Nintendo's fiscal year has gotten off to a poor start as the the friendly video games giant reports its sales were down 25% between April 1 and June 30 compared to the same period last year, contributing to a net loss of 25,216 million yen ($290 million US).

While sales of Wii hardware for the quarter rose by 27% to 3.04 million units, software sales fell by 10% to 28 million units. Still, Super Mario Galaxy 2 put in an impressive performance and sold 4.09 million copies. Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort both shifted around 3 milion units, though they are of course often bundled.

Over on the DS, only Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver broke the million mark, selling 1.7 million units between them. Nintendo explained that "fewer new software titles contributed to driving hardware sales" as the various DS models sold only 3.15 million units between them, down 47% from last year, despite the launch of the new DSi XL.

"Appreciation of the yen" and Nintendo DS price cuts in Japan and Europe were also cited as factors responsible for the rocky performance.

Gritting its teeth and putting on a brave face, Nintendo has announced that on September 29 it will reveal the price and launch date of the Nintendo 3DS.