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News   Nintendo Sales Report
- Posted By Francis Bonnet, 05.23.2003

It's funny how everytime I post a report on Nintendo's sales they contradict my last report. Of course, last time I posted an article on Nintendo's sales I was raving how Gamecube was the #1 selling console in March and the The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker sold an amazing amount of copies in both the U.S. and Europe. That was about two weeks ago. Now Reuters is reporting that Nintendo sales aren't doing well at all. *Sigh* I just can't win... Here's the article in full:

TOKYO, May 22 (Reuters) - Japanese video game maker Nintendo Co Ltd 7974.OS said on Thursday its group net profit fell 36.8 percent in the latest business year as stiff competition in the industry hurt sales of its flagship GameCube console and games. Group net profit for the year ended March 31 totalled 67.27 billion yen ($572.1 million).

The weak results were not surprising since the company warned in April that its net profit would come in 18 percent below its November target of 80 billion yen because of slack demand for its GameCube machine and software.

Nintendo's once-dominant position in the video game console business has been hacked away by rival Sony Corp 6758.T .

Sony's PlayStation 2, with more than 50 million units shipped, occupies more than five times as many homes as Nintendo's GameCube. PlayStation has also handily outsold Microsoft Corp's MSFT.O Xbox console.

Nintendo also faces a formidable challenge from Sony on the handheld devices front, Nintendo's key earnings driver.

Sony last week unveiled plans to launch a portable gaming device, the "PSP", by the end of 2004, heaping further pressure on the creator of the Mario Brothers and Pokemon titles.

Nintendo's shares have shed about 12 percent since Sony's announcement.

For the year ahead, Kyoto-based Nintendo forecast a group net profit of 65 billion yen, far below analysts expectations for a profit of 95 billion yen. ($1=117.58 yen)

Things may seem bleak for Nintendo fans, but remember that Nintendo still pulled a profit this year, which is more than I can say for a few other companies trying to make money in the videogame buisness (*cough*cough* Microsoft*cough*).

The top spot in the current console war may be out of Nintendo's reach this time, but if they play their cards right it's very possible that Gamecube's successor (the NES 5, as I like to "unofficially" call it) could take the top spot in the next generation console war. As always, time will tell.

Source: Reuters