Nintendo ups sales forecast based on strong Wii and DS sales

Kyoto (Japan) - Japanese video game giant Nintendo is upping its annual sales projections because of strong Wii and DS sales. The company says sales from March 2006 to 2007 should reach $8.1 billion dollars which is about 6% higher than its previous forecast of $7.6 billion.

Nintendo is locked into a fierce struggle in both the handheld and gaming console markets against Sony and Microsoft. The company recently reported that 23 million DS handhelds were sold in 2006, which is about double of what the Sony PSP sold. In response, Sony has cut the PSP price to $170 to better compete with the cheaper DS which retails for around $150.

Nintendo did not give any figures for profits, but analysts expect those to be higher as well.