Nintendo earnings warning predicted

Nintendo started 2009 on a high note, announcing nine-month revenues of $17.1 billion and touting another hit holiday sales season in the books. However, by July the picture had turned decidedly less rosy, with sales falling 40 percent and profits sinking 60 percent.

Now, Bloomberg reports that analysts are predicting that the Mario factory will cut its full-year revenue forecast as part of its upcoming quarterly earnings report, expected October 29. Analysts also expect the Kyoto-based company to announce its first profit decline since the launch of the DS in 2004.

Bloomberg compiled the predictions of 10 analysts, with the group's median prediction having net income falling 11 percent to ¥249.3 billion ($2.5 billion, £1.6 billion) during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2010. According to Satoru Kikuchi, an analyst at Deutsche Bank AG in Tokyo, the fall can be attributed to "sluggish sales in the first half [of the year], the price cut for the Wii and currency-related impact. Nintendo may cut its profit projection about 30 percent."

The falling figures come hot on the heels of the latest NPD Group report, which showed that Sony's PlayStation 3 and Wii enjoyed a US sales boost thanks to recent price drops. On September 27, the Wii dropped to $200 (£121), and the last week of August saw the introduction of the new $300 (£182) PS3 Slim.

Though the PS3 was September's top US console with 491,000 units, it still lagged behind the DS's 524,200-unit haul. Also, Nintendo pointed out that the Wii's 462,800-unit total jumped 67 percent over August, even though the console's price drop took effect during the last week of the month.

Last--and, sales-volume-wise, least of the big three--Microsoft fired its own shot in the price wars. It dropped the price of its Xbox 360 Elite to $300 (£182), helping the software giant sell 352,600 units.