Nintendo signage is displayed at the company's booth at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo, known as E3, in Los Angeles, California June 11, 2014. REUTERS/Kevork Djansezian/File Photo
Tokyo: Nintendo said Thursday it expects to sell 10 million units of the new Switch game console over the next year, as it bets big on the successor to its poor-selling Wii U.
The forecast came as Kyoto-based Nintendo reported that its net profit in the just-ended business year soared more than six-fold, largely owing to the sale of a major stake in the Seattle Mariners baseball team, but operating profit and revenue fell from a year ago.
Nintendo said it sold 2.74 million Switch consoles in March alone.
The $299 unit, which works both at home and on the go, blends the Super Mario maker's history in the console and handheld device business with its fledgling mobile gaming strategy, which got a big brand win after Pokemon Go's success last summer.
On Thursday, Nintendo's fiscal year to March net profit came in at 102.6 billion yen ($921 million), compared with 16.5 billion yen a year ago.
Operating profit fell 10.7 percent to 29.36 billion on sales of 489.09 billion yen, down three percent owing to poor demand for the Wii U console.
