Revolution coming in the Spring

[Crash]

Just gotta make it through the Winter and you'll be playing (or watching someone else play) the Nintendo Revolution:

sales figures for the company’s fiscal half year. Overall, GameCube sales underperformed, but various other factors such as DS sales and a weakened Yen have nearly doubled profit estimates.

Sales fell from approximately 190 billion Yen, about $1.7 billion, to 175 billion Yen, about $1.54 billion. The report put forth by Nintendo attributed the waning figures to lessened sales of GameCube hardware and software. The decline is furthered by the fact that third-party developers are focusing their attention on creating new titles for next-generation consoles, including Revolution.

Nintendo’s Senior Marketing Director Yoshihiro Mori commented on the situation, saying “the big drop for GameCube games was in North America,” and that the “product’s life is nearing its end.”

Regarding handheld sales, price cuts on the Nintendo DS have lowered profits, but overall the sales figures on the machine have boosted earnings worldwide. Additionally, the Yen’s weaker exchange rate has offset the drop in overall sales, giving the Kyoto-company the ability to retain its revenue forecasts as well as increase estimates for the full fiscal year.

Nintendo also cited substantial development investment in its newest next-generation console as another factor for diminished margins. According to the report, the machine is expected to launch in Japan during the spring of 2006.