Nintendo has posted its first-ever annual loss, with the company blaming a combination of a rising yen and console price cuts over the course of the last 12 months.

The Kyoto-based company said it suffered a net loss of ¥43.2 billion (around $530 million) during the fiscal year ended 31 March 2012 – a slight improvement on the ¥65 billion ($837 million) net loss it projected it would post back in January.

Nintendo saw net sales fall 36.2 percent from over ¥1 billion in 2011 to ¥647.65 billion ($7.98 billion) in 2012, with the company claiming 3DS in particular had failed to "recover from a sales slump...in Europe and in the United States in the early fiscal year."

Growing pains

The Japanese gaming giant slashed the price of its Nintendo 3DS worldwide in August following lacklustre sales.

The price cut - in tandem with a number of key game releases – resulted in 3DS sales jumping in most major territories, with the handheld currently standing at 17 million units sold worldwide.

13.53 million of those were sold during the last financial year.

However, the price cut means Nintendo made a loss on each 3DS sold since August. That's a practice it expects will come to a close by the middle of the next fiscal year, with the company projecting sales of 18.5 million – doubling the device's current install base.

Sales of the handheld's predecessor Nintendo DS fell by two thirds to 5.1 million units, with lifetime sales having passed the 150 million mark.

Great expectations

Much hope of future success is being piled on Nintendo's home console operations, however, with the firm's forthcoming Wii U confirmed as launching in major territories before the end of calendar 2012.

The Japanese gaming giant says it expects to sell 10 million Wii U consoles worldwide in the machine's first financial year.

Sales of the Wii hit 9.8 million during the fiscal year – lifetime sales now at 95 million – though the company expects sales to fall even further once its successor hits the shelves.

[source: Nintendo (PDF)]