While most had already expected it, Nintendo has now confirmed that the Wii U has not sold as well as the company expected come year end. The console failed to reach its sales targets set by Nintendo and as such, has now recorded three consecutive annual losses.
The company has now adjusted its sales forecasts for the console quite significantly. Even with the $50 price cut last fall, Nintendo has now dropped its expectations by 70% for the year ending March 31. Nintendo now forecasts selling 2.8 million Wii Us in that same time frame and expects to sell 4.5 million less 3DS handhelds.
The company is also forecasting 35 billion yen in operating losses this year as opposed to the 100 billion yen in profit it originally expected. For the year ending March 31, Nintendo expects to be down 25 billion yen instead of up 55 billion yen.
It looks as though the mobile market and higher end consoles from Sony and Microsoft are dividing gamers to either end of the spectrum, leaving Nintendo with a much smaller market share than when the Wii was leading the charge. While Nintendo's classic IPs will never get old, it looks as though the company may have to make some drastic moves to keep Mario on first party Nintendo hardware in the years to come.
Keep in mind, its 3DS platform had what many feel is one of the best years for quality titles yet – so despite Nintendo shaving its mobile forecast – Pokemon and amazing Zelda titles like A Link Between Worlds will likely keep the handheld relevant moving forward.