Nintendo nine-month net profit tumbles 74 percent

TOKYO — Nintendo's nine-month profit tumbled 74 percent as weaker sales of the Wii console and a strong yen battered its bottom line. The lackluster results announced Thursday led the creator of the Super Mario franchise to slash sales expectations for its video game devices. Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. reported a net profit of 49.56 billion yen ($603 million) for the nine months through Dec. 31. The company did not break down quarterly numbers. It posted a 192.6 billion yen profit for the same nine-month period a year earlier. Sales dropped 32 percent to 808 billion yen, while operating profit fell 47 percent to 158.8 billion yen. While holiday sales were "robust," the numbers fell short of the US sales record set by the Wii and the DS handheld system the previous year, the company said. It also blamed the strong yen for 84.4 billion yen in exchange rate losses. Nintendo now says it will sell 16 million Wii consoles in the fiscal year through March 31. That's 1.5 million fewer than it predicted in its previous forecast. It cut its sales estimate for the DS by 1 million to 22.5 million units. The company left its earnings forecasts unchanged. It continues to expect net profit to fall more than 60 percent to 90 billion yen on revenue of 1.1 trillion yen. Nintendo is banking on the 3DS to propel sales and help the company regain momentum. The glasses-free handheld 3-D device is being billed by Nintendo as a unique experience not found anywhere else. It goes on sale Feb. 26 in Japan for a suggested retail price of 25,000 yen ($304). Sales in the US begin on March 27 for $250 — the same price the revolutionary Wii console cost when it launched in 2006. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told the Nikkei financial daily earlier this month that his company plans to ship about 1.5 million units of the 3DS in Japan in the first month. — AP