 already i believe. this post was made to cause war. Nintendo makes fad systems. were the game boy has been re-released 27x. you had pocket. color. sp. advanced. micro. different colors and different editions. the wii is already boring. here in america fad's dont last too long. give it till the end of next year when mario galaxy is collecting dust. ssbb is old new then what? whats left. trauma center 5?

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 15th 2007 4:27PM

As stated before, I was mocking him using his own dumbass fanboy language. I normally don't talk like that. And I don't expect anyone to laugh at it. If you think it's funny that's cool with me, but I do it for my own enjoyment only and yes after I post I come out extremely satisfied.

Sam @ Oct 15th 2007 2:57PM

IT PRINTS MONEY!!!!!!!!!1!!111!!!!!11!!!11eleven

(Just getting things started.)

zlionsfan @ Oct 15th 2007 3:00PM

Viewed from within the gaming industry, I think it's more like Nintendo is the legacy kid (no one really knows how he got in or if he's even going to class, but his grades sure are good), Sony's more like the CEO's kid, and Microsoft is Anna Nicole Smith (when she was alive) - you know exactly what she did to get in, and you kind of resent it, but yeah, you'd hit it too.

Overall, though, this should be a hell-yeah for gamers. If Yahoo's numbers are right, even Sony at $47B is pretty decent-sized. MS at $282B is solid. Maybe at some point we'll have enough pull that our lobbyists can be the ones pushing for reform bills ... in the right direction.

gaming industry ftw!

Christopher Grant @ Oct 15th 2007 3:04PM

Thank you for a great comment! Give this man a star.

GRANTED @ Oct 15th 2007 3:17PM

despite making me feel warm and fuzzy inside, i doubt that video games, as opposed to a more general group like technology, is ever going to have the same sort of vote-swaying power as farm, defense, or health care lobbies. unless theres a congressional district somewhere made up exclusively of suburban home basements.

seriously--what kind of favors do gamers really need done in washington? your comment makes no sense but whatever good job keeping it civil.