Nintendo DS Successor May be Out This Year

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter predicts that Nintendo's handheld DS will be replaced as early as this year.

"DS sales are solid worldwide, but are weak in Japan, leading us to expect an introduction of a new device in Japan before the end of the calendar year," Pachter commented in investor notes.

The Japanese market has witnessed the dominance of the rival Sony PlayStation Portable, which has outstripped the DS in weekly sales for most of the year.

Shedding some light on Nintendo's possible decision-making process with the DS are the comments of Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who said that the company will not produce a follow-up to the Wii until that console's sales started to decline.

Source: Joystiq.com