By Yuri Kageyama, Business Writer
TOKYO (AP) --Nintendo, the Japanese company behind Super Mario and Pokemon video games, reported Thursday that its fiscal first half profit more than tripled as passed time while stuck at home during the pandemic playing games.
Kyoto-based Nintendo Co.'s profit for the six months through September soared to 213 billion yen ($2 billion), up from 62 billion yen a year ago. Six-month sales soared to 769 billion yen ($7.4 billion) from 444 billion yen.
Nintendo said more than 5 million units of "Super Mario 3D All-Stars" game software for the Nintendo Switch were sold during the period, and nearly 3 million units of "Paper Mario: The Origami King" were sold.
Earlier releases also continued to sell briskly, including "Animal Crossing: New Horizons," which has now sold a cumulative 26 million units globally, according to Nintendo.
Nintendo's online downloads and mobile sales also did well, it said.
Nintendo said it expects the positive results to continue. The latest in its other hit game lineup, such as "Pikmin 3 Deluxe," will go on sale this year, it said.
Nintendo raised its full year profit forecast through March to 300 billion yen ($2.9 billion), up from an earlier projection of a 200 billion yen ($1.9 billion) profit. The latest forecast, if realized, would mark a 16% improvement from 259 billion yen in profit recorded in the previous fiscal year.
Although rising COVID-19 cases have hurt large chunks of the global economy, including Japan's, some sectors, such as online retailing and at-home entertainment, are booming.
Avid completes acquisition of Wolftech
Avid®, known for software solutions for professional media production, has completed the acquisition of Wolftech Broadcast Solutions, a leader in cloud-based multiplatform news planning, production and publishing solutions.
The acquisition enables Avid to combine its digital-first, end-to-end media solution with Wolftech’s expertise in story-centric workflow management. News organizations will be able to increase efficiency and accelerate story delivery through enhanced remote collaboration and multiplatform amplification.
Avid CEO Wellford Dillard stated, “Wolftech is unquestionably on the leading edge of where the industry is going, and this acquisition demonstrates Avid’s commitment to transform news, sports, and live production workflows. We are delighted to welcome Wolftech into the Avid family.”
Wolftech CEO Arne Berven added, “We were focused on finding a partner that could accelerate the adoption of our platform globally. We explored a number of possibilities, but when we talked to Avid, we knew it was the right match.”
The closing of the acquisition follows Avid’s announcement on October 7 that the company had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Wolftech.
With this acquisition, Avid deepens the integration between the two toolsets while continuing to embrace an open approach in partnering with a wide range of media production tools and newsroom systems. Existing Wolftech customers will benefit from Avid’s global scale for customer support and professional services.
Ian Axton, head of production operations for ITV News, said, “As a customer of both Avid and Wolftech we’re excited about the benefits this acquisition will bring to our users and our business. Wolftech has transformed... Read More