Nintendo Q3 profits dip 46 percent, Wii and DS sales forecasts cut

Well, that's awkwardly timed. Just as Sony was wowing the world with its new, super-powered PSP dubbed NGP and its wow-that's-smart plan to bring "PlayStation content" to Android phones, Nintendo was reporting a 46 percent dip in its October to December Q3 profits, thanks to flagging Wii and DS sales. Acknowledging the tough market, the Big N cut its sales forecast for the Wii 1.5 million units, down to 16 million, and for the DS 1 million units, down to 22.5 million.

But it's not all sad faces here. Nintendo's leaving its annual operating profit forecast alone at its already revised ¥210 billion, altered after it was clear the 3DS would miss the lucrative holiday shopping season. But the late February release of the 3DS in Japan gives the console maker one month of 3DS sales for its Q4 period. So, the question becomes: how many units can they move in Japan in a month? Our official estimate is a lot.