Nintendo has been racking up the numbers for a good two years now with both their console Wii and their mighty little hand held the DS. Nintendo continues to post amazing numbers with first quarter earnings for 2008 being reported over one billion dollars in profit.
The DS specifically has been the bread and butter for Nintendo for well over two years now. It does continue to sell at record pace all over the world. With over 77 million units sold through out they appears to be chugging along ever so smoothly.
But wait the last year has also shown a dramatic turn around for the DS in of all places their own backyard in Japan. In every other part of the world the DS continues to set sales records except for the first half of this year in Japan. The DS has seen a dramatic drop in sales of almost 3 million units in comparison to the same time last year. With their direct competitor the Sony PSP picking up speed and almost doubling their sales in Japan for that very same time frame.
When it comes to the gaming industry Japan’s sales are usually a good indicator for trends that are going to eventually cross over to sales around the world. With that in mind is it time for Mighty Nintendo to start the wheels turning on the successor to the DS or do they simply bring about an updated version of the DS. Do you think the sales in Japan are an indication of some early signs of a DS downward cycle around the globe?
VGChartz Hardware data for the period 06th Jan 2007 to 28th Jul 2007:
| Console |
|
PSP |
|
Japan
|
1,233,162
|
VGChartz Hardware data for the period 05th Jan 2008 to 26th Jul 2008:
| Console |
|
PSP |
|
Japan
|
2,290,603
|
VGChartz Hardware data for the period 06th Jan 2007 to 28th Jul 2007:
| Console |
|
DS |
|
Japan
|
4,577,206
|
VGChartz Hardware data for the period 05th Jan 2008 to 26th Jul 2008:
| Console |
|
DS |
|
Japan
|
1,800,029
|
