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Thursday, 9 December, 2004, 08:02 GMT

Nintendo's DS beats sales target

Nintendo DS Nintendo, the Japanese computer games firm, has raised targets for its new DS handheld games console after it sold a million units in its first few weeks.

The company said there were product shortages in both the US and Japan and that it was starting to ship the DS by air to the US to meet demand.

It now expects to ship 40% more of the video game consoles before the end of the year.

This would mean 2.8 million units, rather than 2 million previously.

Raising its game

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced the new year-end target on Thursday. The DS went on sale in Japan only a week ago and on 21 November 21 in the US, racking up sales of a million units by 5 December.

Nintendo also stood by its target of shipping five million units by the end of March, but said it planned to boost production to 1.5 million units a month starting in April.

The device, which will be launched in Europe in March, is about the size of a paperback book, with two screens, one of which is touch-sensitive. It costs $150 (£78) in the US.

Nintendo has been advertising the DS heavily in recent weeks, using adverts featuring pop singer Hikaru Utada, as well as booths at which passers-by can try the machine.

But it will face more competition when Sony launches its PlayStation Portable machine in Japan on December 12.

It will compete directly against Nintendo in the handheld game market, which Nintendo now dominates.



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Related to this story:
Retailers cash in on PlayStation (06 Dec 04 |  Business )
Are kids' Christmas gifts too expensive? (06 Dec 04 |  Have Your Say )
Decade of dominance for PlayStation (03 Dec 04 |  Technology )
Nintendo DS aims to touch gamers (01 Dec 04 |  Technology )

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