--- description: Analysts didn't expect the game maker to turn a profit this quarter. Here's how it did. title: 5 Reasons Nintendo Is Making a Surprising Comeback image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6871eba184aa3e7/6987631fe20a87910aa82b69/nintendo-surprise-earnings-profit-super-smash-bros-wii-u-3ds.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Video Games](/tag/video-games/) ## Video Games Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Is Why Nintendo Is Crushing It All of a Sudden  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 29, 2014 2:17 PM CUT  A man walks in front of a Nintendo Co. logo outside the company's offices in Tokyo, Japan. A man walks in front of a Nintendo Co. logo outside the company's offices in Tokyo, Japan.Bloomberg via Getty Images  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 29, 2014 2:17 PM CUT Nintendo’s latest [earnings report](http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2014/141029e.pdf "undefined") surprised everybody. On Oct. 28, the struggling Japanese games maker said its net profit was $224 million from July to September. Most analysts had expected the company to post earnings nearly four times less, according to the [Wall Street _Journal_.](http://online.wsj.com/articles/nintendo-logs-better-than-expected-net-1414568659?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB11912131382502414519004580243704191970806.html "undefined") The stunning earnings also helped the game maker recover from a nearly $75 million loss last year. Here’s why Nintendo is beating everyone’s expectations: **Gamers worldwide still love** **_Super Smash Bros._** Nintendo said _Super Smash Bros._ for Nintendo 3DS, which was released in Japan and began overseas shipping in Sept., has already logged 3.22 million units in sales globally. **Nintendo’s life simulator game has become a hit overseas.** Sales of _Tomodachi Life_, a life simulation game, marked 1.27 million units in worldwide sales this fiscal year. The popularity of the 3DS-only game, along with that of _Super Smash Bros._ for 3DS, also helped boost sales of the handheld console. **The** **_Mario_** **_Kart_** **franchise isn’t hitting the brakes.** _Mario Kart 8,_ the latest racing game in the series supported by Wii U, has displayed steady sales even though it was released in May. **A spinoff of** **_The Legend of Zelda_** **is reigniting old flames.** Nintendo’s new video game _Hyrule Warriors_ is gaining popularity with global audiences who are getting a second chance to play with legendary characters Zelda, Link and Lana from the _Zelda_ series. **The Yen is depreciating, which is working in Nintendo’s favor.** Nintendo said it logged 15.5 billion yen ($143 million) in exchange gains due to the depreciation of the yen, which was greater in recent months than it was last year. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3545647/nintendo-profit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3545647/nintendo-profit/"},"headline":"This Is Why Nintendo Is Crushing It All of a Sudden","datePublished":"2014-10-29T14:17:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:03:32.314Z","description":"No one expected the game maker to turn a profit this quarter","url":"https://time.com/3545647/nintendo-profit/","keywords":["Video Games","Tech","Media","Earnings","Companies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6871eba184aa3e7/6987631fe20a87910aa82b69/nintendo-surprise-earnings-profit-super-smash-bros-wii-u-3ds.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jack Linshi","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6871eba184aa3e7/6987631fe20a87910aa82b69/nintendo-surprise-earnings-profit-super-smash-bros-wii-u-3ds.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"General Images Of Nintendo Ahead Of Earnings","caption":"General Images Of Nintendo Ahead Of Earnings","creditText":"Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/video-games/","name":"Video Games"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3545647/nintendo-profit/","name":"This Is Why Nintendo Is Crushing It All of a Sudden"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"A History of Video Gaming Consoles","description":"The full series on gaming consoles packed into one video for you to watch.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/c8bQ37tV/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-01-08T16:50:03.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/c8bQ37tV.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3545647/nintendo-profit/","duration":"PT23M45S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3545647/nintendo-profit/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```