Nintendo released financial statements for the previous quarter today, revealing that demand for the Wii and DS platforms may finally be starting to slow in the face of the current recession - Nintendo's net sales have fallen by 40 percent compared to the same period last year.
According to Engadget the drop in net sales has created a 66 percent fall in quarterly operating profit, which Nintendo says is mostly due to slowing demand for the Nintendo Wii and the strengthening position of the Yen.
The lull is hardly surprising of course - the Wii and DS have been selling like the hottest of hotcakes for a while now and may finally be reaching saturation point. Take the economic situation into account too and the drop in sales is entirely expected.
What isn't expected is the fact that Nintendo also attributes the drop in DS Lite and DSi sales to "increased competition in the handheld business from Apple's iPhone" - the first time Nintendo has really acknowledged the iPhone as a potential threat to the DS line.
Nintendo is still hopeful that it can perform on-target by the end of the year though - projecting that it'll sell 26 million Wiis and 30 million DS handhelds by the end of the year. Strangely, the DSi seems to be taking off quite well, despite being only a incremental upgrade on the DS Lite in our opinion - check out our DSi review for more details.
Which do you prefer for gaming on the go? A Nintendo DS, Sony PSP or an Apple iPhone? Let us know your thoughts in the forums.
According to Engadget the drop in net sales has created a 66 percent fall in quarterly operating profit, which Nintendo says is mostly due to slowing demand for the Nintendo Wii and the strengthening position of the Yen.
The lull is hardly surprising of course - the Wii and DS have been selling like the hottest of hotcakes for a while now and may finally be reaching saturation point. Take the economic situation into account too and the drop in sales is entirely expected.
What isn't expected is the fact that Nintendo also attributes the drop in DS Lite and DSi sales to "increased competition in the handheld business from Apple's iPhone" - the first time Nintendo has really acknowledged the iPhone as a potential threat to the DS line.
Nintendo is still hopeful that it can perform on-target by the end of the year though - projecting that it'll sell 26 million Wiis and 30 million DS handhelds by the end of the year. Strangely, the DSi seems to be taking off quite well, despite being only a incremental upgrade on the DS Lite in our opinion - check out our DSi review for more details.
Which do you prefer for gaming on the go? A Nintendo DS, Sony PSP or an Apple iPhone? Let us know your thoughts in the forums.
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