Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter is predicting that Nintendo will report sales of $5.28 billion in its Q3 report on January 24, and raise its fiscal year 2008 sales outlook above its current value of $14.5 billion, Gamasutra reports.

Global DS and Wii hardware sales during the third quarter, estimated around 12 million and 7 million respectively, were cited for the boost in projected yearly earnings. "Nintendo's recent financial performance has been spectacular and we continue to believe its FY:08 guidance is conservative," said Pachter.

Japanese commercial research company Enterbrain also reported that Nintendo sold 5,019,337 Wiis in Japan since its late 2006 launch. As of December 2007, the total North American install base for the Wii was over 7 million.

Meanwhile, Sony's PlayStation 3 has enjoyed a boost in sales worldwide thanks to recent price cuts and sold a record 1.2 million units in Europe during the holiday season, said Kaz Hirai in a Bloomberg TV interview. In all, the PlayStation 3 sold 2.56 million units in North America, bringing its total install base in the territory to 3.25 million.

Sony is expected to sell 8 million PlayStation 3s worldwide before the end of the fiscal year ending March 31, missing its annual target of 11 million by 27%.