Bonuses are again the highest in Japan, despite financial losses for the preceeding half-year.
Nintendo's employees in Japan are set to receive a winter bonus of 1,453,703 yen (roughly $17,000).
This is slightly more than the 2009 bonus of 1,453,206 yen, reported then as the largest bonus among Japanese companies that year. These lofty figures are surprising considering the company posted their first loss in seven years for the first-half fiscal term that ended in September.
Nintendo's bonus calculations are not based on gross profits, which is the process most companies follow. The sum also has nothing to do with labor negotiations as there is no internal company union. According to the company's PR, "Values are chosen based on each individuals evaluation based on how well they utilized their skill each term."
Other large Japanese companies have posted winter bonuses this year significantly lower than Nintendo's, such as Honda (109100 yen/$13,000), NTT Docomo (962000 yen/$12,000) and JR East (914000 yen/$11,000).
Nintendo's summer bonus this year was at an average of 1,680,000 yen ($20,000) bringing the total bonus amount for the year to over 3 million yen ($35,000).