By Yuri Kageyama, Business Writer
TOKYO (AP) --Japanese video game maker Nintendo recorded a 34% surge in its profit in the first half of the fiscal year on strong sales of products for its Switch console like "Splatoon 3," a paint-shooting game, the company said Tuesday.
That prompted the maker of Pokemon and Super Mario games to raise its profit forecast for the April-March fiscal year to 400 billion yen ($2.7 billion), from an earlier projection for a 340 billion yen ($2.3 billion) profit.
Even the better forecast is below what Nintendo earned in the last fiscal year, at 477.7 billion yen.
Entertainment companies got a boost from the pandemic because people tended to stay home more, instead of going out. That advantage is likely to wear off as coronavirus restrictions ease.
Japanese exporters like Nintendo are also getting a boost from a weaker yen, which lifts the value of their overseas earnings when translated into yen. The U.S. dollar, trading at about 110 Japanese yen a year ago, is now at nearly 150 yen.
Net profit at Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. totaled 230.45 billion yen ($1.6 billion) during the six months through September, up from 171.8 billion yen the previous year.
First-half sales totaled 656.97 billion yen ($4.5 billion), up 5% from 624.3 billion yen.
Nintendo said shortages of computer chips and other components caused by COVID-19-related lockdowns and other disruptions hurt production. Nintendo Switch sales fell 19% from the previous year to 6.68 million units.
Other Japanese companies like Sony Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. have also been hurt by the chips shortage.
Other popular Nintendo game software released during the last six months include "Nintendo Switch Sports," which sold 6.15 million units, and "Mario Strikers: Battle League," at 2.17 million units.
The Mario Kart and Kirby games, released earlier, also sold briskly, as did offerings from outside publishers, resulting in 15 million-seller games for the Switch during the six month period.
Nintendo's software sales grew by 1.6% year-on-year to 95.41 million units. Downloadable online games also did well, it said.
Nintendo said the crunch in chips and other parts would likely improve gradually over the coming months. Christmas and the New Year's holidays are crucial times for Nintendo's business.
"By continually working to front-load production and selecting appropriate transportation methods in preparation for the holiday season, we will work to deliver as many consoles as possible to consumers in every region of the world," the company said in a statement.
In game software, "Bayonetta 3" is set for release in October, followed by "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Pokémon Violet" in November, "Fire Emblem Engage" in January 2023, and "Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe" in February 2023, according to Nintendo.
Nintendo expects to sell 19 million Switch consoles in the current fiscal year. It earlier expected to sell 21 million Switch machines. Cumulative Switch sales around the world have topped 114 million machines.
South Korea fines Meta $15 million for illegally collecting information on Facebook users
South Korea's privacy watchdog on Tuesday fined social media company Meta 21.6 billion won ($15 million) for illegally collecting sensitive personal information from Facebook users, including data about their political views and sexual orientation, and sharing it with thousands of advertisers.
It was the latest in a series of penalties against Meta by South Korean authorities in recent years as they increase their scrutiny of how the company, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, handles private information.
Following a four-year investigation, South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission concluded that Meta unlawfully collected sensitive information about around 980,000 Facebook users, including their religion, political views and whether they were in same-sex unions, from July 2018 to March 2022.
It said the company shared the data with around 4,000 advertisers.
South Korea's privacy law provides strict protection for information related to personal beliefs, political views and sexual behavior, and bars companies from processing or using such data without the specific consent of the person involved.
The commission said Meta amassed sensitive information by analyzing the pages the Facebook users liked or the advertisements they clicked on.
The company categorized ads to identify users interested in themes such as specific religions, same-sex and transgender issues, and issues related to North Korean escapees, said Lee Eun Jung, a director at the commission who led the investigation on Meta.
"While Meta collected this sensitive information and used it for individualized services, they made only vague mentions of this use in their data policy and did not obtain specific consent," Lee said.
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