Nintendo loses nearly $1 billion as Wii sales plummet

From CNET News.com: During the six-month period ended September 30, Nintendo saw its financial performance decline significantly, the company reported in a financial earnings release today.

Nintendo generated 215.7 billion yen ($2.84 billion) in revenue during the six-month period, representing a whopping 40.6 percent decline compared to the same period last year. Even more concerning, Nintendo's net loss hit $926 million, down significantly from the $26 million it lost in the six-month period ended September 30, 2010.

Judging by Nintendo's earnings report, the company was hit by two main issues: hardware and software sales were off, and it was contending with an extremely strong yen. In fact, the company was forced to take a 52.4 billion yen ($690.5 million) foreign exchange loss, due to unfavorable exchange rates between with the dollar and euro.

But Nintendo's troubles selling products is arguably most troublesome for the company. During the six-month period, Nintendo was only able to sell 3.3 million Wii units around the world, down significantly from the nearly 5 million Wiis it sold in the prior year. What's more, the company's Wii software sales, which hit 65 million units last year, were down to just 36 million this year.

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