Nintendo makes big promises about profits for its mysterious NX and smartphone business

The Wii U and 3DS are limping to the end of their console lives, and publisher Nintendo knows it.

President Tatsumi Kimishima minimized the importance of both of these aging systems when an investor asked him how his gaming company would return to “Nintendo-like profits.” Instead, the executive pointed to two businesses that have generated zero dollars in revenue for the publisher to date: the upcoming dedicated gaming platform codenamed NX and the iOS and Android apps still in development. Earlier this month, Nintendo released slightly disappointing results for its fiscal third quarter with its $1.83 billion in revenues. But investors in the company want a return to form for Nintendo that looks like its 2012 holiday quarter when it generated $3.8 billion in revenues. To do that, the publisher is looking to the $30 billion mobile-gaming business and making big promises when it comes to the mysterious NX.