Nintendo losses reach over $15 million in its third quarter financial results

Nintendo released its third quarter financial results today revealing an operating loss of just over $15 million for the nine month period ending Dec. 31, 2013, after dismal sales of the Wii U forced the company to slash its yearly forecast this month.

The game maker recorded revenues of 499.1 billion yen ($4.8 billion), a drop of 8.1 percent compared to the same period last year, while reaping an operating profit of 21.7 billion yen ($210 million) in its third quarter even in the face of the overall loss. This is the result of slightly more robust sales of its Wii U console during the holiday season.

Despite its profits for this period, Nintendo still estimates it will make losses over the full year. A dramatic decrease in profit during the fourth quarter is expected "due to seasonal factors as the year-end sales season concludes," reads a statement from the company.

It was revealed today the company also fell short of its overall targets for hardware and software sales.

Global sales of Wii U hardware and software reached just 2.41 million and 15.96 million units, respectively. By comparison, Nintendo's revised sales expectations predicted 2.8 million Wii U consoles and 19 million software units would shift for the period. Nintendo recognizes that while first-party titles like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, Wii Party U and Super Mario 3D World recorded strong sales figures, the "Wii U business as a whole was not able to recover fully."

Earlier in the month Nintendo announced its expectations for a third consecutive annual operating loss after previously forecasting its return to profit. The company expects to lose 33.4 billion yen for the final quarter of the year, with a total operating loss of 35 billion yen ($355 million) for 2013.

Nintendo's results briefing will begin tomorrow at 8 p.m. EST, or 10 a.m. Tokyo time.