Nintendo books quarterly net loss of $327.9 mn

Nintendo on Thursday reported a net loss of 25.5 billion yen ($327.9 million) for the April-June quarter, citing the strong yen, a lack of many hit game titles, and research and marketing expenses. The Kyoto-based company also cut its forecast for the year to March 2012 and now expects a net profit of 20 billion yen, down 74.2 percent from the previous year, also citing currency factors and a more cautious sales outlook. The company also decided to slash the price of its 3DS handheld console, which was released in February at a price of 25,000 yen, to 15,000 yen from August 11 in Japan, followed by similar cuts in foreign markets by September. The lower price aims to create "momentum" for the console and "accelerate its market penetration toward the year-end sales season," Nintendo said.