Finance and Economic

Nintendo Co (7974.OS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) boosted its annual profit outlook by 23 percent on white-hot demand for its Wii video game console and DS portable player, beating market expectations and sending its shares more than 8 percent higher.

As consumers in the United States and Europe snap up its game machines, Nintendo hiked forecasts for the Wii 6 percent and for the DS 9 percent, pushing the company to the limits of current production capacity.

“The fact that Nintendo is confident to say even before the end of the first half, that overseas sales are this strong, will likely help the stock ride a wave towards the Christmas shopping season,” said Koki Shiraishi, an analyst at the Daiwa Institute of Research.

The Wii, launched in late 2006, has outsold Sony’s (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Xbox 360 in the $57 billion video game industry, thanks to its easy-to-learn motion-sensing controller, low price and innovative titles like the “Wii Fit” exercise game cash advance now.

Nintendo said it now expects an operating profit of 650 billion yen ($6 billion) in the year to March, up from its previous forecast of 530 billion yen, also helped by a softer yen.

It sees sales of 2 trillion yen, 11 percent higher than its previous estimate.

The new profit forecast trounced a Reuters Estimates consensus of 605 billion yen from 20 analysts.

Nintendo’s shares rose by their daily limit of 4,000 yen to close at 51,800 yen, outperforming a 2.4 percent climb for the Nikkei benchmark .N225. 

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