Nintendo hikes Switch sales forecast

Nintendo saw a bumper end to 2020, buoyed by a home entertainment boom amid the health crisis.

On Monday (February 1) the Japanese firm hiked its full-year forecast for Switch games console sales to 26.5 million, from 24 million previously.

The Kyoto-based firm said it sold just over 24 million hardware units in the first nine months of its financial year.

That included 16.8 million of the hybrid home-portable Switch consoles.

Investors are weighing whether Nintendo can retain its momentum this year.

Nintendo pointed to upcoming game titles including 'Super Mario 3D World' as potential sales drivers.

And said there was no plan to launch new hardware in the near term.

Both Sony and Microsoft have launched next-generation devices.

But they're struggling to meet overwhelming demand amid supply chain disruption due to the pandemic.

Nintendo's operating profit in the nine months ended December was $4.98 billion.

Its full-year profit forecast was hiked 24% to about 5.3 billion dollars - implying Nintendo sees a relatively modest profit in the fourth quarter.

Shares in the firm closed up 3.4% ahead of the earnings release.