When you launch two of the most successful consoles in history, your profits will inevitably decline when their sales finally begin to wane.

As such, the second annual drop in Nintendo's profits isn't altogether surprising. With both DS and Wii in the latter periods of their lives, net profit at the company is down 66 percent to ¥77.6 billion ($825 million/£572 million).

Sales also fell in FY2010, down 29 percent to ¥1.014 trillion ($12.35 billion/£7.48 billion).

The third dimension

In amongst such decline, however, Nintendo has managed to launch its latest handheld with moderate success around the globe.

To date, 3DS sales sit at 3.61 million, with 1.32 million having been sold in North America and 1.23 million landing in the hands of consumers in Japan.

Total DS sales in the same period were 17.52 million, bringing cumulative sales of the handheld to a record breaking 146.42 million.

That represents a fall from the 27.11 million DS units sold in 2009, however.

A new hope

Nonetheless, Nintendo's hopes now rest with 3DS, which it claims will pick up throughout the course of 2011.

 

It's a rise the firm believes will a decline in consumer spending in Japan following the earthquakes and tsunami that hit in March.

"Nintendo has not suffered any direct damage which will significantly affect our production," the company said.

"However, it can be predicted that there will be an indirect impact from individual consumption patterns."

[source: Nintendo (PDF)]