It should've been a great year for Nintendo. The Wii had just become the best-selling Nintendo console of all time, surpassing the NES's 67 million unit sales figure (it ultimately ended 2010 at 84.64 million worldwide). The DS, meanwhile, had become the all-time best-selling portable console in March, surpassing 128.9 million units and closing out the year at just under 145 million (all figures lifetime-to-date). The 3DS had been announced rather oddly — first as a press release, then months later at E3, with some strong verbal support of third parties. So, what happened in 2011?

Well, the 3DS launch didn't go quite as well as expected, especially considering it had considerable mindshare by merit of being the DS successor. Following a public apology, CEO Satoru Iwata announced a rather drastic price cut (from $249.99 to $169.99) halfway through summer. The Wii U, meanwhile, had the same awkward reveal as the 3DS — a one-two punch of a curt press release followed by big showing months later at E3. The crowds at the show were substantial and the reactions (including our own) were mostly positive — a large and cumbersome (and resistive!) touchscreen tablet that worked in tandem with the television. Investors, however, couldn't wrap their heads around it and shares of Nintendo fell almost 10 percent in the days following the Wii U's unveiling.

Nintendo is forecasting its first annual loss ever in the company's history — which is notable not only for being one of its absolute low points, but also as a sign that the company is far from down and out. The holidays have been good for the House of Mario, and the Wii U's "final form" should be seen by E3 2012 (with an official launch sometime after that).