Nintendo profits boosted by Wii

Nintendo's Wii can be waved like a wand

Japanese firm Nintendo has seen profits jump in the nine months from April to December, thanks to popularity of its new Wii games machine and DS console.

Profits for the period reached 131.9bn yen ($1.09bn; £556m), up 43% from the 92.2bn yen profit seen a year earlier.

The firm, which launched the Wii in November, said it met its target to ship 4 million units by year end.

The Wii is competing with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's Playstation 3, which has faced production problems.

Broader appeal

"At the moment it looks like Nintendo is the winner" said Yasuhink Hirakawa, an asset manager at DLIBJ in Tokyo.

The Wii has been helped by its fun image, with users able to use the machine like a wand and, depending on the game, wave it in different ways.

The DS console, which opens like a book and which users control by using a stylus, has gained popularity among women and the elderly - groups that are not typical games console users.

Names such as Mario, Pokemon and Donkey Kong are traditionally associated with Nintendo, but the company has also introduced games targeted at older players, such as Brain Training for Adults, which have sold well.

The success of the Wii and DS has already led Nintendo to set bolder profit forecasts for the full financial year. It recently predicted that profits would rise by 28% to 185bn yen for the year to 31 March.