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Apr-26-2008

Nintendo Rakes It In...But For How Long?

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The company also sold 30.31 million units of the DS worldwide. (More...)
Nintendo's Wii proved to be no slouch either, selling 18.61 million units over the past year. (More...)
Despite the competition, the Xbox 360 is helping Microsoft turn a profit the size of many country's entire economies. (More...)
"Wii Fit" fitness game sold 1.85 million titles in the year ended March 2008. (More...)
For the week covering April 14 to April 20, Media Create's sales charts put Sony's portable at 85,421 units, besting the DS Lite's 44,551 units and the Wii's 44,241 units. (More...)
Publisher expects sales up 7.6 percent to $17B next year--the Mario Factory's slowest growth in three years. (More...)
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said the company does not expect to sell as many units annually in coming years as it did in the past two years. (More...)
"The Entertainment and Devices revenue for the quarter grew 68 percent over the comparable period last year driven by robust demand for Xbox 360 consoles," the company said. (More...)
Ubisoft's 'Assassin's Creed' sold 2.5 million units in its first month of November, reaching a total of 6 million by the end of March. (More...)
European sales climbed 133.1% YoY to 620.419 billion, while sales in Japan and the Americas rose 1.8% YoY to 337.477 billion and 87.2% YoY to 659.711 billion, respectively. (More...)
The total number of million selling titles for the format increased from 30 to 57 over the course of the year. (More...)
Here are the problems, though, that I alluded to at the opening. (More...)
Ahead of the release of the result, Nintendo closed Thursday down 0.7 percent at 58,200 yen. (More...)
Video game hardware typically sees price cuts after the first year of release. (More...)

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The company also sold 30.31 million units of the DS worldwide. Nintendo expects to continue its growth this fiscal year through March 2009, though at a more modest pace. It projects a 26.3 percent rise in net profit to 325.0 billion yen ($3.15 billion), a 7.6 increase in net sales to 1.800 trillion yen, and an 8.8 percent climb in operating profit to 530.0 billion yen ($5.14 billion). "Nintendo's strategy is to accelerate the current sales momentum from 'must-have for every family' to 'must-have for everyone' by continuously introducing new and unique software and introducing new services which take advantage of its expanded installed base," the company said in its report. [1] New financial documents released by Nintendo have revealed that the company's Wii console has sold 24.45 million units worldwide since its 2006 release, with the handheld Nintendo DS selling 70.6 million units worldwide since its debut in 2004. Of those figures, 18.61 million Wii and 30.31 million DS systems were sold in the company's 2008 fiscal year, which ran from April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008. Due to strong hardware and software sales in the 2008 fiscal year, including Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) and Pokemon Diamond and Pearl (NDS), Nintendo saw its net income jump to 1.67 trillion yen ($16.01 billion), a 73% increase over the past fiscal year.[2]

The booming videogame biz is paying dividends, as Japanese giant Nintendo and French publisher Ubisoft both reported huge growth in the fiscal year ended March 31. Fueled by its red-hot Wii and DS consoles, Nintendo recorded a boffo 73% jump in revenue to an all-time high of ¥1.67 trillion ($16.2 billion) and a 48% rise in net profit, despite big exchange rate losses due to the strong yen. Company sold 18.6 million units of the Wii, bringing the total since its November 2006 debut to 24.4 million. By comparison, Microsoft reported Thursday that it has sold just over 19 million units of its Xbox 360, which debuted a year earlier than the Wii.[3] For the current fiscal year to next March, Nintendo expects a 26.3 percent increase in net profits to 325 billion yen, with a stronger yen set to reduce earnings by 12 billion yen. Nintendo aims to sell 28 million DS consoles and 25 million Wiis this fiscal year. "It is not realistic to see any further growth in Japan" because of the strong sales already achieved, said company spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa. "But given the fact that DS is seeing a supply shortage outside Japan, we can expect sales growth in overseas markets," he said.[4] The positive earnings results were attributed to strong demands of popular Wii console and handheld DS consoles, the company said. Nintendo expected its net profit to soar 26 per cent to 325 billion yen for the current fiscal year through March 2009, while its operating profit was projected to rise 8.8 per cent to 530 billion dollars with sales of 1.8 trillion yen, up 7.6 per cent from a year before.[5] For the fiscal year ending next March, the company is forecasting a 26.3 percent increase in net profit to 325 billion yen ($3.15 billion), a 7.6 increase in net sales to 1.8 trillion yen, and an 8.8 percent rise in operating profit to 530 billion yen ($5.14 billion). In addition to its fiscal results, Nintendo today also announced a full-year dividend for its shareholders of 1,260 yen per share (including the interim dividend of 140 yen already paid). This represents an increase of 570 yen over the annual dividend of 690 yen paid one year ago.[6] Nintendo discloses its financial results for the previous fiscal year ending March 31st 2008, and it shouldn't really come as a surprise that 2007 was good for the company. The Mario Factory was able to quantify its good fortune with an increase in sales of 73 percent to 1.67 trillion yen ($16.1 billion USD); its net income meanwhile would rise 47.7 percent to hit 257 billion yen ($2.48 billion USD). This is actually short of the 275 billion yen ($2.64 billion USD) forecast previously laid out by Nintendo itself. Nintendo is currently playing it safe with its fiscal year 2008 outlook; the company predicts a 7.6 percent increase in sales, along with a 26.3 percent rise in profits. These too are slightly less than the estimates made by analysts (quizzed by Bloomberg).[7]

TOKYO -- Nintendo Co. reported a 48% increase in its annual net profit as its Wii videogame console and DS portable-game device continued to sell strongly, but it set a conservative forecast for this fiscal year as a stronger Japanese yen reduces the value of overseas sales. The Japanese videogame maker said its net income for the year ended March 31 rose to 257.3 billion yen ($2.49 billion), compared with 174.3 billion yen a year earlier.[8] Osaka, Apr 24, 2008 (Jiji Press) - Nintendo Co. said Thursday it expects to post record earnings in the current fiscal year ending next March thanks to brisk sales of its Wii video game console and game software. The leading Japanese game machine maker expects its group net profit to surge 26.3 pct from the previous year to 325 billion yen.[9] Video games giant Nintendo has reported record profits and sales for the year to March 2008, lifted by surging demand for its Wii and DS consoles. It sold 18.6 million Wii machines over the year, lifting net income to 257.3bn yen ($2.48bn; '1.25bn), up 47.7%. Nintendo has struggled to keep up with demand for the Wii, popular with all ages unlike its rivals.[10] Japanese video game giant Nintendo has seen has its net income rise 47.7 per cent in the year to March 2008 boosted by surging demand for its Wii and DS consoles. The company saw its net income rise to 257.3 billion yen (''1.25 billion) with sales of. To access this article and the rest of the news and content on mad.co.uk. you need to be a subscriber.[11]

Nintendo said operating profit for the quarter through March rose to 93.2 billion, handily beating estimates. "Nintendos strategy is to accelerate the current sales momentum from must-have for every family to must-have for everyone by continuously introducing new and unique software and introducing new services which take advantage of its expanded installed base," the company said in its report. The Wiis motion-sensitive controller and a lower price than the PlayStation 3 or the Xbox 360 may help Nintendo overtake Sony in worldwide sales of home game consoles this fiscal year, according to the Daiwa Institute of Research.[12] The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of six analysts was for profit of 337.1 billion yen. The Wii's motion-sensitive controller and a cheaper price than the PlayStation 3 or the Xbox 360 may help Kyoto-based Nintendo overtake Sony Corp. in worldwide sales of home game consoles this fiscal year, according to Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd. The Wii has outsold Sony's PlayStation 3 since its introduction in November 2006.[13]

Group net profit rose 47 percent to 257.34 billion yen ($2.5 billion). For this past fiscal year Nintendo shipped 18.61 million Wii console to its distributors and retail customers across the globe; since the launch of the console in November 2006, Nintendo has shipped 24.45 million worldwide. For the fiscal year that just began on April 1, Nintendo now forecasts global Wii console shipments to reach 25 million, which would bring the total to nearly 50 million at this time next year.[6] "Our earnings projection for the year is not based on hardware price cuts, and I don't think we are going to need them," Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told an analyst meeting on Friday. Nintendo, which competes with Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research ) and Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research ) in the global videogame industry, currently holds the leading position both in the console and the portable game markets. Iwata's comment came one day after the creator of game characters such as Mario and Zelda said its operating profit more than doubled in the year ended March, and forecast a further 9 percent gain this year to 530 billion yen ($5.08 billion).[14] Toyota said on Wednesday it sold a record 2,412,602 vehicles worldwide in the January-March quarter, up 2.7 percent from the same period a year earlier. Kao, Japan's biggest household products maker, said on Wednesday it expects to post only a slight rise in operating profit this year, citing worries about high raw materials costs and slowing consumer spending. Robert Bosch GmbH said on Wednesday it would launch a tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares in its Japanese unit, Bosch Corp -- the only listed entity belonging to the German auto parts giant. The maker of car lighting equipment said it expects its operating profit to rise 1.9 percent to 29.5 billion yen for the year ending in March, below a mean forecast of 30.8 billion yen in a poll of nine analysts by Reuters Estimates. Sony Ericsson (nasdaq: ERIC - news - people ) posted a 47 percent dive in first-quarter profits on Wednesday, slipping to No. 5 mobile phone maker as demand slowed in Europe for its more expensive camera and music handsets.[15]

While Sony's PS3 may gain momentum on the back of new software titles and its Blu-Ray capability for next generation high definition movie discs, that is seen having little impact on sales of the Wii, which is targeted at a different market. Nintendo said revenue should increase 8 percent to 1.8 trillion yen and forecast global Wii sales would increase 34 per cent to 25 million units this business year, while targeting a 48 per cent jump in software sales to 177 million units. It also said it may ramp up Wii monthly production capacity to 2.4 million units by summer from 1.8 million units currently. It said annual sales of its DS handheld player would likely fall to around 28 million units from 30.3 million. Microsoft reports its third-quarter earnings later on Thursday, while Sony's annual results are due on May 14. Nintendo shares have fallen 12 percent so far this year in line with a drop in the Nikkei average, but have gained more than 60 per cent in the past 12 months.[16] Nintendo builds about 1.8 million Wii consoles a month right now, and may increase monthly production to 2.4 million units during mid-2008. Right now, the Wii enjoys a worldwide games-to-console sale ratio of 6.07 games per system, meaning Wii users are pretty likely to purchase additional titles for their console rather than stick with a handful of games. The company said it expects sales of its Nintendo DS handheld game system to fall to about 28 million units next year, from a total of 30.3 million units this year.[17] Nintendo said it had sold 18.61 million Wii consoles in the fiscal year, lifting total sales since the launch in December 2006 to 24.45 million units. It sold 1.85 million "Wii Fit" boards, which can be used for sports and games including yoga, virtual snowboarding, ski-jumping and aerobics. Launched here in December, they will go on sale in North America next month. Nintendo has long dominated the market for handheld machines and continues to enjoy strong demand for its double-screen Nintendo DS, selling 30.31 million units over the fiscal year.[4] Nintendo predicted earnings will rise again next year to 325bn yen, slightly below analysts' forecasts. Nintendo said it has sold a total of 24.45 million Wii machines since its debut in November 2006. It predicts this figure will rise by 25 million by the end of March 2009. Demand for the firm's hand-held Nintendo DS remained strong, with customers snapping up 30.31 million units over its last fiscal year.[10]

The yen has strengthened 7.8 percent against the dollar in 2008, adding to a 6.1 percent increase last year. Nintendo said it assumed a rate of 100 yen against the dollar and 155 to the euro for its forecasts. Nintendo projects it will sell 28 million DS players this fiscal year, a 7.6 percent drop from the most recent 12-month period. DS sales rose 29 percent to 30.31 million units last fiscal year, surpassing its January projection of 29.5 million.[18] Wii sales tripled to 18.61 million last year, compared with an earlier expected 18.5 million, Nintendo said. Nintendo will raise monthly output of the Wii to 2.4 million units this "summer,'' from 1.8 million at present, company President Satoru Iwata told reporters in Osaka today. The company will probably overtake Sony in worldwide sales of home video-game consoles this fiscal year as the Wii extends its lead over the PlayStation 3, according to Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd.[18] Perhaps, in a way to to quell excitement regarding Nintendo's announcement yesterday that the Wii console has sold nearly 25 million units globally - Microsoft has revealed that the Xbox 360 has sold over 19 million units worldwide. While this may seem like the antics of a child jumping up and down screaming "look at me too, look at me Mommy" - you have to remember that most companies fiscal year ended in March and sales numbers and profits are going to start being fed to the press. While Microsoft does indeed act like a spoiled brat sometimes, this time it is just doing what everyone else is - call it peer pressure if you will. The most compelling thing about this announcement is that the Xbox 360 has sold a million units a month since the beginning of 2008.[19] Japan's Nintendo Co Ltd, maker of the hit Wii game machine, said on Thursday fourth-quarter profit jumped 60 per cent but it forecast only modest annual growth of nine per cent as sales of its DS handheld machine slow. The conservative projection comes despite a jump in sales for the Wii console, which has so far outsold Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 since its launch in late 2006.[16] "I don't think that model is correct," Iwata said, despite signs that sales of the DS may be tapering off. The Wii retails for about $250 in the U.S. and 25,000 yen in Japan, unchanged since its launch in November 2006. Sony has slashed the price of its 20-gigabyte PlayStation 3 twice so far to boost demand. Nintendo Co. expects to sell 28.0 million DS units this year through March 2009, down from 30.3 million last year.[20] For the year to March 2009, Nintendo expects Nintendo DS to sell 28 million units, a decline of 2.31 million units from the previous year, according to earnings estimates announced Thursday. Nintendo DS, which made its debut in North America in November 2004, is expected to reach cumulative sales of 98.6 million units at the end of March 2009 and top 100 million by the summer of the same year. Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.' s video game console PlayStation 2 achieved cumulative sales of 100 million units five years and nine months after its launch.[21]

Sony Corp. has price cut the PS3 by up to $200 since launch last year. Nintendo this week recorded soaring profits on strong sales of the Wii home video game console and the Nintendo DS handheld.[22] Iwata: No Plans To Cut Wii, DS Pricing This Year Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has revealed that the video game company has no plans to reduce its pricing on its Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii consoles this year, citing consumer demand for both systems as its reasoning for the decision. This announcement comes after the release of Nintendo's full year financial report yesterday, in which the company reported seeing profits rise by 48% to $2.5 billion.[23]

Operating profit surged to 487.22 billion yen from 226.02 billion the previous year as revenue leapt 73.0 percent to 1.67 trillion yen. Nintendo can barely keep up with demand for the Wii, which is known for its innovative motion-sensitive controller and -- unlike rival Sony Corp.' s PlayStation 3 -- is aimed at customers who normally would not play video games.[4] For the current fiscal year to next March, Nintendo expects a 26.3 per cent increase in net profits to 325 billion yen. With a stronger yen cutting into its overseas earnings, the Kyoto-based company sees a more modest 8.8 per cent increase in operating profits to 530 billion yen and a 9.4 per cent gain in revenue to 1.80 trillion yen.[24] Nintendo has forecast that its profit will rise by another 26 per cent in its fiscal year 2008-2009, according to Bloomberg. Having announced a doubling in operating profit in its current FY results this morning, the firm has predicted that net profit will reach 325 billion yen ($3.13 billion) in the 12 months to March 31st - up from the 257.3 billion yen reported for this year.[25]

For the fiscal year ending March 2009, the company expects operating profit to rise 8.8 percent to 530 billion yen, net income to leap 26 percent to 325 billion yen and sales to be up a further 7.6 percent to 1.8 trillion yen.[26] "Our earnings projection for the year is not based on hardware price cuts, and I don't think we are going to need them," said Iwata. Nintendo yesterday revealed their results for the fiscal year, showing sales of 1.67 trillion yen ($16.07 billion) and net profit of 257.34 billion yen ($2.5 billion).[27] Nintendo expects the back half of the year to more than make up for initial dipping profits, with full fiscal year profits rising 26.3 percent to 325 billion (about $3.1 billion) on revenues of 1.8 trillion (about $17.2 billion). With Nintendo anticipating full year sales up 7.6 percent over this year's impressive haul, analysts have responded in kind by essentially saying, "That's it?" Financial news service Bloomberg reports today that Nintendo's 2009 outlook came in markedly lower than many estimates, thanks in large part to the yen's continued strengthening.[28] "Our biggest fear is for people who have bought the DS to shut it away in a closet," Iwata said. "We want people to use it in their everyday lives." The falloff in DS sales is a main reason why the company tempered its growth expectations this year after a nearly 48 percent surge in net profit last fiscal year to $2.5 billion and a 73 percent gain in global revenue to $16.2 billion.[20]

Sales of the Nintendo Wii and DS are driving profits at Nintendo, which are posted record annual results today. The company is reporting that its net profits are up 77.2% as compared to last financial year at Yen 174.3 billion, which equates to 1.1 billion euros or £731 million.[29] Operating profit jumped 2.1-fold to an all-time high of 487,220 million yen, on record sales of 1,672,423 million yen, up 73.0 pct. Sales of Wii surged 3.1-told to 18.61 million units and those of Nintendo DS were up 28.6 pct at 30.31 million units. Cumulative sales of Wii came to 24.45 million units at the end of March, and those of Nintendo DS stood at 70.60 million units.[9] Operating profit more than doubled to 487.22 billion yen from 226.02 billion as revenue leapt 73.0 per cent to an all-time high 1.67 trillion yen. The Japanese company said it enjoyed strong sales both for its double-screen handheld Nintendo DS and its next-generation Wii, known for its innovative motion-sensitive controller.[24] Kyoto-based Nintendo said operating profit for the January-March quarter surged to 93.2 billion yen ($900 million), handily beating a Reuters Estimates consensus of 82 billion yen from 19 analysts. The company, valued at around $81 billion, expects profit to climb to 530 billion yen this business year, six per cent below the average analyst estimate of 566.5 billion yen.[16] The company reported FY08 operating profits of more than 487 billion yen, a year-over-year increase of 115.6 %. During the 12 months, Nintendo shipped 18.61 million Wii consoles, with 25 million forcasted for this year.[30] Nintendo said operating profit for the January-March quarter surged to 93.2 billion yen ($900 million). This news is a bit surprising as Wii sales still are growing.[31] Operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, will probably climb 8.8 percent to 530 billion yen, Nintendo said, missing the 557.7 billion yen median estimate in the survey.[13] Nintendo is expecting net profit to rise 26.3 percent to 325 billion yen, operating profit to climb 8.8 percent to 530 billion yen, and sales to be up 7.6 percent to 1.80 trillion yen.[32] Sales in the year ended March 31 gained 73 percent to 1.67 trillion yen, while operating profit more than doubled to 487.2 billion yen.[18]

"Our earnings projection for the year is not based on hardware price cuts, and I don't think we are going to need them," Reuters quoted Iwata as saying. Earlier this week, Nintendo reported that operating profit for the year ended in March more than doubled against the previous year, and predicted a 9 percent gain this year to 530 billion yen ($5.08 billion).[33] Nintendo Wii and DS continue to sell in large numbers and the Japanese videogame console maker has said no price cuts are planned. A company representative said: "Our earnings projection for the year is not based on hardware price cuts, and I don't think we are going to need them.''' This statement came just a day after Nintendo revealed that its operating profit more than doubled in the year ended March.[34]

"Our earnings projection for the year is not based on hardware price cuts, and I don't think we are going to need them," Iwata was quoted as saying. Despite that confidence, there is reason to think that the laws of supply and demand won't work as much in Nintendo's favor this year. In a note to investors this morning, Lazard Capital Markets Colin Sebastian pointed to Nintendo's plan to increase Wii production and supply by more than 34 percent this year. He also noted the company's forecast that it expects to ship 28 million DS systems for the new fiscal year, down from 30 million last year, suggesting that it expects slightly tempered demand for the handheld.[35] The outlook fell short of market expectations but analysts said the company forecast is believed to be on the conservative side. Nintendo, Japan's third-largest company in market value, revised up its earnings outlook three times in the year just ended. Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research ) slashed the price of its PlayStation 3 with a 20-gigabyte hard drive by 20 percent to 49,980 yen ($479) before the product launch in late 2006, and lowered it further to 44,980 yen last year to spur demand, while Nintendo has kept the Wii price unchanged since its launch at 25,000 yen.[14]

Like all Japanese exporters, Nintendo is wrestling with a stronger yen that threatens to erode the value of overseas sales, which accounted for 81 percent of total revenue last year. Nintendo's main driver of growth this year, then, looks to be the Wii — a runaway hit that has outsold Sony Corp.' s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Corp.' s Xbox 360 since its release in November 2006.[20] As my 5-year-old likes to say when confronted by obvious news: Well, duh. The Wii still is racking up blistering sales totals, outpacing sales of both the PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360. Of those three, it's already the least expensive at about $250. And, according to Nintendo of America's president, the average Wii sits on a store shelf for only an hour before it's purchased these days. As BusinessWeek says (and it's my favorite phrase of the week in a business story): "not all is jolly in Nintendo-land." The portable Nintendo gaming system, the DS, is expected to see sales shrink a bit this year. If the economy keeps slowing, the Wii is the most prone of the "big three" consoles to see its sales affected, analysts say. For now, however, it's not hard to understand why Nintendo is tempted to keep its prices steady and watch the big bucks keep rolling in.[36]

Not even a slowing economy and an unfavorably strong Japanese yen could get in Nintendo'''s way. For the fiscal year through March, the video game company reported on April 24 a mind-boggling 52.6% jump in operating earnings, as its Wii and DS portable gaming machines continued to rack up brisk sales.[37] Nintendo Forecasts Record Earnings in FY 2008 said Thursday it expects to post record earnings in the current fiscal year ending next March thanks to brisk sales of its Wii video game console and game software[9]

TOKYO (Thomson Financial) - Japanese video game maker Nintendo Co. on Thursday racked up a record operating and net profit in the fiscal year ended March on strong demand for its portable and home-use video game consoles and game software.[32] TOKYO (AP) — Nintendo Co.' s net profit surged 47.7 percent to a record high, powered by strong sales of software and accessories for its popular Wii video game console and brisk sales of its DS handheld devices.[1] Japanese video game giant Nintendo says its annual net profit has soared 47.7 per cent to a new record high on strong sales of the Wii and other consoles.[24]

TOKYO (AFP) — Japanese video game giant Nintendo Co. said Thursday that its annual operating profit had more than doubled as sales hit a record high on surging demand for its Wii and DS consoles.[4]

Kyoto-based Nintendo has reported that its operating profit more than doubled for the fiscal year ended March on strong demand for its Wii and DS consoles.[26]

After taking operating costs and taxes into account, Nintendo was left with a 257.3 billion yen ($2.4 billion) profit for the 2008 fiscal year, 47.7% more than that of the 2007 fiscal year. "These PC developers speaking out against the Wii are starting to sound more and more desperate an[2] The forecast assumes that the dollar will stand at 100 yen at the end of March 2009, down from 100.19 yen at the end of March 2007, and the euro will stand at 155 yen, compared to 158.19 yen. Based on those rates, the company expects a forex loss of 12 billion yen. Nintendo aims to sell 28 million Nintendo DSs, and 25 million Wiis this fiscal year.[32] Net profit rose 47.7 percent to an all-time high of 257.34 billion yen (2.48 billion dollars) in the fiscal year to March, a company statement said. It missed its own previous forecast for a 275 billion yen net profit as the effect of the stronger yen started to bite.[4] For the last fiscal year, Nintendo's net income rose 48 percent to 257.3 billion yen. That's less than the 279.4 billion yen median of 22 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg and the company's forecast for 275 billion yen.[18]

The company reported sales in the 2008 fiscal year of ¥1.67 trillion (about $16 billion), 73 percent more than last year. Net income improved 48 percent to 257 billion yen ($2.6 billion), and the yearly dividend nearly doubled from ¥690 per share ($0.82 per American Depositary Receipt, which is what a U.S. investor would trade in) in 2007 to ¥1,260 per share ($1.51 per ADR) this year.[38] With the rising price of the yen and falling dollar resulting in expected foreign exchange losses of around '12 billion ($115m), Nintendo has conservatively predicted sales of '1.80 trillion ($17.3bn) and profits of '325 billion ($3.1bn) in the coming fiscal year.[39]

Sales may gain 7.6 percent to 1.8 trillion yen, the slowest growth in three years. Nintendo, which gets 80 percent of sales from outside Japan, projected the yen will make further gains against the dollar this year after reaching a 12-month high last month. The Kyoto-based company's forecast backs projections by Nomura Holdings Inc. and Goldman, Sachs & Co., which cut their profit estimates in the past month because of the stronger Japanese currency.[18] Nintendo's forecasts for next year are also bullish: the company expects a 26 percent jump in net profit. These numbers mean that the business is doing very, very well, but they also paint the picture of a gaming juggernaut that is going to be harder to combat than Nintendo's competitors would have liked; nearly every criticism leveled against Nintendo has been answered with cold, hard numbers. One of the ongoing bits of "accepted wisdom" in regards to the Wii is that no one is buying games; there is the perception that many casual gamers are simply using their system as a Wii Sports box. The New York Times recently ran a story claiming that Nintendo had low attach rates for the system; their source for these numbers, VGCharts, has gone on record to disagree with the analysis of its own data. According to Nintendo's own data, each Wii owner has purchased 6.07 games for their system since launch worldwide, a figure that's in line with the competition.[38] April 24 (Bloomberg) -- Nintendo Co., the world's biggest maker of handheld game players, forecast profit will rise 26 percent this year as its Wii console outsells rival machines.[13]

The financial year just finished saw global DS Lite sales of 30.3 million units to go with 18.6 million Wii consoles shifted in the same period. The lower forecasts for this time next year suggest even Nintendo believes those two cash-cows are past their best.[40] Company forecasts that sales of Wii consoles will rise 34% to 25 million units in the current fiscal year, while software sales will skyrocket 48% to 177 million units.[3]

The Wii has been the big driver of sales, shifting 18.1 million units last year for a total of 24.5 million units moved since the console was launched in November 2006; and the company expects to sell a further 25 million in 2008 as overseas markets continue to buy up the console faster than Nintendo can produce units.[41] The video game industry performed well despite a slowing global economy. Nintendo said it would continue expanding the gaming audience to both novices and experienced users — a strategy that has paid off against rivals Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. Nintendo said it sold 18.61 million units of its Wii console globally last year, for a total of 24.45 million units moved since it was launched in November 2006.[1] With easy-to-play games and motion-detecting controllers, the Wii has done well by attracting new and casual gamers, including women and senior citizens. Consumers around the world have snapped up nearly 24.5 million of the consoles so far, and Nintendo says it expects to sell 25 million units this year, even with a gloomy outlook for the global economy.[20]

Revenue increased 73 percent to a record 1.67 trillion yen. Nintendo said global sales of its Nintendo DS dual-screen portable game consoles rose to 30.31 million units from 23.56 million.[32] Nintendo DS Sales Likely to Reach 100 M. Units in 2009 portable game machine Nintendo DS is likely to achieve cumulative sales of 100 million units by summer 2009, only about four and a half years after its launch, in the best performance ever for a game console[21] The game business, in the words of one industry official, is little affected by economic swings, so cumulative sales of Nintendo DS could even reach 100 million units by the end of current fiscal year to March.[21] The company estimates Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS Lite sales of 28 million units and Wii sales of 25 million units for the year.[42] Brawl" and the imminent introduction outside Japan of the "Wii Fit" home fitness program are expected to drive sales and help Nintendo shrug off unfavorable currency rates. While the PlayStation 3 may gain momentum with new software titles and its Blu-Ray capability for next-generation high-definition movie discs, such efforts by Sony are expected to have little effect on sales of the Wii, which is marketed toward a different market. Nintendo said it could increase the Wii monthly production capacity to 2.4 million units by this summer from the current 1.8 million. It said annual sales of the DS would likely fall to around 28 million units.[12] Wii had accumulated sales of 24.45 million units, making it the top-selling home-use game console, above Microsoft Corp. (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people )'s Xbox360 and Sony Corp. (nyse: SNE - news - people )'s PlayStation 3. Sony has long dominated the global home-use, standalone game console market with its PSOne and PlayStaion2, but due to the lack of strong game titles and relatively high price, PS3 has so far lagged behind the rival formats in terms of sales.[32]

The gaming giant is also confident that the boom will continue, predicting global DS sales of 22 million units and 130 million games for 2007/8. It says that sales of the Wii will hit 14 million consoles and 55 million software titles this coming financial year.[29] Lifetime sales for the Wii should now be around 24.45 million; not quite the DS level of success, though it is a relatively young console. To meet demand for the Wii (which stands to grow with the North American release of Wii Fit), Nintendo President Satoru Iwata confirms his company is boosting monthly production of the console to 2.4 million units starting "this Summer", up from the current 1.8 million.[7]

Absolute sales numbers amounted to $16.1 billion with profit clocking in at $2.48 billion, made possible by the sale of almost 19 million Wiis and more than 30 million Nintendo DS units.[43] As one would expect, obscene Wii and DS demand spiked sales to 73 percent over the same period last year, resulting in near-double profits of $2.5 billion for the three month period.[44] Net profit leapt 47.7 percent to 257.34 billion yen, compared to 174.29 billion yen last year, while net sales rose 73 percent to 1.67 trillion yen.[26] Nintendo's annual sales have increased by 73% to 1.67 trillion yen (''8 billion) in the year to March 31, with profits up by 115.6% to 487 billion yen (''2.3 billion).[45]

Japan - TOKYO, April 24 (Reuters) - Japanese investors may hold off from active stock trading on Thursday ahead of earnings reports from domestic companies, but overnight gains on Wall Street and a softer yen are expected to support the market. Mitsubishi Corp (other-otc: MSBHY.PK - news - people ) may be in focus after the Nikkei business daily reported that the trading house's net profit is likely to be about 600 billion yen for the year to next March, up from an estimated 430 billion yen for the year just ended, buoyed by resources businesses such as coking coal. "I wish I could say the Tokyo market is set for further gains tracking Wall Street, but actually its moves are likely to be limited as investors are waiting to see Japanese corporate earnings," said Masayoshi Yano, senior market analyst at Meiwa Securities. The earnings report season gets into full swing on Thursday, with steelmaker JFE Holdings Inc and Nintendo Co Ltd (other-otc: NTDOY.PK - news - people ) are among major firms to announce their results later in the day. Market participants said they expected the benchmark Nikkei average to move between 13,450 and 13,800 on Thursday.[15] Before today'''s earnings announcement, KBC Securities''' analyst Hiroshi Kamide had a '''hold''' recommendation on Nintendo'''s shares. His '''cautious outlook''', he said, stems from his view that '''a U.S.-led recession will be negative on the casual gaming market.''' Since January, the company'''s shares have fallen 12%, along with the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average, but in the past 12-month period its stock price is still up 60%. Another concern: Slowing sales of the portable DS in Japan. The DS went on sale in 2004 and it'''s starting to reach the peak of its life cycle. A look at its forecast for DS sales this year is revealing.[37] Life-to-date the tie ratio for the DS has been 5.24 games per system worldwide. "Nintendo's strategy is to accelerate the current sales momentum from 'must-have for every family' to 'must-have for everyone' by continuously introducing new and unique software and introducing new services which take advantage of its expanded installed base," the company stated. Nintendo thoroughly expects to keep its momentum throughout this year and into 2009.[6] If the stellar debut of the new physical fitness game, Wii Fit, in Japan can be repeated in the U.S., where it goes on sale next month, and Europe months later, then Nintendo shouldn'''t have too much to worry about. Some analysts think Sony'''s PS3 will close the gap with the Wii this year, as it plays up its next-generation Blu-ray DVD player and two new features slated for launch later this year--a video download service and a new online 3-D social networking service. It will be interesting to see what creative new ways Nintendo thinks up to keep the momentum going.[37]

I disagree that the Gamecube was failure per se, granted it wasn't as ubiqitious as the PS2; but it managed more or less parity with the first Xbox in terms of sales. Additionally (and like the Wii) it was sold at a very slight profit, unlike the sony and microsoft machines, combined with most the best selling software being first party nintendoware meant that they made a healthy, if not astronomical profit. Similar circumstances would apply to the N64 too. I think there's a perception that if a console isn't outselling everything else it must be a failure, which is probably born out of Sega's spectacular implosion a few years ago: but Nintendo have always been financially astute and the only one of their consoles that I can think of that was a failure with a capital F is the Virtual Boy. Offensive? Unsuitable? Report this comment.[45] Nintendo has proved itself to be the most profitable of the players in the current console war, being the only maker to actually turn a profit on each unit sold. Its strategy in the past five years, from the DS to the Wii, has paid off handsomely and the company can expect continued profitability for years to come, even if it will suffer a slowdown in growth.[41] To date, Nintendo, Japan's third-largest company in market value, has sold 24 million Wii consoles ($249 each) and 71 million DS handhelds ($129 each). In its 2007 financial year, Nintendo sold 18.61 million Wii and 30.31 million DS systems.[23] Nintendo revealed that it has sold more than 23 million Nintendo DS units during the year, and 123 million DS games. 5.84 million Wii consoles and 29 million games have been sold since this next-gen toy launched in December.[29]

The Nintendo DS remains a healthy publishing platform, however: Nintendo says 5.24 DS games are sold for every DS handheld. Nintendo's conservative profit forecasts for its next year may have more to do with currency and economic fluctuations than worries about increased competition from Sony's PlayStation 3 game console (which offers Blu-ray capability).[17] April 24 (Bloomberg) -- Nintendo Co., the world's biggest maker of handheld game machines, forecast profit will rise less than analysts estimated as a stronger yen erodes the value of its Wii and DS players sold overseas.[18]

How many was that? 185 million game packs for the DS and 119 for the Wii. Just two weeks ago, Goldman Sachs revised upward its software unit-sales projections for the next two years. Many analysts think Nintendo has been ramping up Wii to shorten the wait for the machines overseas, where retailers are still selling out of the Wii as fast as they can restock their shelves. That should offset some of the recent losses from the yen'''s appreciation in value against the dollar and euro. (As the yen goes up, the income Nintendo earns overseas shrinks when those funds are converted to yen.)[37]

Sales of Nintendo DS dual-screen portable games climbed to 30.31 million units from 23.56 million the year before.[46] Sales of the Nintendo DS portable game machine, however, are expected to fall 7.6 pct to 28 million units.[9]

The company described Nintendo DS sales worldwide as 'robust' with a total or 30.31 million units sold for a life-to-date total of 70.6 million.[39] The Nintendo DS is set to suffer a slowdown, with sales shrinking 8-percent in 2008, though overall the DS has been confirmed as the best selling handheld of all time, with 30.31 million units sold worldwide.[41]

Nintendo expects annual sales for the Wii to increase 34 percent to 25 million consoles in the coming fiscal year.[7] "The speed last year was beyond our expectations," Iwata said. For this fiscal year, Nintendo projects a 26.3 percent rise in net profit and just a 7.6 percent increase in sales. It pegs a modest 8.8 percent climb in operating profit.[20] Checking in with its yearly financial results, Nintendo reported a 73 percent sales jump for the fiscal year. That figure complemented the 115.6 percent operating income climb and 47.7 percent profit increase.[43]

Last year, Nintendo'''s operating income more than doubled to $4.7 billion thanks to a whopping 73% jump in sales to $16.2 billion. Its profit margins edged up to 29%, from an already impressive 23% the previous year.[37] Operating profit - which is sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses - will probably climb 8.8 per cent to 530 billion yen, Nintendo added.[25] Sales jumped 73 per cent to a record 1.67 trillion yen, and operating profit more than doubled to 487.22 billion yen, also marking a record high.[5] Sales jumped 73 percent to more than 1.67 trillion yen ($16.07 billion) while operating profits soared 115.6 percent to more than 487 billion yen ($4.69 billion).[6] "Brain-training" DS games also did well. With a stronger yen cutting into its overseas earnings, the Kyoto-based company sees a more modest 8.8 percent increase in operating profits to 530 billion yen and a 7.6 percent gain in revenue to 1.80 trillion yen.[4]

The company said operating profit jumped to a record 487.22 billion yen, up 115 percent from 226.02 billion yen the previous year.[26] The Nikkei business daily said on Thursday the firm's operating profit is likely to be about 42 billion yen for the year ending in March, down 19 percent from the estimate for the year just ended.[15]

The Japanese game creator saw its profit surge 47.7 per cent to a record 257.34 billion yen (2.5 billion dollars) in the year through March, compared to a year before.[5]

The Kyoto-based maker of the Wii video game machines said net profit rose 47.7 percent to 257.34 billion yen.[32] Nintendo's net profit increased 47.7 percent to 257.34 billion yen ($2.5 billion).[22]

Net profit also went ballistic -- in a good way -- by about 48%, coming in at $2.5 billion. Yeah, the Wii console was a big driver, but don't forget that little handheld wonder called the Nintendo DS -- people sometimes miss that part of the tale, and they shouldn't.[47]

Wii sales pushed Nintendo's fourth quarter profit up 60 percent, but slowing Nintendo DS sales have the company forecasting only moderate growth.[17] Nintendo reported that their fourth-quarter profit jumped 60%. The company has a bit subdued outlook with forecasting only a modest annual growth of 9% as sales of its DS handheld machine slow.[31]

Nintendo has had a good year with sales up 73-percent, operating income up 115.6-percent, and profit up 47.6-percent on the back of the hugely successful Wii and continued strong sales of the DS handheld.[41]

The continued dominance of the Sony system can in part be attributed to the success of Capcom's Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, which sold another 124,000 units during the week ended April 20 to retain the No2 spot in the Japanese software chart. Nintendo's DS was in second place with almost 45,000 sales, while the Wii trailed its handheld sibling by just 310 unit sales. Sony's PlayStation 3 again fell short of the 10,000 sales mark, only narrowly outselling its predecessor, while Xbox 360 sales just topped 1,000 units.[48] After having the next-gen console race to itself for a year, the Xbox 360 has been in a three-way battle since the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii launched in November 2006. After being roundly outsold by the Wii for most of last year --save for September, when Halo 3 debuted--the console found its sales bested by the PlayStation 3 in January and February.[49] Of the big three video game console makers, Nintendo is the one that stands to lose the most if a recession hits. That'''s because it has wooed ordinary consumers who might not normally buy a video gaming machine but were drawn in by the DS'''s easy-to-use touch screen and the Wii'''s motion-sensing remote controller, which can be swung like a baseball bat or pointed at the screen and shot like a gun. During the good times, those consumers helped Nintendo put some distance between itself and Microsoft'''s Xbox 360 and Sony'''s PlayStation 3. The diehards who make up most of Microsoft'''s and Sony'''s buyers are likely to continue adding to their gaming libraries even if the economy stalls, and that makes Nintendo'''s rivals more resilient to a slowdown.[37]

Nintendo this week said that it does not plan to discount the Wii home video game console or the Nintendo DS handheld in the near future, company president Satoru Iwata said Fri.[22]

Despite the natural slowdown in sales since the holiday, Wii consoles remain tough to find in U.S. stores. Nintendo of America topper Reggie Fils-Aimes told Wired.com this week that North America remains the only market with a short supply and that worldwide distribution is determined at the Japanese headquarters. "We are passionately upset about the lack of product relative to demand," he said. Company's DS handheld remains its biggest seller, however.[3] Nintendo says it shipped 18.61 million Wii consoles to retailers and distributors during the last 12 months, making for a worldwide total of 24.45 million Wii consoles out the door since they began shipping in November 2006. Nintendo forecasts shipping an additional 25 million Wii consoles during its new fiscal year.[17] For the fiscal year that began April 1, 2008, Nintendo forecasts global Wii console shipments increasing to 25 million.[45]

During the current fiscal year, Nintendo forecasts shipments of an additional 28 million Nintendo DS units.[6] As for Nintendo's handheld business, the ubiquitous DS shipped an incredible 30.31 million units worldwide in the last fiscal year, bringing the total worldwide shipment to 70.6 million.[6] The DS sold over 30 million units on a global basis during the fiscal year, while the Wii sold over 18 million units.[47] Wii sales were 18.61 million units, roughly 3.2 times the sales in the preceding fiscal year.[42] In the fiscal year just ended, the company posted sales of more than $16 billion as Wii shipment have approached 25 million worldwide.[6]

The company also delivered 18.61 million Wii consoles, up from 5.84 million units in the previous year. Sales of both consoles exceeded the company's targets.[32] Wii sales in Japan rang in at around 3.9 million units, but the console proved to be a bigger hit here with 8.2 million units sold in North and South America. Lastly, the Wii would net 6.4 million units in sales outside of these markets.[7]

At the end of March, cumulative Japanese sales of Nintendo DS stood at 22.38 million units, exceeding the 20 million units conventionally seen as the sales ceiling in Japan.[21] Accumulated sales of Nintendo DS reached 70.6 million units, making it the world's best-selling portable game machine.[32] Sales of the "Nintendo DS" and Nintendo DS Lite increased 28.7% YoY to 30.31 million units.[42]

Sales in Japan during that period fell 30% to 6.3 million machines from more than 9 million. (U.S. and European sales remained strong.) This year's projected DS sales of 28 million units shows that falling sales in Japan could offset growth elsewhere for the first time.[37] Combined with the amount sold over previous years, DS sales have now reached 70.6 million units since the original model's launch.[7] Key title Pokemon Diamond / Pearl has sold 9.56 million units worldwide during the year, for a 14.77 million lifetime total. Combined sales of both Brain Training (aka Brain Age ) games sold 11.81 million units for a total of 23.81 million.[39] Ubisoft, meanwhile, reported a 34% jump in sales to E928 million ($1.32 billion). Its stealth action title "Rainbow Six Vegas 2" sold a healthy 2 million units since its March debut, while November release "Assassin's Creed," which sold 2.5 million units in its first month, reached a total of 6 million by the end of March.[3]

Last year, the company sold 30 million DS consoles, up 29% from the previous year, putting the cumulative total at 70.6 million units.[37] Brawl ]] Super Smash Bros. Brawl has sold 4.85 million units worldwide alone, and that's before the game even launches in the UK. This isn't counting the millions of Virtual Console games being sold, which amount to almost pure profit for Nintendo.[38] In the year, Nintendo plans to sell 25 million units of Wii, up 34.3 pct, and 177 million game software units for the machine, up 48.0 pct.[9] Nintendo also said that it shipped 119.6 million software units for the Wii in the last fiscal year.[6] For fiscal year 2009 the company expects to ship 177 million Wii software units.[6]

Nintendo sold an astounding 30.3 million units in the fiscal year, up from 23.6 million in the last fiscal year.[3] Nintendo said it shipped 185.62 million DS software units in fiscal 2008 and the company is anticipating shipment of another 187 million units in fiscal 2009.[6] The company predicts DS sales will drop 7.6 percent over the next twelve months to 28 million units compared to fiscal 2007.[7]

The publisher reported full fiscal 2008 results that saw net sales rise a dramatic 73 percent year over year to 1.67 trillion ($16.2 billion), while profits saw a similarly impressive 47 percent leap to 257 billion ($2.5 billion).[28] For the six-month period ending September 30, Nintendo expects net sales of 760 billion (about $7.2 billion), a year-over-year rise of 9.4 percent, with profits actually dropping off 5.6 percent to 125 billion (about $1.2 billion).[28]

Nintendo expects sales to grow 7.6% YoY to 1.8 trillion, operating income to rise 8.8% YoY to 530 billion and net income to increase 26.3% YoY to 325 billion in the year ending March 2009 (April 2008 to March 2009).[42]

Net income will probably reach 325 billion yen ($3.13 billion) in the 12 months to March 31, 2009, from 257.3 billion yen a year earlier, Nintendo said today.[13] Net income will probably climb 26 percent to 325 billion yen ($3.14 billion) in the 12 months ending March 31, 2009, Nintendo said today. That missed the 337.1 billion yen median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of six analysts.[18]

The Kyoto-based company reported a group net profit of 257.34 billion yen ($2.5 billion) for the March-April period compared with 174.29 billion yen a year earlier.[1] The growth in net profit was much slower than operating income because the company incurred foreign exchange losses of 92.3 billion yen due to the rapid appreciation of the yen.[32] The company predicted another year of record net profits but said the pace of growth would slow as a stronger yen curbs overseas revenues.[4]

In the year that ended in March, Nintendo's net profit grew 47.7 pct from the previous year to 257,342 million yen.[9] TOKYO -- Nintendo recorded a 48% jump in net profit for the fiscal year ending in March 2008, despite big exchange rates losses, the company announced Thursday.[46] Nintendo today announced its earnings for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008, revealing the company's continued success with record revenues and profits.[6]

Not all is jolly in Nintendo-land. The company'''s forecasts for this year are far less impressive, with single-digit gains expected for both revenues and operating profits in the current fiscal year. This reflects a simple fact: Fewer consumers will be blowing their paychecks on video games if the economy turns south.[37] The company's revenues have now hit a whooping Yen 966.5 billion or 5.95 billion euros, which is a 90% increase on the 2006-07 financial year while operating profits enjoyed a 150% rise.[29] Operating profit is estimated to rise 8.8 pct to 530 billion yen, on sales of 1.8 trillion yen, up 7.6 pct.[9]

Sales gained 73 percent to 1.672 trillion yen ($16.2 billion). The company this month said that Wii Fit will retail for $89.99 and include the Wii Balance Board to facilitate more than 40 yoga, aerobics, and strength training exercises.[22] A yearly profit of ''257 billion (''1.25 billion) on sales that increased by 73 per cent to ''1.67 trillion (''8.1 billion) underlines exactly how popular the company'''s Wii and DS machines are right now.[40] A massive annual profit increase of almost 50 per cent was better than expected, but Nintendo chose to temper the mood somewhat by predicting growth for the full year ahead of just under 9 per cent, based on the probability of hardware sales slowing down.[40] The financial service also noted that Nintendo's 7.6 percent sales gain would be the slowest growth for the publisher in three years. Nintendo's stock slipped 1.4 percent to 57,900 (about $554) per share on the Tokyo Stock Exchange after its earnings announcement, with the publisher's stock down 13 percent on the year.[28]

Only soft note was guidance, as Nintendo predicted modest revenue growth of just 8% for the current fiscal year to $17.5 billion, due in large part to the yen's brutal exchange rate.[3] The tally came in slightly above the 1.63 trillion (about $15.6 billion) in revenue Nintendo predicted it would earn in January. As part of its fiscal year '08 results, Nintendo also outlined its projections for the upcoming financial year.[28]

Nintendo predicts profits up to $3.1 billion for the coming fiscal year.[23] Nintendo Profits Up 48% To $2.5 Billion In Full Year Results Officials from Nintendo have released details of the company's full year results, for the period ended March 31st, 2008.[39]

The company posted $16.1-billion in sales and a profit of $2.48-billion, though the company has suffered losses related to the strengthening Yen on the dollar and Euro, with the company experiencing a foreign exchange loss of about $900-million in 2007. In 2008 the company expects about $117-million in forex losses, with 80-percent of Nintendo's business being doing outside of its home country Japan.[41] 'Because the sales of Nintendo Wii have already topped what is considered to be the up-limit line, it is not realistic to see any further growth in Japan,' spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa told Thomson Financial News. 'But given the fact that DS is in a state of supply shortage outside Japan, we can expect sales growth in overseas markets,' he said.[32] Sales of Nintendo DS are expected to continue growing in Europe and the United States, where the game machine is still in short supply. The latest title of the popular Dragon Quest software series for Nintendo DS is to be released in Japan this year, a move that could very well lead to a boost in sales of the portable game machine.[21]

TOKYO (Reuters) - Nintendo Co Ltd (7974.OS: Quote, Profile, Research ) said it has no plan to cut the prices of its Wii console and DS handheld players this year, underscoring its confidence in continued demand for the Japanese videogame maker's two growth engines.[14] Growth is based partly on the success of the hugely profitable Wii console. During the 12 months ending March 31, 2008, Nintendo shipped 18.61 million Wii console to its distributors and retail customers globally, bringing the worldwide total to 24.45 million since its debut in November 2006.[45] Capcom has already seen massive worldwide success with both Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition and Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles on Nintendo's immensely popular Wii console, with the duo easily surpassing a million sales each around the globe. It was hardly any surprise to hear yet another entry into the popular survival horror franchise was on the cards.[50]

Due for release on 10th July, 2008 in Japan, and not currently scheduled for a release in the U.S. or across Europe and Australia, the game is being priced at the very reasonable cost of 4,190 yen (~''20 / 26 Euros), which in Japanese terms is around a third less than normal priced releases. This is being deemed as very appropriate, though, considering this will not be a remake on the scale of Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, rather more of a simple port that does not even make the best possible use of the Wii's motion control set-up. This seems to be more a case of Resident Evil 0 not meeting the sales expectations of Capcom on the underperforming GameCube and the company hoping for a new lease of life on the Wii, tapping into the Resident Evil fan-base that has now been built up on the console.[50] Sales forecasts for next year have been pared down to just 7.6 percent due to a negative economic outlook and a rising Yen, as more than 80 percent of the company's income flows from outside of Japan.[43] The company also forecast that sales could grow 7.6 percent to 1.8 trillion yen. The firm enjoyed a huge 73 per cent year-on-year jump in revenues in its FY statement.[25]

Sales rose 73% to 1.67 trillion yen as it sold more Wii and DS devices than it expected.[8]

Though only a fraction of the 342 new game titles for the DS and 184 for the Wii came out of Nintendo'''s own studios last year, it earns from royalties from every game sold.[37] "Historically, the video game business hasn't been influenced by economic swings," Iwata said, adding that in tight economic times, people often opt to stay home and play video games rather go out and spend money. Nintendo will release several new games this spring, including a racing game called the Mario Kart Wii. The Wii Fit exercise game, which has sold well in Japan, will also make its debut soon in the U.S. and Europe.[20] The SKU will include a new Wii Wheel peripheral for wireless racing action. NPD Group Inc. this month reported that the Wii sold 720,000 units in the month of Mar. to rank as the No. 1 video game hardware in the U.S. for the month.[22]

Nintendo's Wii proved to be no slouch either, selling 18.61 million units over the past year. [7] Annual Wii sales totaled 18.61 million, while DS sales hit 30.31 million units.[26] Breaking down things down, the DS sold 6.36 million units Japan, while North and South American sales reached 10.6 million units.[7]

Microsoft reported over 17 million sales in January and 18 million in February. While these numbers are impressive, you have to take into account that the system was launched in Japan last year for the first time with Oblivion, and Microsoft also dropped the price of the system in the UK which caused a huge surge in consumers purchasing the unit.[19]

Offering an innovative online service is important for the PS3, which has been running behind Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360 in total unit sales.[51] Nintendo Wii remains the cheapest gaming console in the market though Microsoft has lowered the price of the Arcade edition of Xbox 360 to come pretty close to that mark.[34]

TOKYO (AP) — Nintendo does not plan to cut prices of its popular Wii gaming console or DS handheld game system anytime soon, the company's president said Friday.[20] Nintendo does not anticipate cutting prices on its popular Wii or DS handheld game systems, President Satoru Iwata told an analyst meeting on Friday.[33] According to Reuters, Nintendo revealed today that it has no plans to cut prices for the Wii or DS systems. Speaking to analysts, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata expressed his confidence in both systems going forward.[27]

Monster Hunter wasn't first for the week, though. That honor went to Mario Kart Wii, which sold 201,508 units in its second week. Below Monster Hunter was the Nintendo and Red Company DS RPG collaboration, Bokura ha Kaseki Horida, which sold 35,363 units in its first week.[52] As with previous weeks, though Mario Kart Wii remained atop the the software charts, it was again the continued popularity of Capcom's Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G driving hardware sales. After falling some 35,000 units the week prior, the PSP maintained its holding pattern and sold 85,421 units, down by just 300, making it still the best selling console in Japan for the week.[53] "Wii console sales are still on an upward trend,'' Koki Shiraishi, an analyst with Daiwa Institute, said before results were released. "I don't expect them to peak this fiscal year.''[13] For the current fiscal year, Ubisoft is expecting sales to grow to $1.42 billion.[3]

In a conference call, Ubisoft topper Yves Guillemot reportedly said that "Assassin's Creed," which polarized critics, will be a franchise for the company, with sequels likely in the years to come. Company also touted its casual "Games for Everyone" line, which saw sales triple to $326.13 million.[3] Nintendo of Europe's sales were only slightly less at '620.4 billion ($6.0bn). Despite these figures, the ratio of overseas sales for the company rose from 66.5 percent to 80.6 percent.[39] Overall the Japanese division of the company saw sales of '1.43 trillion ($13.7bn), while Nintendo of America reported sales of '662.2 billion ($6.4bn).[39]

Sales were up by 73.0 percent over the last twelve months to a total of '1.67 trillion ($16.1bn), and profits up 47.7 percent to '257.3 billion ($2.5bn).[39] Despite stable sales of $14.5 billion, Microsoft's third quarter profits have fallen 11 per cent to $4.39 billion.[54]

Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices nears $1.57 billion on "robust demand" for console; cumulative hardware sales now top 19 million.[49]

"Cumulative console sales surpassed 19 million during the quarter, up 74 percent from a year ago."[49] Sales of the Wii, featuring a motion-sensing controller that replicates user actions onscreen, are expected to climb 34 percent to 25 million consoles.[18]

Brawl fighting game and the imminent launch outside Japan of the Wii Fit home fitness program are expected to drive sales and help Nintendo shrug off unfavourable currency rates.[16] " e believe Nintendo could launch a refresh of its handheld platform if sales momentum does not continue," Sebastian said. This isn't the first time an analyst has suggested a new version of the DS. Last November, Pacific Crest Securities' Evan Wilson cited contacts in the industry as telling him the redesign is already complete, and Nintendo was just waiting to unveil it until DS sales tapered off in the U.S., Europe, and Japan.[35] Sebastian said Nintendo is planning to spark DS sales in the future by pushing further into the mainstream consumer market with new features and games designed for non-traditional gamers.[35] European sales of the "Nintendo DS Lite" portable game console etc were favorable.[42]

Contrast that with Nintendo's strong sales in Europe, North America, and Japan, and you have a company that does well worldwide. Nintendo's strength in multiple regions, as well as almost surreal sales of both its portable and console system, make it a very formidable foe in the market.[38] There is also the fact that Nintendo is doing well in multiple regions, which is a large advantage against Sony and Microsoft's weak sales worldwide. Microsoft may sell well in the U.S., but it's death in Japan, and is beaten by Sony in Europe.[38]

For the current year to March 2009, Nintendo aims to achieve another set of record earnings and sales.[32] Tokyo - Nintendo Co reported record earnings for fiscal 2007 that ended in March, thanks to the strong popularity of game consoles, the company said Thursday.[5]

The U.S. audience is even hungrier for Wii games, as the attach rates for systems in America is 7.48 games per system. In the past fiscal year, Nintendo increased its amount of million-sellers on the Wii from five to 26. [[ Super Smash Bros.[38] A firmer yen hurts Nintendo (other-otc: NTDOY.PK - news - people ) as it reduces the value of foreign currency-denominated assets which it reevaulates according to the exchange rate at the end of each fiscal year.[32]

Nintendo shares fell 1.4 percent to 57,900 yen before earnings were reported. The stock has dropped 13 percent this year, after more than doubling in each of the past two years.[13] Nintendo shares fell 0.3 percent to 57,884.1 yen in Frankfurt trading after the earnings were announced.[18]

Despite the competition, the Xbox 360 is helping Microsoft turn a profit the size of many country's entire economies. According to an earnings report filed today, the software giant's Entertainment and Devices Division--which includes income from the Xbox 360, Games for Windows, and Zune multimedia handheld--saw its quarterly revenue surge 68 percent. [49] While the Xbox 360 is doing a bang up job on the market, Windows software dropped 24% and earnings from online advertising were much lower than originally projected. Plus, when Microsoft decided to try and purchase Yahoo for 44.6 billion, it had a negative impact on their stock prices. You see, while it is indeed nice to think of yourself as King of the World, Bill sometimes makes horrid decisions that not only affect his company, but the general public as well - however, like anything else any negative impact on stock or another Widows fiasco won't hurt them much.[19]

Earnings were hurt by a $1.42 billion fine levied on the company by the European Union and helped by an 18 percent rise in server and tools division revenue.[49]

The company, which is based in Kyoto, reported a group net profit of 257.34 billion, or $2.5 billion, compared with 174.29 billion a year earlier.[12] "The profit growth figure is weaker than I'd expected,'' said Yoshihisa Okamoto, a Tokyo-based fund manager at Mizuho Asset Management Co., which oversees $26 billion of assets, including Nintendo shares.[18] Currency fluctuations and weaker U.S. demand contributed to the slower-than-expected growth, said Okamoto, who had estimated profit of 350 billion yen.[18]

No huge surprise given the sheer demand for their systems and the profits that Nintendo is raking in. It looks like the Wii isn't coming down from its $250 price anytime soon.[27] In addition to the strong game business, an anticipated reduction in foreign exchange losses will also contribute to stronger profits, according to the company. President Satoru Iwata revealed at a press conference that the company is planning to increase its Wii output to meet demand toward the year-end shopping season.[9]

To keep up with the growing demand, the company plans to bump up Wii monthly production from 1.8 million units to 2.4 million units by summer.[3] Currently only released in Japan, Wii Fit has already sold a total of 1.85 million units.[39] The original PlayStation and PlayStation 2 sold more than 100 million units each worldwide, helping Sony dominate the game industry for a decade from the mid-1990s. Its latest machine has had a slow start due to high prices and scarcity of strong game titles at the launch.[51] TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp's game unit said on Tuesday it was delaying the launch of its "Home" 3D virtual online community service for the PlayStation 3 game console to autumn of this year, the second such delay. Sony last year postponed the launch of the "Home" service, which is aimed at giving users a place to interact with other PS3 users, to early this year from last autumn.[51]

"Wii Fit" fitness game sold 1.85 million titles in the year ended March 2008. [42] People should remember that this is not the total sold to customers. They havent sold 1m a month so far in 2008, they have sold 1m a month to retailers. The 360 has actually sold about 2.5m so far in 2008 to customers which incidentally is about 1m less than the PS3 (even though its half the price in most of the world) and 4.5m less than the Wii. Its also about 200k fewer than the 8 year old PS2, 1.6m fewer than the PSP and 5m less than the DS which of course puts it firmly in 6th (last) place in the 2008 console charts so far.[19] In the case of the Wii, a total of 18.61 million consoles were sold worldwide for a lifetime total of 24.45 million.[39]

During the 12 months ending March 31, 2008, Nintendo shipped 30.31 million Nintendo DS systems worldwide, bringing the total worldwide shipment to 70.6 million.[45] The big cash cow for Nintendo was clearly the DS, selling approximately 30.31 million units over the last twelve months.[7] Interestingly, DS sales would be higher outside of the aforementioned markets with 13.3 million units for "the rest of the world".[7] The PSP's success is, of course, attributed to Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, which sold an additional 123,855 units over the week. Capcom has already shipped two million units for the title, which will likely soon overtake its predecessor, Monster Hunter Portable 2nd, in overall sales.[52] Sales in Japan, the U.S. and the other regions were 3.9, 8.24 and 6.47 million units, respectively.[42] By region, sales in Japan, the Americas and the other regions accounted for 6.36, 10.65 and 13.30 million units, respectively.[42]

For the week covering April 14 to April 20, Media Create's sales charts put Sony's portable at 85,421 units, besting the DS Lite's 44,551 units and the Wii's 44,241 units. It wasn't all good news for Sony, though. [52] It's funny but with everyone focusing on the Wii, the DS kind of gets overlooked as it merrily clocks up sale after sale.[40]

Publisher expects sales up 7.6 percent to $17B next year--the Mario Factory's slowest growth in three years. [28] Gameloft: iPhone, N-Gage to Drive Growth Mobile games firm Gameloft has reported an increase in Q1 sales, and expects growth to continue on the back of a burgeoning mobile market.[26]

The video game darling announced the Nintendo Channel on Wednesday, which will facilitate user-generated reviews of WiiWare games, followed by the announcement of record sales a day later.[44] Nintendo posted record sales and profits for the quarter ending in March.[44] Nintendo says annual net profits surge 47.7 per cent to record - BizTech Welcome to The Sydney Morning Herald.[24]

The company marked record highs across the board, with sales jumping 73.0% year-on-year (YoY) to 1.672423 trillion (US$16 billion), operating income soaring 115.6% YoY to 487.22 billion and net income increasing 47.7% YoY to 257.342 billion.[42] For the financial year ending June 30, 2008, the company expects operating income of $26.7 billion to $27.4 billion on $66.9 billion to $68.0 billion in revenue.[49] For the three months ended March 31, the division saw $1.57 billion in revenue, up from $936 million the prior year.[49]

Operating income for the period was just $89 million--an improvement over the $324 million loss the company took the year before, as outcry over widespread 360 hardware failures was reaching a fever pitch. In a statement, Microsoft called out the division as being one of the crown jewels of its multibillion-dollar empire.[49] The company now has ¥1.1 trillion ($10.5 billion) in cash and equivalents, up from ¥689 billion ($6.6 billion) last year.[38] At the end of March, the company held outstanding cash equivalent of $3.6 billion yen and 1.7 billion euros.[32]

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said the company does not expect to sell as many units annually in coming years as it did in the past two years. [21] If everyone wants something but there isn't enough of it to go around, prices aren't likely to come down. Nintendo has no doubt realized that demand for its hardware is high and supply is not, as it reportedly doesn't expect to bring down the cost of admission for either piece of hardware anytime this year.[35]

Nintendo stated again to raise the monthly production of Wii consoles to satisfy demand especially in the United States.[31] BioWare president Greg Zeschuk said that the Wii is less like a game console and more akin to a toy, citing Nintendo's emphasis on casual gaming exper. Publisher Activision recently revealed that its Foster City, CA-based Underground Development studio will be closed by the end of May, GamesIndustry r. The BBC today announced that its iPlayer internet television service is now available to Nintendo Wii owners living in the United Kingdom.[2]

Overall in the software top fifty, there were thirty Nintendo DS titles, seven on the Wii, five on the PlayStation 2, five on PSP, and three on the PlayStation 3.[53] Nintendo claims declining Nintendo DS sales as reason for the conservative outlook.[31]

Satoru Iwata says the company hasn't factored hardware discounting into its forecast, as one analyst predicts slowing handheld sales will prompt another DS revamp.[35] The forecast was below analysts' expectations, but Iwata's comments are an indication that company is not concerned about slowing sales.[33]

Opinion: The Rough Road For Independent Console Developers In this provocative Gamasutra opinion piece, longstanding game agent/dealmaker and former Eidos president Keith Boesky explains why he believes mid-sized independent developers are in significant trouble in today's game market - and how it can be fixed. Report: Eidos To Shutter Marketing, PR, Sales Teams According to new media reports, Tomb Raider publisher Eidos is closing down its North American PR, marketing and sales departments as a condition of the financial infusion its parent company SCi received from Warner Bros. earlier today, meaning WB will publish the firm's titles in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.[39] The company is expecting a slowdown in 2008, with net income set to rise a more modest 26.3-percent and a mere 7.6-percent increase in sales.[41] The company'''s saving grace will be software sales, which are still on the rise.[37]

"The Entertainment and Devices revenue for the quarter grew 68 percent over the comparable period last year driven by robust demand for Xbox 360 consoles," the company said. [49] You would think there would be nothing but good news flying about after the stellar performance Nintendo put in last year.[37] Satoru Iwata had nothing but positive things to say, and made a point to say that Nintendo has faced skepticism before. Will Nintendo outperform the slim gains it predicts for the next fiscal year? That remains to be seen.[37] "Nintendo posted modest expectations for their next fiscal year, and this caused shares to drop by 2%.[37]

But MOST companies have their fiscal year ending in March, therefore since others are making announcements, it is only natural that Microsoft would as well even though it is not even close to June.[19]

Nintendo Co Ltd has announced its financial results for the year ended March 2008 (April 2007 to March 2008).[42] Nintendo's Game Boy portable game machine took more than 10 years to reach the milestone.[21] The channel will be used to rate WiiWare games, compensation of sorts for the lack of demos, offer downloadble DS demos, as well as announcements on Nintendo happenings. A similar channel launched in Japan in November 2007 and features streaming game video and developer interviews.[44] We also have a report from Reuters in Japan and Wii wins hefty profit boost for Nintendo on Guardian Unlimited.[45] Sony said in January that it would stop selling the two original PlayStation 3 models in Japan and focus on the new version amid fierce competition from Nintendo.[4] The Wii sells for 25,000 yen (241 dollars) in Japan while the slimmed down version of PlayStation 3 has a price tag of 39,980 yen.[4] Yep, Sony (NYSE: SNE ) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) still have something to worry about, as the Wii has taken the shine away from the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.[47] The Wii, too, fell by about 2,000 units to 44,241, despite Mario Kart's popularity. Elsewhere, the PlayStation 3 continued its soft decline during a light software release period, falling some 800 units to 7,438, while the PS2 fell some 2,000 units to 6,545.[53]

Ubisoft's 'Assassin's Creed' sold 2.5 million units in its first month of November, reaching a total of 6 million by the end of March. [3] Brawl has sold 4.85 million units in the U.S. and Japan (a European release date was announced today of June 27th).[39]

European sales climbed 133.1% YoY to 620.419 billion, while sales in Japan and the Americas rose 1.8% YoY to 337.477 billion and 87.2% YoY to 659.711 billion, respectively. [42] Iwata said that while sales in Japan have slowed, the DS maintains strong momentum in the United States and Europe, with considerable room for growth.[20] The DS again remained in second place, with sales falling some 3,000 units to 44,551.[53] The PS2 dropped down to 6,545 units, with the Xbox 360 completing Team Low Sales with 1,076 units.[52] There was little change in the hardware totals from last week, with PSP sales falling just 300 units.[48]

The total number of million selling titles for the format increased from 30 to 57 over the course of the year. [39] Helping out the profit marging on the software end were Pokemon Diamond and Pearl for a total of 10 million, with the Brain Training series adding another 12 million.[43]

The firm's Office and business applications division took a hit due to falling public demand, while a $1.42 billion fine from the European Commission also contributed to the lower profits.[54] The January-March period saw it earn $4.39 billion on $14.5 billion in revenue, down 11 percent from the same period in 2007.[49] For the current April-June quarter, Microsoft estimates it will have operating income of $5.8 billion to $6.2 billion on revenues of $15.5 billion to $15.8 billion.[49]

For the nine months ending March 31, the department took in $6.57 billion, a year-on-year increase of $1.65 billion.[49]

The Wii has seen a tie ratio of 6.07 games per system worldwide through March 31.[6] You can say that the Wii isn't particularly friendly to third-party games, and there might be some truth there; the majority of runaway successes on the Wii have been published by Nintendo itself.[38]

The past year has seen the publisher's ticker fluctuate wildly as analysts and investors alike doubt the publisher's continued ability to enthrall the masses with the Wii and DS.[28] The motion-sensitive Wii sells for $249 while the DS retails for $129.[22]

Here are the problems, though, that I alluded to at the opening. As of this writing, the ADR's are, according to AOL Finance, priced at $71.14 (the ADR's don't change during the day on this quote system, as they update after the close; I'm seeing a current bid on my brokerage's quote system of $68.50, so the shares might possibly go lower tonight). This represents something of a recent run-up, so I'm not interested in chasing the stock at these levels (last time I was interested in Nintendo, there was a price drop ). [47] The resurgence of the yen, the floundering dollar, and the inflated euro have all amounted to a tumultuous stock price for export-heavy Nintendo.[28]

Sony and Microsoft might have announced several price cuts on their consoles to make them more attractive to the end customer. Nintendo however has no such plans.[34] While Sony put the emphasis on chip power and ultra-realistic graphics for the latest addition to the PlayStation series, Nintendo opted to develop a cheaper, easy-to-use console that would appeal to a wider audience.[4]

Ahead of the release of the result, Nintendo closed Thursday down 0.7 percent at 58,200 yen. [32] During the last twelve months the company has seen revenues rise by 73 percent and profits up by 48 percent.[39]

Video game hardware typically sees price cuts after the first year of release. [22]

SOURCES

1. The Associated Press: Nintendo's profit surges on strong sales of Wii, DS
2. Nintendo Sells Over 25M Wii, 70M Nintendo DS Units; FY2008 Sales Exceed $16B, Profits Over $2.4B - Shacknews - PC Games, PlayStation, Xbox 360 and Wii video game news, previews and downloads
3. Nintendo's net profit jumps 48% - Entertainment News, Technology News, Media - Variety
4. AFP: Nintendo operating profits double amid brisk Wii sales
5. Nintendo reports record earnings for fiscal 2007 - Business
6. Video Game News, Video Game Coverage, Video Game Updates, PC Game News, PC Game Coverage - GameDaily
7. Nintendo profits jump almost 50 percent during fiscal 2007 - Neoseeker News Article
8. Free Preview - WSJ.com
9. Nintendo Forecasts Record Earnings in FY 2008
10. BBC NEWS | Business | Wii raises earnings at Nintendo
11. Nintendo sees 47.7% net income rise
12. Nintendos profit rises 47% - International Herald Tribune
13. Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
14. Nintendo: no plan to cut Wii, DS prices this year | Technology | Reuters
15. Japan stocks may hover ahead of corporate earnings - Forbes.com
16. Nintendo profit jumps 60% on Wii boom - Breaking News - Business - Breaking News
17. Wii Pushes Nintendo Profit Up 60 Pct - Video Game News - Digital Trends
18. Bloomberg.com: Asia
19. Microsoft Reports Global Xbox 360 Sales of 19 Million
20. The Associated Press: Nintendo bucks tradition, says no price cuts for Wii
21. Nintendo DS Sales Likely to Reach 100 M. Units in 2009
22. Punch Jump :// NEWS - Nintendo says no price cut for Wii, DS - Wii / DS
23. Gamasutra - Iwata: No Plans To Cut Wii, DS Pricing This Year
24. Nintendo says annual net profits surge 47.7 per cent to record - BizTech
25. Nintendo forecasts profit rise of 26% this year - news - www.mcvuk.com
26. Nintendo Reports Record Operating Profit : Next Generation - Interactive Entertainment Today, Video Game and Industry News - Home of Edge Online
27. Video Game News, Video Game Coverage, Video Game Updates, PC Game News, PC Game Coverage - GameDaily
28. Analysts cool on Nintendo '09 outlook - GameSpot Mobile News
29. Nintendo enjoying big time boom
30. News: Nintendo Fiscal Year 2008 Results Released - GamersHell.com
31. I4U News - Nintendo Q4 Profit surges 60% because of Wii
32. Japan's Nintendo operating profit more than doubles on strong game sales UPDATE - Forbes.com
33. Nintendo: No plans for Wii, DS price cuts | Crave : The gadget blog
34. Nintendo: No price cuts on Wii and DS this year
35. Nintendo: No Wii or DS price cuts in '08 - GameSpot Mobile News
36. HeraldNet: Wii won't be discounted
37. Games Inc. Nintendo Rakes It In. But For How Long? - BusinessWeek
38. Nintendo earnings reveal an unstoppable gaming juggernaut
39. Gamasutra - Nintendo Profits Up 48% To $2.5 Billion In Full Year Results
40. Nintendo 1up mushroom sends profits soaring | News | TechRadar.com
41. Nintendo To See Slowdown In 2008 After Posting Bumper 07 Results - Tom's Guide
42. Nintendo Profit Soars 47.7% as Wii Sales Triple -- Tech-On!
43. The Escapist : News : Nintendo Sales Rise 73 Percent for Year
44. Nintendo unveils new Wii channel, makes lots of money | Wii News | GamePro.com
45. Nintendo sales up 73% as Wii sales reach 24 million | Technology | Guardian Unlimited
46. Nintendo's profits go Wii - Asia entertainment news from Variety - varietyasiaonline.com
47. Nintendo scores earnings power-up, but can you possibly buy the stock here? - BloggingStocks
48. PSP Continues Winning Streak in Japan : Next Generation - Interactive Entertainment Today, Video Game and Industry News - Home of Edge Online
49. Xbox 360 division quarterly revs surge 68 percent - GameSpot Mobile News
50. Nintendic » First video of Resident Evil 0 on Nintendo Wii
51. Sony to delay 'Home' online service for PS3 again
52. IGN: PSP Stays at Top in Japan
53. Gamasutra - Monster Hunter Keeps PSP Up In Japanese Hardware Sales
54. Microsoft suffers profit drop - news - www.pcretailmag.com

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