Nintendo cuts hardware sales targets after shipping 3M Wii U consoles in 2012
Nintendo adjusted its annual net profit outlook from ¥6 billion to ¥14 billion (around $154 million) on the back of a weakening yen, with the company posting a nine-month operating loss of ¥5.8 billion ($63.7 million) compared to the corresponding figure of ¥48.4 billion for the last fiscal year. However, Nintendo's end-of-fiscal-year hardware targets took a big hit on the back of shipping 3.06 million Wii U consoles in 2012.
Nintendo now projects a figure of 4 million for Wii U by the end of its fiscal year on March 31, down from the 5.5 million the company predicted in October 2012. 3DS shipments are now expected to hit 15 million for the year, down from initial projections of 18.5 million.
Nintendo has now shifted 29.84 million units of its handheld since launch. Meanwhile, the Wii's life-to-date figures are up to 99.38 million, with 3.53 million units shipped across the nine month period.
Regards software, Nintendo shifted 11.69 million Wii U games since the console's launch on November 18, The best-performing games were the bundled-in Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros. U, coming in at 2.33 million and 2.01 million respectively.
On the 3DS front, Nintendo shipped 39.56 million units of the handheld across the nine months. Pokémon Black/White 2 soared to a total of 7.63 million on the back of almost 3 million sales in Japan alone, while New Super Mario Bros. 2 is at 5.96 million. Animal Crossing: New Leaf sits at 2.73 million, largely thanks to its popularity with Japan's female demographic. All figures are as of December 31, 2012.
