The Yamauchi family founded Nintendo way back when, but even they seem to have lost all faith in the Japanese (once-) giant following the grim sales reports in January. Bloomberg has reported that Nintendo is preparing to buy back shares sold by the Yamauchi family amounting to over $1 billion USD as soon as tomorrow, indicating that the Yamauchis have finilized the decision to sell. 

The 9.5 million shares going to market are worth a total of 7.4% of the company's outstanding stock.

The heirs of late Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, who passed away last September, have also expressed a desire to be rid of their shares. The number of shares they'll release is not yet clear, though.

This news, like much of the Nintendo-related chatter of late, looks pretty grim, but Nintendo is still in a position of power in the industry. They currently have $8.6 billion in the bank, and they aren't in any sort of debt to any other company. However, the company is steadily draining through that money trying to keep the Wii U afloat, and push the 3DS even further.

Will Nintendo go the way of SEGA and stop manufacturing consoles entirely? It's a strange proposition, but one that could prove true as the next generation winds on.