Nintendo Co.'s prospects for meeting its profit and sales forecasts for the year are diminishing after Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. each sold more game consoles in 24 hours than the Wii U maker did in nine months.

Nintendo's family-focused content is losing its appeal as titles were delayed, casual gamers migrate to smartphones and tablets, and hard-core players opt for faster Sony and Microsoft machines.

The world's biggest maker of game machines also refuses to offer games with its lineup of iconic characters such as Mario and Zelda on mobile devices, limiting its ability to profit from surging demand by online players.