A month ahead of the release of its DS follow-up, the 3DS, Nintendo has posted its third quarter sales.

Nintendo's profits fell 74 percent, dropping to ¥49.5 billion yen ($597.2 million) during the nine-month period ending in December 2010.

Sales of the Nintendo DS fell 33% to 1.7 million units, likely owing to the upcoming release of the 3DS, which will be released in Japan next month. The Wii also hit a similar sales drop, slipping to 13.7 million.

Nintendo cut sales forecasts of the Wii by 1.5 million units, to 16 million and the DS down to 18.5 million. The company, however, maintained its profit forecast for the year at ¥210 billion yen ($2.5 billion).

In spite of the decline, Nintendo plans to stay the course. Nintendo continues to purse its basic strategy of Gaming Population Expansion by offering compelling products that anyone can enjoy, regardless of age, gender or gaming experience, the report said.

The report comes not long after Sony announced the NGP, a successor to their PSP handheld and competitor to Nintendo's own 3DS.

Also included in the company's earnings report were the lifetime sales of the DS and Wii, which the company marked at 14.4 and 8.4 units, respectively.

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