While this takes into account manufacturing costs, I assume they're still taking a loss on the systems overall with the distribution costs & marketing push they've made as of late for the product.

I could be wrong, it's just that the wording of the article implies Nintendo was specifically referring to the manufacture of the 3DS.

I feel like Nintendo wouldn't have gone out of their way to say they aren't selling at a loss if they were still selling at a loss in some way.

I think it's something a company would definitely do during a quarterly earnings meeting.  If they can proclaim that the system is not longer manufactured at a loss (even if that doesn't included distribution/advertising cost), it could bolster investor confidence, positively influencing share prices.

It would essentially be a lie of omission, still technically being a true statement that could positively influence public perception about the company operations.

Marketing costs are never taken into account when determining if a product is profitable or not since it's not related to the cost of the actual item (whereas distribution costs is related).

Whatever they lost on the hardware, I'm sure they've more than made up for in software sales. The 3DS isn't a hacker friendly pirate system like the PSP was. Unlike the PSP, the 3DS does have software and that software sells.

Well, Nintendo did announce a $220 million net loss for last quarter.  If they can sell the 3DS even at cost, it'll be huge for their bottom line.

TRIMMIN' THE FAT! This is the part of the movie where Nintendo is doing a MONTAGE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iPFK5T_G3U&feature=fvst