Nintendo posts first FH 6-month loss in 7 years, DS sales crater

"Whoops".

Nintendo just posted a six-month loss for the period ending September 30, 2010.

It's the first time the company's recorded a loss in the period for seven years.

The company recorded a ¥2.01 billion ($24.5 million) net income deficit for the period compared to a ¥69.5 billion ($854.5 million) profit in the same timeframe in 2009.

Overall sales fell dramatically compared to 2009, down to ¥363.2 billion ($4.47 billion) from ¥548.1 billion ($6.7 billion).

DS hardware sales cratered, down from 11.7 million units in the six months ending September 30, 2009 to 6.69 million this year.

DS software, predictably, maintained decent strength. Global sales fell from 71.2 million units in the half-year last year to 54.8 million in 2010.

Wii hardware held up relatively well compared to DS. The ageing machine was down to 4.97 million global sales for the period, compared to 5.75 million in the year previous.

Wii software, as well, managed to "fall" as opposed to "sky-dive". Sales for the six months ending September 2010 stood at 65.2 million units compared to 76.2 million in the previous year.

Nintendo's next hardware release will be 3DS, hitting globally in February and March next year.

Get the full report here.