Japanese game maker Nintendo reports robust profits on hit Switch 2 console

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TOKYO (AP) — Nintendo posted a 51% rise in profit for the first three quarters of the fiscal year as the Japanese video-game maker continued to score success with its revamped Switch machine.

For the April-December period, Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. said Tuesday that it recorded a 358.9 billion yen ($2.3 billion) profit, up from 237 billion yen the same period a year earlier.

Sales nearly doubled, surging 99%, to 1.9 trillion yen ($12 billion) in the same period, on healthy demand for the Switch 2 console, which went on sale last year.

Switch machines are so-called hybrids, working both as a home console and a portable device. The screen is bigger and the graphics quality has improved in the upgrade.

Nintendo, owner of the Super Mario and Pokemon franchises, stuck to its projection for a 350 billion yen ($2.3 billion) net profit for the fiscal year through March.

It’s expecting to sell 19 million Switch 2 machines during the fiscal year. It had already sold nearly 17.4 million Switch 2 machines as of the end of December, the briskest sales rollout for a Nintendo game console.

As for Switch 2 software, Nintendo has sold some 14 million units of the “Mario Kart World” game. Nintendo claims some 129 million people around the world are playing the Switch.

The challenge is whether the company can continue to roll out attractive software to keep the sales momentum going. Analysts say rising computer chip prices may also prove a challenge.

Atul Goyal, an analyst at Jefferies, noted worries about weakening sales of the Switch 2 were overblown, as seen in its strong sales in December, a key shopping season for toys and games.

“We maintain that fears regarding memory cost hike are speculative and strategically manageable,” he said in a recent report.

More games are planned for the Super Mario Brothers franchise, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, as well as a new Splatoon game, according to Nintendo.

Outside companies are also planning Switch 2 titles, including a “Biohazard” and “Final Fantasy” offerings.

Nintendo stocks, which climbed over the summer months then gradually declined to about the same level they were a year ago, jumped 1.8% Tuesday.

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Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama