Nintendo Wii, DS Lite Sales Surge

Sales and profits at Japanese games maker Nintendo are surging on strong sales of its new Wii console and DS handheld gaming device.

The company sold 3.2 million Wii consoles in November and December, together with 17.5 million pieces of software, it said today. The console launched first in the U.S. on November 19 and sales totaled 1.25 million units by the end of the year. In Japan, where it debuted on December 2, sales were 1.1 million units and in Australia and Europe, where it was on sale within a week of the Japan launch, sales reached 800,000 units before the year ended.

The successful launch of the console had a direct effect on Nintendo's financial results.

The company reported sales in the first nine months of its financial year, the period from April to December, were $5.9 billion, up 73 percent on the same period a year earlier. Net profit jumped 43 percent to $1 billion and operating profit, which more closely tracks performance of the core business more than doubled to $1.4 billion.

The popularity of Nintendo's DS also contributed to the performance. Nintendo sold just under 19 million units in the April to December period and the handheld became the fastest rising gaming platform ever in Japan. New Super Mario Bros sold 8.6 million units and other popular titles continued to perform well, including Touch! Generations, Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! and Nintendogs, the company said.

Net Profit, Game Sales Forecast

Earlier this month Nintendo, which is based in the western Japanese city of Kyoto, raised its financial forecasts for the full year because of the strong performance.

The company said it expects sales for the year to be $7.4 billion, a 22 percent increase on its previous forecast of $6.1 billion. Net profit is expected to be $992 million, 20 percent higher than previously predicted.

Nintendo kept the Wii console sales target for the full year unchanged at 6 million units but raised its Wii software sales forecast from 17 million games to 21 million games.