Wii Availability

 Nintendo’s Net income will probably be 230 billion yen ($2.6 billion) in the year ending March 31, 33 percent less than projected in October, Nintendo said today. The company also cut its forecast for operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and managerial expenses, by 16 percent to 530 billion yen. Nintendo cut its Wii sales forecast for the first time, hurt by recessions in Europe, Japan and the U.S. that forced Sony Corp. to project a record operating loss. The Kyoto-based maker of the motion-sensing Wii said the stronger yen will also erode earnings.
Last year, 10.2 million Wii consoles were sold in the U.S., the world’s largest video-game market, exceeding the joint 8.2 million for Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3, according to figures from NPD Group Inc.  “Seemingly unstoppable demand” in the U.S. and Europe had fueled conjecture that that game may be “recession-proof,” KBC Securities Japan said in a report this month. Still, the industry isn’t resistant to the global downturn, KBC said in the Jan. 22 report.

Leave a Reply