Nintendo's Q1 DS sales down 44 per cent

Nintendo lost money during the three months ended 30th June 2010, with worldwide DS sales down 44.7 per cent year on year to 3.15 million, while DS software sales slumped 22.9 per cent to 22.42 million.

The platform holder blamed "fewer new software titles", a lowering of the DS price and hefty foreign exchange losses for the losses.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 provided the only noted silver lining, recording 4.06 million sales worldwide since its May/June release. That helped Wii hardware sales climb by over a third compared to the same period last year.

The company recorded a net loss of 25.2 billion yen (£183 million). Net sales were down 25.6 per cent to 188.6 billion yen, with 86.6 per cent of that figure attributed to "overseas" markets. That meant a staggering foreign exchange loss of 70.5 billion yen (£517 million).

As mentioned, Wii sales were up 36.6 per cent to 3.04 million. However, Wii software dropped 9.3 per cent to 28.17 million.

"Nintendo continues to pursue 'Gaming Population Expansion' based on the idea of putting smiles on many people's faces by offering brand new entertainment that anyone can enjoy, regardless of age, gender or gaming experience," the company commented.