Remembering the Time When Nintendo Lost Half a Billion Dollars in the ‘Year of Luigi’

Ever since Nintendo started the most iconic gaming franchises, the company has seen a continuous growth, thanks to the popularity of its games as well as consoles. However, the Japanese giant once witnessed a nightmarish run in its history.

This unforgettable story dates back to almost a decade ago when Nintendo lost nearly half a billion dollars. In the ‘Year of Luigi’, the company eventually ended up losing $456 million due to a big reason. While the main cause was something else, Luigi, unintentionally became part of this unwanted tale.

When Nintendo lost $456 million in the ‘Year of Luigi’ due to this console’s failure

In February 2013, the company announced that the next 12 months of the calendar would be celebrated as part of the ‘Year of Luigi’. The decision made quite a lot of sense as the year marked the character’s 30th anniversary.

READ MORE: Nintendo Switch vs Steam Deck: How the Japanese Giant Could Finally Face Real Competition In 2022

The announcement was well-received as fans were pleased to see the brother of Mario getting a much-deserved spotlight, just like his elder brother.

Interestingly, the ‘Year of Luigi’ happened to start just a few months after the launch of the Wii U. The latter then went on to become a massive failure for Nintendo as it struggled to lure consumers. There were few great games available for the console in 2013, but somehow many of the customers were simply disinterested in buying the device.

But Luigi wasn’t the cause

Despite making the best efforts to prevent a nightmarish year, Nintendo reported a record loss of 46.4 billion yen. It translates to roughly $456 million, indicating a massive loss of nearly half a billion dollars. While some may call the ‘Year of Luigi’ for being a curse to Nintendo in 2013, it wasn’t the case at all. The green plumber was clearly not the reason for the company losing close to $500 million.

It might be difficult for a lot of young fans to digest this truth about their favorite gaming company. But this is true that it ended up reporting a massive loss due to an underperforming Wii U and the lack of good quality games for the product.

What are your thoughts on this throwback story? Let us know in the comments down below.

WATCH THIS STORY: Ranking The Highest Selling Nintendo Games of All Time