Nintendo Ups DS Console Shipment Target
December 09, 2004 01:46:00 AM ET
By Yukari Iwatani Kane
TOKYO (Reuters) -
Nintendo Co. Ltd. raised its 2004 shipment target for its DS handheld video game device by 40 percent to 2.8 million units on Thursday after many stores in Japan and the United States sold out in the first week of sales.
``Due to increased demand, we're now making an effort to increase our Nintendo DS production by expediting the manufacturing schedule and making shipments by air
so we can get more product into the U.S. and Japan by year-end,'' Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.
``Between the two countries, I believe Nintendo will be able to increase total shipment by 800,000 units at least. In other words, the Japanese and U.S. shipments of DS will exceed 2.8 million units by the end of December,'' he said.
Nintendo's long-awaited DS, about the size of a paperback book and with two screens, one of which is touch-sensitive, went on sale in Japan a week ago for 15,000 yen ($144) and in the United States on Nov. 21 for about $150.
The company had said it expected to ship 2 million units by the end of 2004 and 5 million units worldwide by the end of its business year in March 2005. Iwata did not change the company's shipment forecast for the business year.
He reiterated that Nintendo planned to launch DS in Europe by the end of March and that it aimed to increase production to about 1.5 million units per month after April.
``During peak periods, it may be necessary to boost production to 2 million units per month on a temporary basis,'' Iwata said, referring to seasonal fluctuations in game device sales.
Iwata said more than 90 percent of shipped DS units in the United States had already been sold, while a number of retailers in Japan ran short just four days after launch. The company said this week it had sold over a million units of the DS in Japan and the United States by Dec. 5.
Nintendo faces a formidable rival on Sunday when Sony Corp. launches its PlayStation Portable (PSP) machine in Japan at 19,800 yen. Sony is vying for a cut of the handheld game market, which Nintendo now dominates.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/breaking/breakingnewsarticle.asp?feed=OBR&Date=20041209&ID=4136568
in other words
old shipment target 2004 = 2 million units worldwide
new shipment target 2004 = 2.8 million units worldwide