Nintendo reports five-fold profit jump as Animal Crossing sales top 22 mn

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Nintendo Co Ltd on Thursday reported a more than five-fold jump in quarterly profit, driven by breakout demand for its Switch device and hit title “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” as the coronavirus lockdown lifts the games industry.

Nintendo has proved a winner of the pandemic as stuck-at-home gamers flock to titles like “Animal Crossing”, which sold 10.6 million units in the first quarter, bringing its total sales to 22.4 million since launching in March.

Operating profit for April-June was 144.7 billion yen ($1.37 billion). That compared with an average estimate of 71 billion yen from 12 analysts polled by Refinitiv SmartEstimate.