(Mashable) -- Nintendo has officially confirmed it will launch a successor to its vastly popular gaming console Wii in 2012.
Nintedo has sold 86.01 million Wiis from 2006, when the console was launched, to the end of March 2011. However, in 2010 the company sold only 15.1 million Wiis -- a 25% drop from 2009 when it sold 20.1 million units globally.
The company also revealed its yearly financial results for 2010, marking a big drop in net profit which was $825 million -- 66 percent less than in 2009.
The declining Wii sales paired with the shoddy financial results make this a perfect moment for Nintendo to announce the next version of Wii.
A "2012 launch" is as vague as launch dates come, but Nintendo promised to have a playable unit, as well as more details and specifications of the upcoming Wii model, at the E3 Expo, which is held June 7-9, 2011, in Los Angeles. CNN
