Cheaper Wii squeezes Nintendo

TOKYO: Nintendo Co, the world's largest maker of video-game players, reported its fourth consecutive drop in operating profit after a price cut for the company's flagship Wii console squeezed margins.

Operating profit, or revenue minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, fell 23 percent to 192.3 billion yen ($2.1 billion) in the three months ended Dec 31, as sales declined 10 percent to 631.9 billion yen.

The third-quarter figures were derived from nine-month earnings results reported by the Kyoto-based company yesterday.