Nintendo Slashes Wii U Sales Forecast

Nintendo now expects to sell fewer Wii U consoles than it initially anticipated, the Japanese video game maker said Wednesday as it slashed its sales outlook for its newest gaming device. The company said it sold 3.06 million Wii U consoles to date, and only expects sales to reach 4 million through March, down from a previous forecast of 5.5 million units.

It wasn't just the Wii U that was downgraded. Nintendo adjusted its sales expectations for its 3DS handheld console to 15 million units through March, down from a previous forecast of 17.5 million units.

Nintendo Wii U

The company also expects to sell fewer software titles, reducing its forecast of Wii U game sales to 16 million units, down from 24 million as previous forecast.

On the bright side, Nintendo returned to black for the first time in nine months, in part because of a weaker yen against the euro and U.S. dollar. Nintendo reported a net profit of 14.55 billion yen ($160 million) from April to December, compared to a loss of 48.35 billion ($7.77 billion) yen in the same period a year prior.