Nintendo Expects Net Loss For First Time In 30 Years

For the first time in 30 years, Nintendo is expecting a net loss this year.

Originally, Nintendo estimated that it would finish the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2012 with a net profit of 20 billion yen (around $264 million), but now it expects a net loss of the same amount.

Nintendo has started releasing its consolidated earnings reports in 1981, and this is the first time since then for it to suffer a net loss over the course of a full fiscal year.

A large part of that loss comes from the unplanned 3DS price cut which Nintendo had to offer to stimulate the handheld's less-than-expected sales. The increased strength of the yen has also hurt the company's bottom line in America and Europe where more than 80% of its revenues come from.