Andre Yoskowitz
28 Oct 2010 22:12
For the six fiscal months ended September 30th, 2010, Nintendo saw its first semi-annual loss in seven years, thanks mostly to a steep decline in DS handheld sales.
Year-over-year, DS sales (which include DS Lite, DSi and DSi XL) dropped to 6.69 million worldwide, from 11.7 million in the same period last year.
The drop in sales makes sense though, given that the market has been very close to saturation for some time. Additionally, the Nintendo 3DS is set for launch early next year, so consumers appear to be bidding their time and waiting on the new, updated handheld.
Helping contribute to Nintendo's falling bottom line was Wii sales, which fell from 5.75 million to 4.97 million in the same time periods.
With falling console sales came falling software sales, as well.
The Yen has made significant gains against the US Dollar in the past two years, leaving Nintendo's net income down 34 percent.