Nintendo's Wii success may begin to wane
Nintendo said today that its fiscal 2008 profits were the strongest it had ever recorded, but admitted it would struggle to repeat the performance in the current year as sales of its two main games consoles peak and foreign exchange turmoil hits the bottom line.

The gloomy forecasts triggered an hour of selling on the Osaka Exchange where Nintendo's stock is listed â€" completing a poor run that has now seen the shares shed about half their value over the past year. Brokers at Nomura said that what was once the Japanese market's most attractive stock had now lost its allure.

Nintendo reported operating profits of $5.5 billion for the 12 months to March 31. However, full-year income was well below consensus forecasts and the company said that earnings could suffer a 12 per cent decline in the current year â€" a worse contraction than brokers had expected and a sign that Japan's most profitable company has not escaped the effects of the worldwide consumer spending slump.