As of March 31, 2016, Nintendo had a cash and deposits totalling 535 billion yen. That is roughly equivalent to $4.46 billion. This amount represented 39.52 percent of their total assets. In other words, about 40 percent of what Nintendo owns is just cash.

The Wii is mostly responsible for these cash reserves. From a business standpoint, the Wii was a massive success.

Add to all this, Nintendo still has Pokémon, a dominant position in the handheld market, a new console coming out, and a plethora of other popular IPs. Oh, and they're starting to enter the mobile market.

Nintendo is doing fine.

If the latest rumours on the Bombcast are right that the Switch could launch at around £200 UK, then I'm not worried at all. I think this price combined with their new lease of life on mobile is bringing Nintendo back into the forefront, and potentially a worry for Sony and Microsoft during this mid-console struggle for the S and pro upgrades.

Seriously why would you upgrade, when you can pick up a new portable Nintendo device for a fraction of the price?

Nintendo are totally fine and in a much better financial position than Sony or MS's XBOX division. The Switch would have to be a total flop and the following console as well probably for them to be worried.

I'm more worried about the future of the games they release. I think they will be around for some time and do their usual thing. The problem with this is that their usual thing isn't as good as it were in the past.

The last real incredible Mario game is Super Mario Galaxy, which isn't too old, but still. 3D world is really good but not great.

The last really awesome Zelda is OoT, at least at the time ( I don't think it holds up that good today, overall). Sure I liked WW and TP a lot but they are "just" good to really good. The last really awesome Metroid is Super Metroid and I'm not seeing any signs of a new awesome Metroid game on the horizon. The last really awesome Paper Mario is the N64 one closely followed by TTYD (GC). The Wii one was not bad, "just" good and the Wii U one seems to be OK at best. What else do they have? Starfox? Yeah, that turned out great... Mario Kart? Sure, MK 8 is not bad if you like Kart racing. Splatoon, haven't played it, looks good and all but for a PC gamer I think there are better alternatives. Smash? Not my thing.

I'm totally fine with Nintendo releasing only two great games per console. But they have to be great and not just good or very good. Maybe A Breath of the Wild will do it? At least 50% of my happiness meter filled. I don't think that's too much to ask for.

EDIT: Mario Maker, is probably the only game on Wii U that I could call great, but that's a stretch in some ways, and not enough for a console. But sure, at best 50% of what I would like from a Nintendo console.

I'm only concerned in the name of competition. I've enjoyed some Nintendo consoles, but I've always been a Playstation guy if I had to choose a side. So it's like if a sports team(s) that I wasn't invested in disappeared from a league.

Also if they ever go the way of Sega they won't ACTUALLY go the way of Sega. Sega's spread of IP was nowhere near as relevant as Nintendo's.

Is this the monthly Nintendo doom and gloom thread?

Honestly this is the first time I've genuinely been excited for a Nintendo console/handheld since the launch of the GBA SP. Consolidating the two markets seems like the best idea Nintendo has had in awhile. I have to assume phones are hurting handheld sales plus the Wii U marketing and name were just too confusing to a lot of consumers. Consolidating the base and dropping the Wii branding actually makes sense from a business perspective.

I love that they're taking the one good idea the Wii U had and building they're whole new system around it. As for the spec stuff it's Nintendo who gives a shit? I assume it will be weaker than the PS4 or Xbox One but more powerful than the last gen platforms and Nintendo can make a pretty game regardless of hardware specs. Plus a new proper Mario game!!!

@sammo21: no joke here. personal tastes aside, i feel the wii u still had a grip of good games and as mentioned yes they do have a zelda still coming. 3d world isn't a new mario game? despite your feelings you can't say they're not game focused; i'd say they're the most game focused of all and they're pretty fucking passionate about it. it is just denial and kinda spiteful to say the wii u's games didnt appeal to anyone.

Even if the Switch failed miserably, Nintendo has a lot of cash on hand, and a lot of IPs they could leverage to make even more money.

The Wii U had some incredible games, so I'm not worried about their output. I would just like to see a few more games a year instead of the drip of releases we're used to.

@ripelivejam: it would be spiteful, so good thing I didn't say that :| No, World isn't new...its a sequel to the 3DS game. Also, Zelda is basically going to be switch/wiiU game much like Twilight Princess was gamecube/Wii. Gamecube and Wii still had their own Zelda games that debuted specifically for their systems. I didn't say the WiiU didn't have great games...it just doesn't have many.

Worried about multi-billon dollar conglomerate registered as Nintendo? Not particularly.

No, not at all. What's to worry about? Future looks bright.

No not all. Personally I want the Switch to fail, so I can play Mario on a Playstation.

Who cares if they're right for you anymore? NERF still makes toys even though I haven't bought their products in 20 years. You are not their audience. Consider the possibility that if something doesn't appeal to you, that doesn't make it bad.

No, I am not worried about Nintendo.

Honestly I'm more worried about Sony. Nintendo is always unique and often casts a much wider net while Microsoft has close ties to pc gaming. What the hell does Sony have? Consoles aren't what they used to be.

I gave up on Nintendo when they failed to capitalize on the success of the Wii. Not funding more expansive games and not implementing popular features from other consoles like achievements was a real bummer for me. This is coming from someone who had pumped more money into Nintendo than any other platform at that point, but what I saw on the PS3 with Batman, Assasins Creed, Uncharted, Bayonetta, and MGS meant I was going over to Sony and never coming back.

I do not think they have stepped completely away. They just have taken a half step to the side....trip over their own feet, then spun to the other side hyper extending their knee back like a cricket's leg as pain surges up their body in white hot agony.

All they have to do is spend 1/10 of their precious fortune to create 2 more development teams to increase their own output of game. Then spend 1/100 of that fortune to pay for an executive and two assistants in each territory who job it be "to help" 3rd parties navigate the process of developing games for Switch.

That its that all they fucking have to do. They don't need better or competitive hardware. They don't need every 3rd party game. They don't need to stop selling the same 8-Bit and 32 bit games to their fans over and over and over again. They need not even lose iota of 'face' to people who do not already think they are incompetence boobs.

They have not stepped away from keeping up with being competitive at all. Their competitiveness is not really in jeopardy at all despite their best efforts. What they have done is worse, they refuse to see other 3rd party companies that merely want to make games for their system - give fair compensation to Nintendo for that ability - as allies. Instead see anyone else making games for their system as adversaries to be thwarted. They are quite simply incompetent, rude, and vindictive in the executive suite, not in the engineering department.

Make a few more games, develop new properties with a reasonable amount of risk occasionally, and stop thwarting the reasonable expectation of 3rd parties to put their games on the system.

• Play fair. (Don't screw over business partners...like cancelling Playstation NES in 1993)
• Don't hurt people. (Don't fire an employee because Internet trolls attack them - Alison Rapp)
• Don't take things that aren't yours. (Grabbing "Lets Play" footage and adverting revenue from fans on YouTube)

They fail at stuff, even a Japanese kid learns, from 幼稚園 youchien (Kindergarten).

I'm aligned with more or less everyone here. Nintendo knows they have money in the bank and also realize their profits are wavering so they are being conservative as they always have. They are bringing in younger developers that grew up with games, resulting in Splatoon. They still make fantastic games and haven't lost their touch. The WiiU seems like their stepping stone into HD gaming. The Switch seems like the next level of that. I think last generation if you could only own two consoles it would be PC and WiiU. I'm lucky enough to also own a PS4, but I'm hoping the way gaming seems to be drifting I will only need a PC and a Switch next generation.

I don't see Nintendo going anywhere. They still own the portable business, they're entering mobile gaming, and have their IPs to franchise out if needed. It's probably going to be a different Nintendo, but it definitely isn't going to go the way of Sega.

Have they made a console that was competitive power wise since the NES?

Nintendo is in a good spot. There's really no point in trying to do the exact same thing as Sony and Microsoft since we don't really even need two consoles in that space. The Wii U was great for what it was and blew away the other consoles in the exclusive department.

I think there's enough of a market for them to survive. Plus I don't think they're going to stop with the 3DS production, right? I think that platform still has some life in it given that it is essentially a Pokemon money printing machine.

Really I think it depends what the Switch will cost to get people to start buying. As for now, I think if you own a WiiU, you probably have all the best games all ready and the Switch probably isn't too enticing given that there isn't really a lot of new games being shown, so really the Switch almost seems to be for people who were interested in the WiiU, but never bought it.

The Gamecube and N64 were more powerful than the PS2 and PS1. Unfortunately, they were both held back by their media, compact 1.5 GB discs and cartridges. I think it's a pity they stopped trying.

They seem to be doing pretty well from where I'm sitting at. And unless the switch is just a huge failure, I don't think we'll see them get out of hardware for a while. Remember, they'd been doing pretty well with their mobile platform. With the switch they'll be consolidating their effort to one device instead of two. It's a hell of lot easier two breath life into one system than maintaining two. And let's be honest, they'll be the ones making that system worth buying not 3rd parties.

This question would maybe make more sense if we weren't mere months away from a highly anticipated new hardware launch from Nintendo.

Your concern is very misplaced. It comes from your own desire of what you want out of Nintendo, not at all how they are doing. The Wii did better than the N64 and GameCube combined within the first 6 months. The Wii U is the only platform where they didn't do well. The Switch makes a ton of sense and seems perfect for what Nintendo is. Like actually near-perfect.

I'm not sure why you don't like the idea of the Switch. It will bring back the game-ass games that Nintendo used to make, while still taking that market that is in limbo.

I don't think you've paid strong attention to Nintendo outside of your own wishes from them. Their stock has gone up tremendously since what you feel were their best years, they are making the first console that people actually want and every investor everywhere sees a bright future for them and the Switch, not to mention they can make three more Wii U mistakes before the Wii money is anywhere close to being spent.

Nintendo has not been making consoles like they once did, but it is the only place to play Nintendo games.

Yup, I am. I hope the Switch does well for them. I'm certainly looking forward to it more than their past two consoles. They usually find a way to push me away but I'm hoping that doesn't happen this time. :)

Blackberry and Yahoo both had plenty of cash.

In the near term, I'm definitely not worried. They're still flush with Wii cash and just released a new Pokemon game that's going to sell extremely well.

In the long term, their future in hardware sales is questionable, but even if the Switch tanks, their IP is incredibly valuable.

I understand that a lack of power parity means a lack of third party support for the Switch. But I think what most people overlook is that between their handheld and home console offerings, Nintendo more than enough first party IPs to make up the difference. The Switch is poised to be the first hybrid handheld/home console. Can you imagine how many units the Switch will sell when the next Pokemon comes out on it?

Nintendo is fine.

The Nintendo doom talk happens before every console release. They either kill it and blow everyone away selling 50 to 150 million units, or just do *okay* sellling 10 or 20 million units. They have a warchest of tens of billions in liquid capital, hold the rights to incredibly valuable IP in an international market, and have carved out a nice little niche where gamers usually buy their console and most first party games in addition to one other console from Sony or Microsoft. They're not afraid to take a calculated gamble on something new, but they never go crazy with huge numbers at launch which minimizes risk and has the added benefit of causing huge demand. It's just a shame that they went so hard on Wii U's launch but not on Wii and NES Classic Edition.

On the Switch, I'm skeptical. I was skeptical with the Wii and with the DS and those sold huge, so what do I know? I pre-ordered a Wii U and 3DS when nobody wanted them but was out in the cold running around to Best Buy, Target, and Gamestop looking for Wii's in 2006. I honestly don't know whether to shit or go blind, so I guess I'll just close one eye and pre-order a Switch (or wait in line at Target on launch day)