Dual screens to hurt DS profits

According to a recent Reuters report, Nintendo stated last week that the limited supply of LCD screens available for the Nintendo DS is expected to hurt the profits of the recently announced handheld--at least during its initial sales period. The most unique feature of the Nintendo DS is that it features dual LCD screens to deliver a somewhat unique gameplay experience. However, even Nintendo's main LCD supplier, Sharp, has conceded that meeting the demand for the system's launch might pose a problem.

"Ordinarily, if we said to a supplier that we plan to make a product with two screens, they would be happy. But this time they said, 'Two screens. That's a bit of a challenge,'" commented Iwata during last week's Electronic Entertainment Expo. "Of course, we have no intention of taking a huge loss in the beginning, but I'm not sure if we can efficiently boost profit from the start like we did with the Game Boy Advance. But this is something, I think, we can repair with time."