Nintendo: 4m 3DS sales in first month

Hot on the heels of its Japanese 3DS launch date and price announcement this morning Nintendo has confidently predicted it'll shift a whopping four million units of its handheld wonder during its first month on sale.

In the same breath, however, it cut its profit forecast for the rest of its financial year, which ends in March 2011.

Nintendo now expects $1 billion in profit for the year, down from an initial projection of $2.4 billion profit. How will it live?

The 3DS will go on sale on 26th February in Japan and March in Europe and the US.

This morning's news came as some disappointment to fans who were hoping for Santa to drop a 3DS down their chimneys this Christmas.

While Nintendo failed to reveal European pricing, some have already baulked at the UK cost suggested by the Japanese price: 25,000 yen (£189 at current exchange rates).

Nintendo said the strong yen, which reduces profits from overseas sales when brought back to Japan, and the timing of the 3DS launch were behind its decision to lower projections for the fiscal year.

Nintendo expects to sell 23.5 million DS machines, including four million 3DS consoles, for the year to March 2011, down from its earlier forecast of 30 million. It sold 27 million DS machines the previous fiscal year.