Because of seaport disputes, there might be a GameCube shortage this Christmas.Nintendo Extends Drop on Estimate Cut, Port Dispute
Tokyo, Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Nintendo Co. shares fell 9.9 percent, declining for a second day after the maker of the GameCube video-game console cut its sales forecast for the game machine and said shipments to the U.S. may be disrupted.
Kyoto-based Nintendo's shares fell 1,270 yen to 11,570 at the close of trading on the Osaka Stock Exchange, the lowest since April 1999. Almost 1.45 million shares traded, more than triple the six-month daily average, making the shares the seventh-most active stock on Japanese stock exchanges.
The world's second-largest video-game maker is trying to increase sales in the U.S. to fend off attempts by new entrant Microsoft Corp. to take over the No. 2 slot with its Xbox console. That strategy may be at risk after Nintendo said a prolonged labor dispute between dockworkers and shipping companies in the U.S. may disrupt its shipments of game hardware for the Christmas season.
Nintendo makes 70 percent of its GameCube video-game systems in China. It ships the hardware to North America by sea. The shipment delays may threaten sales in the U.S., the largest market in the $20 billion video-game industry. Sales in North and South America account for more than half of the company's total sales, and Nintendo relies on overseas markets for more than 70 percent of its revenue.
Nintendo on Tuesday said it expects to sell 10 million GameCube consoles in the year ending March 31, down from 12 million forecast earlier. Sales of Game Boy Advance hand-held players will reach 15 million units for the same period, compared with 19 million units estimated earlier.
These are the same cuts Nintendo estimated in their initial profit estimates eariler this week.
Topic: Nintendo Lowers Profit Forecast Again (Read 2295 times)
