Nintendo has reported total lifetime sales of? ?96? ?million DS consoles as well as? ?45? ?million Wii consoles,? ?two records which have driven the company’s sales rise up? ?16.7? ?percent for the nine-month period ending December? ?2008.
Yet the company expects sales to take a turn for the worst in the remaining fiscal year. Though it has revised forecasts of DS sales up, expecting additional growth of 3 percent, Nintendo expects software for the handheld to drop 7 percent below previous expectations. Wii hardware too has seen a revision in sales projections, with Nintendo trimming its expectation both software and hardware figures down by 3 percent.
Unit turnover saw the company enjoy? ?$17? ?billion in sales for the nine month period,? ?with operating profit also climbing some? ?27? ?percent to? ?$5.6? ?billion.?
Yet the firm,? ?citing the strong yen which has stung export trade,? ?saw net profit drop sharply?; ?falling? ?18%? ?to? ?$2.4? ?billion.? ?Now the company expects its net income to shrink from previous projections,? ?down from? ?$3.8? ?billion? ?to? ?$2.55? ?billion?; ?down a third on original expectations and? ?falling? ?over? ?10? ?percent year-on-year.
Sony's Troubles
Sony has posted an operating loss for the quarter ended December 08. The company says it sold 4.46 million units PlayStation 3 during the three months, down from 4.9 million units (down 9 percent ) a year earlier. PSP sales were down from 5.76 million units to 5.08 million units.
Profit for the October-December quarter fell to 10.4 billion yen ($114 million), down from 200 billion yen a year ago. The PlayStation manufacturer posted an operating loss of 18 billion yen, compared to an operating profit of 236 billion yen last year. Revenues were down from 2.86 trillion yen to 2.15 trillion yen. Sony says it expects to post a loss for the year. The games unit suffered a 97 percent drop in operating profit.
Earlier this month Sony boss Sir Howard Stringer said, "demand has decreased, currency exchange rates have become dislocated, consumer credit has been stifled and some of our biggest retailers have been liquidated." The firm has said that it plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce in an effort to save costs.