Nintendo Sets High Goals For Wii U's First Six Months

Nintendo delivered its financial report for quarter 2 earlier today, and though things aren't looking so hot at the moment, the company has high hopes for the future. In the report, Nintendo said that it expects to sell 5.5 million Wii U consoles before the end of its fiscal year, which draws to close at the end of March 2013. That's 5.5 million consoles in a little over five months, so the big N has its work cut out for it.

That's not to say Nintendo can't hit that goal, however. Hardware sales have been down lately, which seems to suggest that gamers are ready for a new console generation. The boredom with current generation consoles might be enough for Nintendo to muster up some sales, and we can't forget that the holiday shopping season is quickly approaching.

Nintendo is also hoping to sell 24 million Wii U games in the same period, which – as Eurogamer points out – equals an attach rate of about four games per console. Of course, Nintendo is likely counting the pack-in games that come with Wii U Premium Bundles in that figure, so 24 million games sold by the time April 2013 rolls around might not be too lofty a goal. Still, Nintendo has a long way to go between now and then, and the company's expectations for the rest of the fiscal year rely on how consumers react to the Wii U – a console that has received mixed attention so far.

It's also worth pointing out that Nintendo is hoping for 17.5 million 3DS sales by the time the fiscal year comes to a close, which means it has about 12.5 million units to go before it hits that mark. A tall order to be sure, and considering that Nintendo just had to cut its profit forecast for the year due to slow 3DS sales, that might be a harder target to hit. In any case, we shall see if Nintendo can achieve its goals for the fiscal year soon enough!