Nintendo posts fourth-quarter net loss of $329 million

Nintendo posted a fourth-quarter net loss that was greater than analyst estimates amid flagging demand for its titles and as the company struggles to lure players back from inexpensive games on smartphones.

The world’s largest maker of video-game machines had a net loss of 33.4 billion yen ($329 million) in the three months ended March, compared with the 27.9 billion-yen loss analysts had estimated. Nintendo’s Germany-traded shares dropped.

President Satoru Iwata is struggling to revive the company’s fortunes as more people turn to games played on smartphones and tablets.

Nintendo sold 2.72 million Wii U units in the year ended March, missing its own forecast set in January, which itself was lowered from before.

"They need a more radical strategy than staying within the realm of video games," said Amir Anvarzadeh, a manager of Japanese equity sales at BGC Partners in Singapore.

“The Wii U is dead and we know that, and 3DS games are getting totally cannibalized by casual games on the smart devices.”

Games played on Apple iPhones and handsets using Google's Android operating system generated more sales than those on Nintendo and Sony's handheld players for the first time last year, according to researcher App Annie.

Wii U sales will recover to 3.6 million units this fiscal year as games including Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. boost demand, Iwata said at a briefing today.

Nintendo’s German shares fell as much as 4.6 per cent to €74.79 in Frankfurt trading.

The Kyoto-based company declined 2.7 per cent to close at 10,670 yen in Tokyo trading before the announcement. The shares have dropped 24 per cent this year and 76 per cent since June 29, 2007, when Apple released the first iPhone.

Bloomberg