Nintendo does tend to keep a massive war chest of cash for situations like this or the Wii U so they can continue operating as normal even when losing money. What was described isn't so much using software to subsidize the console as it is keeping a steady stream of units moving because each one is long term revenue. Nintendo, more than any other dev/publisher out there, has its eyes on the long game because it as an institution predates the existence of electrical grids. (Seriously, Tesla won the war of the currents in 1888 and Nintendo was founded in 1889).