Nintendo Cites Wii, DS for Surging Profits

By Nick Mokey April 25, 2007

Nintendo’s unique approach to gaming that had skeptics chattering at the Wii’s release seems to be paying out in spades. According to the company’s latest financial information, released Thursday, net profits for the financial year ending March 31 are up 77.2 percent from last year to $1.47 billion.

Nintendo cited the strong success of the Nintendo DS portable system and Wii for its profits. According to a release, the company sold 23 million DS portables in the fiscal year, jacking up lifetime sales to 40 million systems. It also sold 123 million Nintendo DS games. On the Wii front, sales have been tallied at 5.84 million since the system’s introduction, along with 29 million games.

Sights are set high for the coming year. Nintendo expects to sell 14 million Wii systems and 55 million Wii games, as well as 22 million more Nintendo DS units and 130 million DS games. Consolidated sales are forecasted to rise 18 percent, and operating profits to rise 20 percent.

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Gaming

Before the Wii U eShop closes, pick up the best Zelda remaster ever

Link waving in Wind Waker HD.

As we approach the final days of the Wii U’s life span with the impending eShop closure, I’ve been reflecting on my time with that system. Although it’s considered a low point for Nintendo, the Wii U and 3DS era was when I truly became a fan of the company, closely following every new announcement and release. I enjoyed many great Nintendo games on Wii U, like Super Mario 3D World and Xenoblade Chronicles X. Still, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD is the Wii U game I still come back to the most.

Maybe it’s because I got the Wind Waker-themed Wii U that included the game as a pack-in, but I fell in love with the HD remaster. Not only did it show off the console's power with gorgeous updated visuals, but it fixed a couple of issues with the original and used the system's GamePad seamlessly. On top of that, it's a charming and surprisingly bold game that still stands as one of the best games in the series 20 years after its North American release on GameCube.

Gaming

Pick up these Nintendo games you can only get on Wii U and 3DS

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The Nintendo Switch has one of the greatest first-party lineups of any Nintendo console. In addition to several outstanding original games, a lot of awesome Wii U games like Super Mario 3D World, Pikmin 3, and Mario Kart 8 finally got all the love they deserved when they were ported to the Switch. Even some 3DS games like Miitopia have made their way to Nintendo Switch. Still, that isn't all-encompassing, so when the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShops are discontinued on March 27, we will lose access to some amazing first-party Nintendo games that aren't available elsewhere.
From black sheep in their respective series to new IP that tests out some novel ideas, four Wii U and four 3DS games that are still platform exclusives stuck out the most to us. If you're specifically looking for Nintendo-published games to pick up before the 3DS and Wii U eShops stop allowing the purchase of new games, consider picking up one of these titles.
Xenoblade Chronicles X

Considering the rest of the Xenoblade Chronicles series is on Nintendo Switch, it's very surprising that Xenoblade Chronicles X has not made the jump over yet. This RPG stands as the black sheep of the series, with a more gritty style and tone, mech suits, and a plot about humans who crash land on an alien planet after escaping Earth, which might be why it didn't come over before the trilogy was completed. Xenoblade Chronicles X is a great game in its own right, though, and also makes ample use of the Wii U GamePad for its detailed map and menus. As such, it's a worthwhile Wii U pickup for those who like to play games uniquely tailored to the system and enjoy seeing what the oddball entries in game franchises have to offer.
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Gaming

Claim these free 3DS and Wii U games before the eShop closes

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The eShops on the 3DS and Wii U will shut down on March 27, so players are splurging on great games that they want to pick up in the final days of each storefront's life span. If you can't drop any cash on games for these systems before then though, you're probably wondering what's available from them for free. For the most part, it's demos, as the 3DS and Wii U weren't really known for their free-to-play offerings. Even then, many of the available free-to-play games -- or "free-to-start" titles as Nintendo called them in that era -- won't have much use after the eShops cease game sales because most of their content is gated by microtransactions.

Some might be a little more time-consuming due to in-game timers and other microtransactions, but are still worth checking out regardless. If you're wondering what full games you can play on 3DS and Wii U for free ahead of the eShop storefronts' discontinuation on March 27, we recommend checking out the following six titles.
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