Nintendo Wii And DS Sales Are Through The Roof

There’s no denying that Nintendo has had an enviable streak of success lately — between Wii and DS the company is reporting record profits.   There’s certainly a lesson to be learned by their strategy of concentrating their efforts on “fun” over horsepower.  Details from Nintendo follow.

Nintendo Co., Ltd. today announced that strong sales of Nintendo DS hardware and software and the successful launch of Wii have led to record consolidated sales and operational profit for the nine-month period ending Dec. 31, 2006 (*see attached). Recurring and net profits also set record highs. Nintendo maintains projections for record financial results through its fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2007.

Thanks to extremely strong Nintendo DS sales and the successful launch of Wii, Nintendo’s consolidated net sales were up 72.8 percent over the same nine-month period last year, and operating income was up 102.5 percent.

Nintendo also announced:
• During the first nine months of the current fiscal year, consolidated worldwide shipments of 19 software titles for Nintendo platforms reached or surpassed 1 million units. These include three Wii titles, 13 Nintendo DS titles and three Game Boy Advance titles.
• Nearly 1.4 million Wii hardware systems have connected to the Internet worldwide (as of 1/24/07)
• Approximately 1.5 million Virtual Console games have been downloaded and sold to customers worldwide (as of 1/24/07)
• More than 3.5 million unique users have enjoyed game play on Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for Nintendo DS, with far more than 100 million connections (as of 1/24/07)

The company held firm to its previous forecast for consolidated worldwide shipments of 6 million Wii hardware systems by the end of the fiscal year. Nintendo manufactured 4 million Wii systems by the end of 2006 and during that time sold and delivered 3.19 million to its distributors and retail customers around the world.

Nintendo Wii: What’s On The Horizon

The Wii lineup has been pretty diverse so far, with a solid mix of both first and third party titles.  But Nintendo Wii will be facing some serious competition globally this March, when PS3 finally makes its worldwide debut.  So what does the company have in store for Q1? 

Here’s what Nintendo has to say on the matter:

After watching everyone from gamers to grandmas fall under the spell of ground-breaking Wii games during the holidays, Nintendo fulfills its promise to continue the flow of fun for veteran and new gamers alike. Nintendo’s first-quarter lineup is filled with new games that expand the breadth and depth of the Wii library and build on the kind of fun that has made Wii such a smash hit. The first three months of the year are filled with games for everyone, from sure-fire favorites like Wii Play to SSX Blur and The Godfather Blackhand Edition from EA and a new Prince of Persia Rival Swords game from Ubisoft. Fans can enjoy the classic Nintendo franchises such as The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and the upcoming Mario Kart 64 for the Wii Shop Channel. And on Jan. 27, the News Channel goes live with global coverage provided by the Associated Press.

“Our tremendous worldwide launch shows people, from experienced players to non-players, are hungry for the kinds of entertainment only Wii provides,” says Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “Wii hardware production continues full bore, and every week we’re delivering more incredible content to further expand the experience.”

Casual game players who recently discovered or rediscovered the thrills of video games through games like Wii Sports™ and WarioWare™: Smooth Moves will be glad to know Wii Play, a collection of nine new games in the Wii Sports style, will be available Feb. 14. Wii Play includes games like Billiards, Fishing and Shooting Range, a target-practice game in the style of Nintendo’s classic Duck Hunt™. Wii Play comes packaged with a Wii Remote™ to highlight the fun multiplayer aspects of Wii, and to provide an incredible value.

Veteran gamers who spent countless hours playing through The Legend of Zelda®: Twilight Princess will find new challenges by entering worlds populated by everyone from Tiger Woods to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, thanks to a deep list of new offerings from third-party publishers.

Beyond the current library of 34 new Wii titles, the schedule for upcoming Wii releases includes:

Feb. 14 Wii Play with Wii Remote Nintendo
March 27 Disney’s Meet the Robinsons Buena Vista
March Bust-A-Move Bash Majesco
March Prince of Persia Rival Swords Ubisoft
March TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) Ubisoft
March Bionicle Heroes Eidos
March Blazing Angels Squadrons of WWII Ubisoft
Q1 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 EA
Q1 SSX Blur EA
Q1 The Godfather Blackhand Edition EA
Q1 Medal of Honor Vanguard EA
Q1 Sonic and the Secret Rings Sega

But new titles don’t begin to describe the array of game action available on Wii. With yesterday’s Virtual Console release of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past from the NES®, the library of downloadable Wii titles grows to 42. Also, next week will see the addition of an all-time favorite, Mario Kart 64. Nintendo will continue to make weekly announcements to update Wii owners about upcoming releases.

Meryl Streep Continues To Impress

There are some people who say that Meryl Streep is overrated, that her scores of nominations are not deserved and that she’s certainly not America’s greatest film actress. 

Those people are, of course, dead wrong.

Sadly, she won’t be able to attend the SAG awards this Sunday night.  But she’s got a mighty good reason.  The official statement from SAG:

 Meryl Streep will not be able to attend the Screen Actors Guild Award ceremonies on January 28, 2007. She will be co-hosting, with Al Gore, the 10th annual benefit for Harvard Medical School’s Center for Health and the Global Environment. Vice President Gore and she will present the Center’s Global Citizen award to H.R.H.

The Prince of Wales for his outstanding commitment to sound environmental stewardship. The event was planned a year ago, and Ms. Streep felt she was unable to renege on her commitment in spite of the honor of a nomination. “I am honored to be nominated and wish I could be there to celebrate with my fellow SAG members” says Streep.

Source: Gold Derby

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