Nintendo bosses take pay cut after profits tumble

Sales of Nintendo’s Wii U console have been weaker than expected, leading to slashed profits

Japanese gaming giant blames weaker-than-expected Wii console sales (NINTENDO/ SUPER MARIO)

Nintendo's executives are taking a steep pay cut after announcing another disastrous quarter.

The struggling Japanese gaming firm revealed profits slumped 30 per cent in the nine months to December, falling to 10.2 billion yen (£60 million).

Nintendo also warned it expects sales to “decrease significantly” in the current quarter as Christmas sales end.

The Super Mario Brothers and Donkey Kong creator has been weighed down by weaker-than-expected sales of its Wii U console, launched at the end of 2012.

Earlier this month the company said it expects to sell just 2.9 million units of the Wii U this year, compared to a previous estimate of 9 million.

President Satoru Iwata said today he will take a 50 per cent reduction in pay for five months in response to the poor figures, while other members of the board will take a pay cut of between 20 per cent and 30 per cent.

Iwata previously cut his pay in half in 2011 after weak sales of the company’s 3DS handheld device.

Nintendo has warned that it is set to make a loss of 35bn yen (£200 million) for the year-end March 31. This compared with a previous forecast of a 100 billion yen (£580 million) profit.