Nintendo Q2 financials: 300k Wii U consoles sold in quarter, software up

Nintendo has published its second-quarter financial report. During the period some 300,000 Wii U consoles were sold as the company struggles to hit its year target of 9 million units. Meanwhile, 3DS hardware sales are down 22%.

The report was posted today and picked up by Eurogamer. The company confirmed an operating loss of ¥23.28 billion / $237 million, which marks a 20% year-on-year improvement. Net sales totalled ¥196.5 billion.

In hardware, for the period between July and September 2013, Nintendo managed to sell 300,000 Wii U consoles, which is an 87% increase on the previous quarter. That's 460,000 units for the six-month period ended September 2013.

The company has not edited its 9 million Wii U console sale forecast for the fiscal year, despite now sitting at 3.91 million units sold worldwide since launch. It seems improbable now, but the uptake of units must come as encouraging to the company, which has seen a slow start across all territories.

Wii U software - on the other hand - saw a significant 400% leap in sales in Q2, totalling life-time sales of units worldwide, with Pikmin 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD championed in Nintendo's report.

The investors note said of Wii U's performance, "The Wii U hardware still has a negative impact on Nintendo's profits."

Meanwhile in handheld, 3DS console sales hit 3.89 million units for the period, while software sales hit 27.38 million. The console has sold 34.98 million units since it launched.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf has proven to be a huge success with 2.49 million units sold in the period. Nintendo also noted "steady sales" of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D.

Nintendo has maintained its projection of ¥100 billion operating income target, and has noted the release of Pokemon X & Y, the 2DS console and Super Mario 3D world as key drivers moving forward. The company is targeting big first-party releases moving forward to continue its momentum.

What do you make of the figures above? Let us know below.