Blogs Dashboard

THQ, maker of the “Ratatouille” video game and plenty more, gave a glimpse into their outlook for interactive game hardware sales this year, and Nintendo’s combined roster turns up as the big winner.

That’s not really a surprise, since it’s been hard to avoid the hoopla over Nintendo’s Wii, not to mention the hand-wringing over price cuts for Sony’s PS3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. But what may startle some is the news that quietly, sales of Nintendo’s DS handheld device are booming.

Here are THQ’s U.S. expectations for console sales in 2007:

Xbox 360         4.5-5 million
Nintendo Wii   6-6.5 million
PlayStation3    3-3.5 million
PlayStation2    3-3.5 million
Nintendo DS 9.5-10 million
PSP                  3.5-4 million

In Europe and related areas:

Xbox 360 2.5-3 million
Nintendo Wii 4.5-5 million
PlayStation3 3.5-4 million
PlayStation2 4.5-5 million
Nintendo DS 8-8.5 million
PSP                 3-3.5 million

THQ executives delivered a few other tidbits on their conference call:

* It is working on a new version of the game “Red Faction” for the fiscal year 2009.

* It expects the Disney/Pixar film “Wally” to have “strong video game appeal.”