DS sales push Nintendo profits up

Nintendo has released its Q1 financial statement, showing continued strong sales for the DS handheld and its associated software - which have helped drive the company's profits up by ten per cent.

For the period ended June 30th, the company posted a net income of 15.6 billion Yen (105.9 million Euro), compared to 14.1 billion Yen (95.7 million Euro) for the previous year.

Net sales for the quarter reached 130.9 billion Yen (888.9 million Euro), up a massive 85 per cent on the 70.7 billion Yen for the same quarter a year earlier.

It's been suggested that the ongoing success of the DS and the recently introduced DS Lite have been responsible for growing the Japanese gaming market by 30 per cent - and the handheld has also performed well in the West.

After a positive US launch for the DS Lite, the company brought the redesigned handheld to Europe, shifting in excess of 200,000 units in the first ten days after launch.

As a result, Nintendo has significantly raised its full fiscal year forecast for the period ending March 31st, 2007. The company is projecting annual profits of 83 billion Yen (563.3 million Euro), compared to its earlier forecast of 65 billion Yen (441 million Euro).

Net sales are predicted to reach 640 billion Yen (4.4 billion Euro), up 40 billion Yen on earlier estimates from the firm.

Nintendo is committed to expanding the reach of the gaming market with the introduction of its novel gameplay ideas and controller innovations such as the touch-screen device, and looks set to further expand its reach with the forthcoming release of its low-cost, high innovation games console, the Nintendo Wii.