More losses for Nintendo, despite Mario Kart 8 success

Nintendo continued to see decreased profits and notable losses during the last three months, despite the launches of big name titles like Mario Kart 8 and Tomodachi Life. Mario Kart 8 sold 2.82 million copies through until the end of June, while the Wii U hardware itself saw 510,000 units sold during the three months ended June 30. Nintendo says a lack of other hit titles for the console is to blame for the low Wii U sales. The company did not reveal sales figures for either Tomodachi Life or Kirby: Triple Deluxe on the 3DS, but said that 3DS hardware sales reached 820,000 sold during these three months. Notably, video game sales in The Americas and Europe were actually up year-over-year -- however, game sales in Japan were nearly halved, leading to an overall drop in sales. Where Japan previously made up the majority of game sales for Nintendo, The Americas is now the company's hottest sales region, with 42.0 percent of sales coming from this area during this quarter. For the three months ended June 30, 2014, Nintendo recorded revenue of 74.7 billion yen ($731.5 million), down 8.4 percent year-over-year, and losses of 9.9 billion yen ($96.9 million), compared to profits of 8.6 billion yen ($84.2 million) year-over-year. As always, Nintendo was keen to stress that the coming months may prove profitable. Super Smash Bros. is due to launch on the Nintendo 3DS during September and October, while Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire will both launch in November. And the company says that Mario Kart 8 has built momentum for the Wii U platform, leaving the door open for titles like Hyrule Warriors, BAYONETTA 2, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U to boost Wii U sales in the coming months. The "amiibo" character figures are also on the way soon, Nintendo noted, and the holiday period should prove decent for the company.