Nintendo has slashed its sales forecasts for the new Wii U game console, acknowledging that its flagship device and its handheld cousins are losing popularity as gamers shift to smartphones and tablets.
The Japanese group cut its projection for Wii U shipments by 27 per cent from 5.5 million to 4 million for the financial year ending in March. It also reduced its sales estimates for portable 3DS and DS players – from 17million to 15 million and 2.5 million to 2.3 million, respectively.
Nintendo had been pinning its hopes for revival on the Wii U, an overhaul of its once best-selling Wii player which was launched in November. Last year it posted its first annual loss in its five decades as a public company, owing to declining sales and the revenue-sapping effects of a strong yen.
The currency’s recent reversal prompted Nintendo to raise its net profit forecast yesterday in spite of the poor sales numbers.
It now expects a full-year net profit of JPY14 billion (€113 million) instead of its previous forecast of JPY6 billion (€48 million) – a sharp improvement but still short of the JPY20bn (€162 million) it had been predicting before October last year.
