Nintendo raises profit forecasts as demand for DS rockets

Japanese gaming giant Nintendo has lifted its full-year profits forecast to 90 billion Yen (660 million Euro) in light of stronger than expected demand for the Nintendo DS handheld console.

The company now expects to ship five million units of the console, which launched in the USA this week, by the end of its current financial year next March - up from prior estimates of four million.

Software sales for the system are expected to total 15 million units in the same timeframe, thanks to a line-up which includes titles from many of Nintendo's key franchises - including Mario and Pokemon.

As a result, the firm has lifted its estimates for full-year profits to 90 billion Yen (660 million Euro) from the previously projected 84 billion Yen (617 million Euro), with full year sales expected to hit 540 billion Yen (3.96 billion Euro).

The projected income figure represents a near-tripling of the firm's profit in FY 2004, when it reported net income of 33 billion Yen (242 million Euro) after announcing the first six-month loss in its history in the first half of the year.