Nintendo halves profit forecast after yen strengthens

Video game giant Nintendo has halved its full-year profit forecast, blaming slow sales and the strong yen.

It said net profits for the financial year to the end of March were likely to come in at 17bn yen (£150m) rather than 35bn yen.

Nintendo says that the surge in the value of the Japanese currency has shrunk the yen value of overseas earnings.

The company makes about three-quarters of its total sales overseas.

The yen has enjoyed a haven status among investors worried by the turmoil on international markets, and has gained some 15% against the dollar since last summer.

Nintendo sales were already falling towards the end of 2015.

It is now reducing its sales forecasts for the whole year, due to sluggish demand for its 3DS portable gaming system and its Wii U console.

However, Nintendo says that its new games, Splatoon and Super Mario Maker, were "blockbusters that vitalised the Wii U platform".

Next month it is launching Miitomo, its first iOS and Android app, and is expected to release its new NX gaming platform around the middle of the year.