Nintendo has revealed its new forecast for the financial year, severely adjusting its original sales projection by almost half and reducing the expected Wii U console shipments to just 2.8 million from 9 million. The Japanese company noted that the revisions were due in part to the Wii U's "significantly lower" than predicted overseas sales, thanks in part to the lower performing console specs and slow gaming releases.

Other factors noted by the console manafacturer was the lower Yen price, below-target 3DS sales overseas and increased expenditure on their new research and development building.

Nintendo's net sales projection dropped from ¥920 billion to ¥590 billion, which converts as $8.8 billion to $5.6 billion. Rather than posting a net profit of ¥55 billion or $530 million for the fiscal year, the company is bracing itself for a net loss of ¥25 billion, or $240 million.

In a somewhat brighter aspect the company did see a welcome change in Wii U sales over the holidays. The company shipped 460,000 consoles across the first two quarters (March to September 2013), so a rise to 2.8 million by March 2014 represents significant improvement. If that figure proves accurate, then by March 2014 the company will have shipped 6.2 million units total since the Wii U's launch in November 2012, a lower figure than t heir original 9 million prediction. Also, Wii U software sales for the fiscal year are expected to reach 19 million now, exactly half the original figure projected, That will take software sales since launch up to 32.4 million.

Nintendo also revised their 3DS handheld projections for the financial year, down from 18 million to 13.5 million. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata noted that the handheld has seen strong sales in Japan, but overseas the 3DS had failed to reach targets, especially in Europe. Estimates for the software side dropped from 80 million to 66 million.

Hopefully we'll get a clearer sense of how Nintendo performed across the holiday period on January 29, when the company will release release its Q3 financial results. The company will then hold a Corporate Management Policy Briefing on January 30, when it will divulge "more information on our short-term as well as mid-term prospects." While things may seem quite drab now, we'll have to wait and see the full post-mortem before considering final statements.