Nintendo: The Wii U Bombed

Nintendo's console business might be on its last life. The company today slashed its Wii U sales forecast for the year ending in March by a staggering 70%, anticipating sales of just 2.8 million units, Reuters reports. It also halved its projection for Wii U game sales to 19 million units, and dropped its 3DS forecast from 18 million to 13.5 million. The numbers are especially bad, because the second year of sales is typically a peak period for consoles, the Wall Street Journal points out.

"We are thinking about a new business structure," President Satoru Iwata said in an apologetic news conference, according to Bloomberg. He said the company wanted to take advantage of mobile gaming, but "it's not as simple as enabling Mario to move on a smartphone." Some analysts say the company is investing heavily in research and development, and could even have a new console in the works. Despite losing money for now three years in a row, the company is sitting on $4.44 billion in cash. (More Nintendo stories.)