Nintendo Confirms Wii Successor For 2012, Posts 66% Profit Decline

Nintendo has confirmed that rumors circulating about a new console in 2012 are true, as a successor to the Wii is on the way. In an investor note, the company said that it "has decided to launch in 2012 a system to succeed Wii, which the company has sold 86.01 million units on a consolidated shipment basis between its launch in 2006 and the end of March 2011." "We will show a playable model of the new system and announce more specifications at the E3 Expo, which will be held June 7-9, 2011, in Los Angeles." it noted. Media sources claimed last week that the new Nintendo console will have a graphics chip based on AMD's Raedon R700 GPU, which if true would outperform the PlayStation 3. Sources also suggested that it "is likely to resemble a modernized version of the Super Nintendo." Nintendo also posted its financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31. The company's net sales were 1 trillion yen, down 29.3 percent compared to last year, while profits were 77.6 billion yen, down 66.1 percent. The company noted that a tough comparison to its December 2009 record U.S. sales were a primary reason for the year-on-year decline in revenues, as well as the appreciation of the yen and the price reduction of the Nintendo DS during the fiscal year. Looking forward to the 2012 fiscal year, Nintendo noted that "the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake is unpredictable. Nintendo has not suffered any direct damage which will significantly affect our production". It was also confirmed that the Nintendo 3DS sold 3.61 million units worldwide during the fiscal year, while the Nintendo DS sold 17.52 million in total and the Wii 15.08 million.