27 Apr 2012

Loss reported by Nintendo

10:46 am on 27 April 2012

Nintendo has reported its first annual loss after disappointing sales of its Wii game console and a strong yen.

The company lost $US458 million for the year. Analysts say most gamers now prefer to use smartphones or tablets on which games are much cheaper, or even free .

However, the company still shifted 9.84 million units of its Wii consoles for the year to March 2012 and has sold over 95 million in total.

Nintendo is likely to launch a new version, the Wii U, at a gaming expo in Los Angeles in June and says it should be back in profit by the end of the year as the yen weakens.