Nintendo may take a hit on early DS shipments - Iwata

The two-screen Nintendo DS console is unlikely to be as profitable from the outset as the Game Boy Advance was, company president Satoru Iwata has warned, with the complex design of the handheld presenting both financial and supply problems.

Speaking with news agency Reuters, Iwata-san said that the use of two screens in the system was presenting a challenge to LCD panel supplier Sharp, prompting fears that there may be a shortage of DS hardware at its launch later this year.

The system will also be more expensive to manufacture, at least partially as a result of this supply problem, and Iwata admitted that the company would not be able to capitalise on the DS in profit terms as effectively in its early lifespan as it did on the GBA.

However, he stopped short of saying that Nintendo would take a loss on sales of the DS hardware, as Sony is expected to on the PlayStation Portable and both Sony and Microsoft have done on their home console sales.

"Of course we have no intention of taking a huge loss in the beginning," he assured, "but I'm not sure if we can efficiently boost profit from the start like we did with the Game Boy Advance... This is something I think we can repair with time."