But some investors are expecting a boost for Nintendo as the Pokemon craze encourages other types of sales, such as games and other content of not just Pokemon but other Nintendo products.
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Japan’s Nintendo Co Ltd booked an operating loss in the first quarter, hurt by unfavourable currency rates although hopes for long-term growth are running high on the worldwide success of Pokemon GO.
But the Japanese company also has an undisclosed stake in Niantic – the game’s developer which was spun off from Google, and it will sell Pokemon GO Plus – an accessory that alerts players to nearby Pokemon so that they don’t have to always be looking at their smartphones.
On Monday, the company’s shares plunged after it said that Pokemon Go will have only a “limited” effect on its bottom line. But it said Wednesday the release has been pushed back from the end of this month to September.
Pokemon Go was actually developed and distributed by a company called Niantic.
The Pokemon Go Plus, a separate device that enhances the gaming experience, is another way for Nintendo could profit from the game’s runaway success.
The rest of the company’s business isn’t doing particularly well, according to its earnings statement Wednesday. That compares with the ¥8.28 billion Nintendo booked in the same period previous year.
Nintendo posted a 1.2 billion yen profit during the same April-June quarter a year ago and blamed this year’s quarterly loss on a stronger yen, which eats into the value of income earned overseas when it is repatriated back to Japan.
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Net sales for the quarter, which ran from April 1 through June 30, totaled 62 billion yen ($587.8 million) – a drop of 31.3 percent compared to the same period in 2015.
