Nintendo shows sales growth in nine-month financials

By Patrick Garratt

Nintendo’s posted strong sales figures for the nine months ending December 31, showing global sales of 1,536 billion yen, an increase of nearly 17 percent over the same period in 2007, along with 501 billion yen of operating profits, up 27 percent from a year ago.

The firm made adjustments to hardware estimates this morning, and has significantly reduced profits estimates for the year.

Highlights from the earnings report:

• Total LTD shipments of Nintendo DS hardware were 96.22 million worldwide, along with more than 533 million games.
• Total LTD Wii shipments reached nearly 45 million worldwide, along with over 312 million games.
• The LTD shipment of Wii Fit reached 14 million, and Mario Kart Wii reached 13.67 million.

While Nintendo’s sales lead the industry, the strong yen continues to batter Japanese firms: Sony also announced a grey set of financials this morning.