Nintendo to Consider Mergers and Acquisitions, Iwata Says

After dramatically cutting fiscal year sales forecasts, president Satoru Iwata said Nintendo is looking to new areas for sales, marketing and customers.

"We should abandon old assumptions about our businesses," Iwata told The Nikkei. "We are considering [mergers and acquisitions] as an option. For this reason, we'll step up share buybacks."

Two weeks ago, the company cut the Wii U sales forecast from 9 to 2.8 million units, for the fiscal year ending March 31. Nintendo also cut the projection for 3DS sales, its perennial life boat, from 18 to 13.5 million; both of these revisions change Nintendo's net income projection from a profit to loss.

"We'll change the way we sell products, by managing customer information via the Internet," Iwata told The Nikkei. "We'll offer discounts to steady, regular customers. We'll cultivate emerging markets and launch new businesses in health and other areas. In an emerging country, you can expand the user base only after you offer a product line different from advanced economies in pricing."

Iwata also said that quarterly earnings reports aren't suitable for Nintendo, as it never knows whether a product will be a hit until it releases. Despite the current climate, Iwata remains optimistic, saying Nintendo doesn't want to turn to a management buyout just because it is inconvenienced now.

Mike Mahardy is a freelance writer for various outlets. To hear him rant about Syracuse basketball, you can follow Mike on Twitter at @mmahardy.

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