Nintendo raises full-year forecast
Nintendo Co, maker of the Wii game player, raised its profit forecast for a second time after the console outsold Sony Corp's PlayStation 3.
Net income for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008, will rise 58 percent to a record 275 billion yen ($2.4 billion), the Kyoto, Japan-based company said yesterday.
That compares with a July projection of 245 billion yen and the 273.4 billion yen average of 19 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Nintendo, whose market value more than doubled this year, sold 7.33 million Wii players in the first half, attracting consumers with tennis and boxing games that respond to a player's body movements.
The company will sell the Wii Fit exercise game at the end of the year to try to keep its lead against Sony and Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360.
"With a line-up of killer games on the way, the business will be smooth sailing," said Naoki Fujiwara, who helps oversee $3.2 billion at Shinkin Asset Management Co in Tokyo.
The release of Super Smash Bros and Wii Fit will bolster sales, he said. All three game makers are gearing up for the Christmas shopping season this year.
Bloomberg News
(China Daily 10/26/2007 page16)
