Age: Founded in 1889. Moved into video games in 1977.

Appearance: A short fat Italian plumber who refuses to retire.

Is that a reference to Mario? Obviously. It would be a weirdly specific metaphor if it wasn't.

True. So why Mario? Because you can't think of Nintendo without thinking about the little moustache-wearer the company invented back in 1982.

Why not? Mostly because it brings out roughly six new games about him and his brother every year.

Really? Really. The pair starred in four games for the Wii U console and three for the handheld Nintendo 3DS in 2013 alone.

Such as? Such as puzzler Dr Luigi, role-playing game Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and gay-rights protest simulator Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

Is that why we're talking about Nintendo? No, that's actually just a sports game. We're talking about it because it has just announced a loss of £146m – and its share price has tumbled.

Which is bad? Which is terrible, considering at the start of the financial year the company predicted it would make a profit of £322m.

What happened? People didn't want their consoles. The sales forecasts for the Wii U and 3DS have been drastically scaled back after the Wii U sold less than a third of its 9m units target.

So people are finally bored of Mario? You'd think. But apparently people have just had enough of playing Mario games on consoles.

It's not the end of Nintendo then? More like the beginning of a new era. Analysts reckon the disastrous results will finally convince the company to shift its focus.

From what to what? From making games for its own purpose-built consoles to the lucrative world of smartphone gaming, where, in theory, a whole new breed of gamer could learn to love six different Mario games a year.

Do say: "Now that I can play these games on my phone, this 30-year-old Italian stereotype is somehow totally cool again!"

Don't say: "I wish they really were making a gay-rights protest game."