Switch helps Nintendo half-year net profit soar 35 per cent

Journalists wait outside the venue for the presentation of the new Nintendo Switch in Tokyo on Jan. 13, 2017. (AP / Koji Sasahara)

TOKYO -- Japanese video-game maker Nintendo said Monday that its net profit jumped 35 per cent in April-September from a year earlier, helped by popularity of its Switch hybrid game machine and new releases.

The company logged a 51.5 billion yen ($456 million) net profit in the fiscal first half-year, compared with a 38.3 billion net profit in the same period a year earlier. It raised its forecast for the full fiscal year to 85 billion yen, up 89 per cent from an earlier outlook of 45 billion yen.

Kyoto-based Nintendo, which makes Super Mario and Pokemon games, said its sales rose 173 per cent from a year earlier in April-September to 374 billion yen ($3.3 billion).

The Switch Splatoon 2 game, released in July, was selling well both in Japan and overseas. "Super Mario Odyssey" for the Switch launched last week.

Nintendo, which also makes the 3DS portable console, has also scored success in offering games for smartphones and other devices that aren't Nintendo machines -- a move the company had resisted for years, but an area that appears to offer great growth potential.

The recent release on smart devices of "Super Mario Run" and "Fire Emblem Heroes" games has met with success.