Nintendo loses £85m in three months, but 3DS sales double

Nintendo has announced its financial results for the first quarter ending at the end of June, and things aren’t looking too rosy.

The company lost 10.3 billion yen – that’s $ 132m, or £85m in proper money. Though that’s actually an improvement on the same period last year, when it lost 37.7 billion yen. Tough times.

Despite these stats not looking too hot, 3DS sales actually more than doubled in the three-month period compared to last year. Nintendo flogged 1.86 million of the handhelds, compared to 710,000 in the same period last year. But the console is still in the red. We’ll have to wait and see if the new, bigger 3DS XL can do anything about that.

Sales of the Wii dropped from last year, but considering it’s nearly six years old now, that’s hardly surprising. The console fell from 1.56 million sales to 710,000. Nintendo is preparing to launch its Wii U console though, so it could be potential Wii buyers are holding off for the new tablet-enabled console.

DS sales were down as well, from 1.44 million to 540,000 in the same period.

So, 3DS aside, it seems the trend is downwards. Nintendo is looking to reverse its fortunes by investing in digital downloads. Starting with New Super Mario Bros. 2, you’ll be able to choose a packaged version, or a digital version you can buy without leaving the house. No decision.

Source: Nintendo