No need to quit over profit shortfall: Nintendo president

OSAKA (Reuters) - Nintendo Co Ltd President Satoshi Iwata said on Friday that failure to meet a profit goal does not mean he has to quit, after his company forecast an earning loss due to slumping sales of Wii U and 3DS gaming consoles. "I have said before during earnings releases that I do not have to step down to take responsibility upon failure to meet profit goals," Iwata told reporters in the city of Osaka, western Japan. Earlier, Nintendo said it expects an operating loss of 35 billion yen ($336 million) for the year to end-March, citing much weaker-than-expected sales of its Wii U and 3DS game machines during the crucial holiday season. Iwata said boost from holiday season sales fell far short of shoring up overall sales. ($1 = 104.2400 Japanese yen) (Reporting by Yoshiyuki Osada; Writing by Shinichi Saoshiro; Editing by Dominic Lau)