Tokyo - Nintendo, maker of the hit Wii game console, said profit for April through December fell 9% after price cuts and the rising yen tarnished strong holiday sales.
Nintendo reported on Thursday a ¥192.6bn profit for the nine months through December 31, down from ¥212.5bn a year earlier. Sales retreated 23% to ¥1.18 trillion.
Kyoto-based Nintendo blamed a lackluster first half and a strong yen for overshadowing robust holiday sales. A 20% price cut of the Wii also eroded profitability.<>p/
Since Nintendo launched its Wii console in 2006, it has consistently outsold rivals by targeting casual gamers. Rival systems from Sony and Microsoft have begun to catch up, but Nintendo showed over Christmas that it was still the one to beat.
To stay competitive, Nintendo lowered the price of the Wii to ¥20 000 from ¥25 000 in Japan, and to $200 from $250 in the US before the year-end shopping season. The move followed price cuts by Sony and Microsoft earlier in the year.
US sales of the Wii hit 3.8 million units in December, which was more than Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 combined, according to market researcher NPD Group. Nintendo set a record for most gaming systems ever sold in a single month.
Vulnerable to foreign exchange fluctuation
The company's "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" was the month's top-selling game in the US, followed by "Wii Fit Plus," the exercise game, and "Wii Sports Resort."
"These strong software titles, coupled with the price reduction on the Wii hardware and other factors, combined to drive sales of Wii hardware strongly in the holiday season," Nintendo said.
The company does not break down quarterly numbers for net profit. Its nine-month figures suggest a net profit of ¥123.1bn and sales of ¥634.1bn for the October-December quarter, according to calculations by The Associated Press. That would represent a 9% fall in sales, but a 82% jump in net profit from the same period last year.
Nintendo said it sold 17.05 million Wii game consoles around the world in the nine months through December, short of the 20.52 million sold last fiscal year. It sold 23.35 million DS handheld consoles, down from 25.62 million.
Wii software sales fell 4% to 156.6 million units.
The company, which derives 85% of its revenue from outside Japan, is particularly vulnerable to foreign exchange fluctuations. A stronger yen reduces the value of repatriated overseas earnings.
It continues to forecast a ¥230bn profit for the full fiscal year through March on sales of ¥1.5 trillion. Nintendo expects to sell 20 million Wii machines and 30 million DS units for the year.
Nintendo reports earnings based on Japanese accounting standards.
- AP