The gaming firm sees brighter times ahead through new game releases as price cuts fail to spark annual sales growth.

Nintendo has confirmed an annual loss of $229m (£135m) - blaming weaker than expected sales of its Wii U game console and handheld 3DS.

But the Japanese gaming firm, also best known for its Pokemon and Super Mario games, promised to return to profit in its current year thanks to new game releases.

The Kyoto-based firm's loss followed a modest profit in the previous 12 months to March.

Nintendo said annual sales had dropped 10% to $5.6bn (£3.3bn).

It was the performance of the Wii U console which dragged on its performance.

In January, the firm cut its annual sale projection by two-thirds to 2.8 million units but said on Wednesday it expected to sell 3.6 million over the current 12 months to March 2015.

It based that improved projection on the planned release of popular games for the machine, such as "Mario Kart 8" and "Super Smash Bros."

It has also cut the Wii U's retail cost in an attempt to boost sales.

Sales projections have been lowered repeatedly as users around the world increasingly switch to smartphones and other devices to play games.

Nintendo, which has so far refused to enter the phone gaming market, said it expected overall sales to grow by 3% in its current year.