The home gaming console market has been increasingly dominated by Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation leaving Nintendo way behind in the game. This is due to the more powerful home consoles at the higher end,attracting pro gamers with huge franchise titles such as Grand Theft Auto, and being driven out at the lower end by portable gaming via mainstream mobile devices.
In a statement released Friday, Nintendo says it has revised its sales forecast for the Wii U to 2.8 million sold during the fiscal year between April 2013 and this March. The company’s original forecast had Wii U sales at 9 million. It also cut its sales forecast for its handheld 3DS console to 13.5 million units from 18 million.
“Sales in the U.S. and European markets in which we entered the year-end sales season with a hardware markdown were significantly lower than our original forecasts, with both hardware and software sales experiencing a huge gap from their targets,” said Nintendo President Satoru Iwata.
Last fall, the company cut the price of the Wii U to $299.99 and released several popular games including Super Mario 3D World hoping to entice customers and plans to release new versions of Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros this year.
