Game on for Nintendo

ELECTRONIC games giant Nintendo has increased its sales and profit forecasts for the fourth time in the present year on the back of the popularity of its DS and Wii games consoles.

The group, known for such game characters as Mario, Donkey Kong and Pokemon, said it was now expecting sales of around £4.1 billion in the year to the end of March, from around £3.83bn at its previous forecast.

However, it did not give a figure for its expected profit, saying only that it would beat expectations and be revealed in its annual earnings statement on April 26.

Nintendo - which competes with Microsoft and Sony in the £18bn-a-year video game industry - has been working hard in recent times to boost the appeal of its consoles and games, pitching to groups including middle-aged adults, who have taken to its Brain Training for Adults software.

But underpinning Nintendo's earnings growth has been the continuing popularity of its DS console, which opens like a book and is controlled by using a stylus.

The group said: "Merchandise does not move in the January-March quarter - that is the norm in this industry. But ours somehow did."