The team is not willing to offer any more details for it

Feb 25, 2014 09:29 GMT  ·  By

The team at Nintendo working on the Wii U home console announces that it is delivering a new firmware update for the device, labeled 4.0.3 U, which is designed to improve overall system stability and introduce a number of other small changes to how applications run.

The official announcement on the Nintendo support page does not offer any sort of details about the new firmware, stating only that, “Further improvements to overall system stability and other minor adjustments have been made to enhance the user experience.”

The page also adds, “After the Wii U system is updated, any existing or future unauthorized technical modification of the hardware or software of your Wii U system, or the use of an unauthorized device in connection with your system, may render the system permanently unplayable. Content deriving from the unauthorized modification of the hardware or software of your Wii U system may be removed.”

It’s unclear if there are any player-made mods for the Wii U that are being disabled after the most recent Wii U firmware update is delivered.

Gamers will be automatically prompted to download the system patch once they fire up their home console and connect to the Internet for the first time.

If Nintendo wants the Wii U to see a boost in its small current sales numbers, it needs to use the firmware update process to add more functionality to the platform, rather than simply update its stability and improve the user experience in unspecified ways.

The company expected to sell more than 9 million units of its new platform to gamers before the end of the current fiscal year on March 31, but it was forced to slash its projections to just 2.8.

It will be forced to post a loss for only the second time in its long history and there’s no sign of how it can turn its fortunes around.

Analysts have suggested that the Wii U needs to get a significant price cut in the coming months in order to make it more attractive to gamers, especially given that it needs to compete with the Xbox One from Microsoft and the PlayStation 4 from Sony.

The leadership of the company says that it has no plans to implement such a measure and it is instead relying on the launch of high-profile titles like Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. to generate solid sales in 2014.