Today, Nintendo released their financial report for the nine-month period of April – December 31st, 2009. While the numbers might appear phenominal, they point to a significant decline in sales and a lackluster 2010 for Nintendo.

From April-Dec. ‘09, Nintendo managed to sell another 23.35 million DS units (down from 25.62 million in 2008), and 121.38 million games for the system. The Wii managed to find its way into another 17.05 million homes in 2009 (down from 20.52 million), and sold 156.64 million games.

While these numbers are incredible compared to the other systems on the market, they’re still down from 2008.  Plus, the Wii saw a $50 price drop in September, making it just as cheap as an Xbox 360. Thanks to the lower numbers, Nintendo’s net sales decreased 23.1%.

There’s a few possible explanations:

A) The well of grandmothers and small children is starting to run dry, and now everyone and their dog has a Wii, DS, or both. If this is the case, expect lower numbers for 2010.

B) Lack of bigger Nintendo IPs (Smash Brothers, Metroid, Pikmin, etc.) at the start of the year didn’t motivate people to go and pick a system up. Spirit Tracks and New Super Mario Bros. Wii sold well, but might not have been system sellers. Could Galaxy 2 and the rumored new Zelda pick up Wii sales in 2010?

C) It’s no big deal. Times are hard, and bad numbers can be attributed to the economy.

D) Nintendo’s given up and abandoned ship. Starting to build a bunker for when the world ends in 2012.