Japan's Nintendo Banking on Christmas Shopping After Losses Mount
A giant Mario is displayed at an electronics store in Tokyo, Japan (Reuters).

Gaming major Nintendo is banking on Christmas sales of its flagship Wii U game console to meet its annual targets, after three quarters of losses.

The Japanese video game manufacturer, which logged an 8bn yen (£50.8m, $81m) net loss in the July-September quarter, said on 30 October that it was confident of selling nine million Wii U units and 18 million 3DS devices in the ongoing financial year.

To meet its targets, Nintendo will have to sell nearly 20 times as many consoles in the second half than it sold in the first six months.

The company's shares finished 1.78% lower to 11,020 yen in Tokyo. The stock has gained some 21% so far this year, while the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index has gained some 38%.

"One game has the power to change everything," Nintendo CEO and President Satoru Iwata said at a news conference in Osaka.

"Are we satisfied with these sales results? No," he said. "Is it impossible to recover from this? No."

"Whether we can meet the target we committed to hinges on how year-end business will go," Iwata said. "We expect Wii U to take off going forward when titles are prepared," he added.

Hideki Yasuda, a Tokyo-based analyst at Ace Research Institute told Bloomberg that, "if Nintendo's software does not sell well in the second half, then it could lead to a management capability issue."

"The company will have a hard time in this year-end shopping season," Yasuda added.

Nintendo logged a third consecutive quarterly operating loss in the three months to September.

For the September 2013 quarter, the firm posted a net loss of 8bn (£50m, €59, $81m) and an operating loss of 18.4bn yen.

By comparison, the firm reported a net loss of 10.8bn yen and operating loss of 18.8bn yen a year ago.

Nintendo sold 460,000 Wii U units in the six months ended September, which represents a meagre 5% of its ambitious annual target of nine million.

The company's 3DS sales totalled 3.89 million in the first half, or about 22% of its full-year target of 18 million.

Japan Nintendo Wii Satoru Iwata