Two Japanese companies are facing hard times thanks to a decline in the number of consoles being made.
Japanese news outlet Nikkei is reporting that Nintendo has begun to scale back the number of Wii consoles being assembled.
This news is apparently based on heavy losses reported by Mitsumi and Hosiden, two Japanese companies involved in Wii manufacturing. Both of them are facing a 50 percent drop in net profit, a shortfall blamed on the console's "declining fortunes" and a decrease in orders for more systems from Nintendo.
In early November, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata characterized the slowing of Wii sales in Japan as "not healthy". A lowering of manufacturing orders would seem to be a logical result of slowing sales, though North American sales of the Wii console remain robust.