Nintendo says Wii U continues to have a "negative impact" on company profits

Nintendo sold 460,000 Wii U consoles worldwide in the six-month period ending September 30, the company has announced.

Lifetime sales of the Wii U sit at 3.91 million globally, though Nintendo refuses to budge on its prediction that it will shift 9 million consoles before the end of its 2014 financial year.

The Wii U is still having a "negative impact" on the company's profits, Nintendo added, citing the console's price reduction in the US and Europe as a main factor alongside advertising expenses. Nintendo resolves to drive manufacturing costs of the hardware down and improve the distribution of digital software to boost income. The company's operating loss for the six-month period stood at ¥23.2 million.

Major titles for the Wii U included Pikmin 3 and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, but Nintendo noted that the two titles did not have as much of an impact on software sales as hoped. 6.3 million Wii U games have now been sold in the console's lifetime.

Looking at the 3DS, Nintendo reported 3.89 million sales of the handheld globally and 27.38 million total software sales. The company reported that Animal Crossing: New Leaf has sold 2.49 million units worldwide, and mentioned "steady sales" for Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D.

Nintendo also said strong initial sales of Pokemon X and Y--which sold 4 million units worldwide in its opening weekend--was "further propelling the popularity" of the 3DS.

65.7 percent of the company's sales were outside of Japan, Nintendo added.

All in all, Nintendo took ¥196.5 billion in sales (approximately $2bn/£1.2bn) and posted an overall net profit of ¥600 million (approximately $6.1m/£3.8m).