Nintendo 3DS and Wii U sales are falling sharply

Nintendo sold 220,000 units of the Wii U in the quarter, a 53 percent decline. 940,000 units of the handhelds were still sold, but that too was less than the 1.01 million sold in the quarter a year ago and was mainly due to the 2DS.

Partly due to the decline in sales, quarterly revenue was 31.3 percent lower at 62 billion yen, or 534 million euros, while Nintendo suffered a loss of 5.13 billion yen, or 44.2 million euros. In Japan, as well as in the US and other regions, Wii U sales dropped significantly. It is striking that sales of software for the console outside Japan increased, but decreased in Nintendo’s home country.

Sales of the 3DS also fell sharply. Although it fell from 1.01 million to 940,000 units, according to Nintendo, it appears that sales of the 2DS in particular kept handheld sales up. That sales rose from 50,000 last year to 240,000 in the past quarter. Sales of the ‘old’ phased out 3DS dropped from 80,000 to 10,000, but sales of the new 3DS XL also fell from 710,000 to 590,000, while the new 3DS went from 15,000 to 8,000 handhelds.

There has been a lack of major titles for the console in recent times. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, will not be released until next year, as will new hardware from Nintendo. That console, currently known as the NX, appears to be a handheld with detachable controllers, according to new rumors about the device on Tuesday. The intention is that the NX also comes with a base station that can be connected to TVs.

At the same time as the quarterly results, Nintendo announced a postponement for the Pokémon Go Plus, a wearable that notifies you when Pokémon are near the wearer. At least in Japan, the bracelet will not appear until September instead of July. Nintendo has not yet been able to capitalize on the popularity of Pokémon Go. Although the Japanese company has an interest in both the maker of the app, the American Niantic, and in The Pokémon Company, Nintendo already warned that the success of the ar game will not contribute much to its results.

Update, 13.30: Added 3DS sales details