Recently in Video Games Category

In light of exhange rates hurting Japanese exporters, it is especially impressive that Nintendo was able to perform as strongly as it did.  Sony didn't do so hot with a report 50% decrease in net profit, although the gaming division (Sony Computer Entertainment) was profitable for the first time in several quarters.

Another notable mention is the Credit Suisse analyst who is forseeing another updated version of the Nintendo DS in early 2009.  Given the multiple iterations of Nintendo's other handheld consoles, it wouldn't be surprising to see a third incarnation of the Nintendo DS, but what kinds of features would it carry?  

Yet the numbers also seem to indicate that the upward slope for Nintendo's profits is starting to level off, with more conservative sales projections for the near horizon.  Wii Music, while a noteworthy announcement for the recently-held E3 expo, may not have carried the weight that Wii Fit did last year.  

Of course, if I had a choice, I would much rather be caught dead playing Wii Music than balancing myself on a Wii Fit balance board. 

FT.com -- Nintendo reports 32% rise in profits

A piece on Livedoor News discussed the Nintendo Wii's role in the shutdown of a couple of well-established bookstore locations (not the bookstore company itself) in Japan. 

No matter that the print industry in Japan in general has been suffering for the past several years -- according to a source quoted in the article, people are spending much more of their disposable income on video games and cell phones.  In turn, the Wii is the nail in the coffin that finally did these bookstores in. 

What this article suggests is that people in Tokyo's most affluent districts have a limited budget on which they have to choose between buying a few extra books or an extra racing wheel for Mario Kart Wii. 

The Wii has been blamed for arcades shutting down, but bookstores?  Where's the scapegoating going to go next?

Source:
任天堂栄えて本屋潰れる　旭屋書店閉店の衝撃度