It’s really great to see that losses will be manageable for Nintendo. Seriously, it sounds a lot better than what Sony will be facing!

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese game software and console maker Nintendo Co. said on Wednesday it is unlikely to lose much money on the launch of its new “Wii” video game console, in sharp contrast to rival Sony Corp., which expects a hefty loss on the debut of its PlayStation 3.

Game machines manufacturers often lose money on initial console sales, but recoup those losses over the life of the product through software sales. Sony expects to post a 100 billion yen ($884 million) operating loss at its game division in the current fiscal year due to costs related to the PS3 launch.

“We can’t promise we won’t have even a one-yen loss, but we are not expecting an enormous loss,” Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told a news conference. “It is a strange notion that a game console always leads to mounting losses in the beginning.”

“We are working to make the Wii business a healthy one from the first year,” he added.

Iwata added that even if the company meets its sales target of 6 million Wii consoles in the year to next March and 17 million units of Wii software, Nintendo expected a limited impact on its earnings from sales of Wii for the current business year…. Source: ExtremeTech/Reuters