Nintendo’s wallet set to explode
Slowdown expected as DS sales dip, however
The Big N has announced record profits for its fiscal year ending March 31st, with a whopping $5.64 billion (about £3.73 billion in real money) bulging from its oversized wallet, up 14 per cent from the previous year. Clearly the DSi has brought in the bucks.
But it’s not all sunshine and mushrooms. Nintendo put a bummer on its own celebration as it warned of an expected dip as DS sales slow down this year.
It’s estimated an 11.8 per cent decline in its operating profits for this year (personally I’d have rounded that up to 12 per cent, but there you go) as the handheld market slows down.
At least Nintendo has the leeway in its profits to absorb a slowdown, having sold more home consoles than both Sony and Microsoft put together, though it’s interesting to see Nintendo pinning its poorer prospects on the handheld market.
Although Nintendo would (quite reasonably) never admit it, these projected figures suggest expectations of the DS losing ground to the iPhone and iPod touch, with the possibility of the PSP2 also hampering DS sales come Christmas.
It also highlights the necessity for Nintendo to crack on with a new handheld console - and not rely on hardware updates.
Regardless of a difficult summer ahead, Nintendo apparently has $9 billion in cash stuffed under its enormous mattress, and its stock went up after the announcement. So much for a recession, eh?
