Nintendo Q1 Profits Down 60% From 2008

Nintendo's 2009 first-quarter net profits fell 60% compared to the period last year while net sales are down 40%, new financial documents released today have revealed.

On a sunny note, Nintendo affirmed its continuing mission to "pursue 'Gaming Population Expansion' based on the idea of putting smiles on many people's faces."

Nintendo also reveals the DSi has sold 6,680,000 hardware units worldwide to-date, while the two DS models have hit 107,750,000 sales, and the Wii a tidy 52,620,000.

The gaming giant's 2009 net sales for the three-month period ending June 30 2009 were 253.4 billion Japanese yen ($2.6 billion), down 40% from 423.3 billion yen ($4.4 billion) from 2008. Net profits were 42.31 billion yen ($442 million), down 60%.

The drop is in part attributed to a lack of popular new title releases in the period, while 2008's first quarter saw the worldwide release of such titles as Mario Kart Wii and the runaway success Wii Fit. The depreciation of the yen is cited as a reason for the decline.

Fiscal year 2009--which ended March 31, 2009--saw record profits for the company.