InsideJapan News Network

Japanese gaming company Nintendo has announced that is expects to see its profits fall this year after weak market demand has seen its sales take a hit.

In the three months up until the end of June, sales of the Nintendo Wii console dropped by 57 per cent, mainly due to a lack of big game releases.

Last year, sales at Nintendo were buoyed by high-profile and popular games which sold well, such as Wii Fit and Wii Mario Kart.

As well as this, the same quarter saw Nintendo's operating profit fall by more than 61 per cent.

Overall, total revenue at the firm fell by 40 per cent.

Towards the end of this year, Nintendo is set to release Mario Galaxy 2, which may go some way in helping its sales to rise.

The gaming and electronics sectors in Japan have been hit hard by the global economic downturn, as demand for luxury items such as playing consoles, TVs, cameras and computers plummeted as people tightened their belts.

Written by Kimberley Homer.


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