By Kosaku Narioka

Nintendo's net profit jumped in the first quarter, topping market expectations, driven in part by strong sales of its new Switch 2 console.

The Japanese videogame maker said Friday that it sold more than 6 million units of the Switch successor globally in the seven weeks since its June 5 launch.

The company is now boosting production because of strong demand, though it said it still expects to sell 15.0 million units of the new device this fiscal year.

The robust early demand propelled Nintendo's earnings for the three months ended June, with revenue more than doubling to 572.36 billion yen, equivalent to $3.80 billion.

Net profit rose 19% from a year earlier to Y96.03 billion, beating analysts' estimates for a 20% drop in a poll by data provider Visible Alpha. Gains from sales of investment securities helped the bottom line.

Shares in the Tokyo-listed company ended 0.7% lower ahead of the results but remain more than a third higher this year, fueled by hopes that the new console will boost earnings. The stock hit a record high in late June.

The Switch 2--Nintendo's first new gaming device in eight years--features a larger, more responsive screen with more powerful processing and graphics performance and allows players to chat or share their game screen with friends online.

The original Switch was a runaway success for Nintendo following its launch in 2017. A pandemic-driven boom in gaming amplified the popularity of the console, but sales of the aging device eventually declined.

Nintendo sold 8.7 million Switch 2 software copies in the latest quarter, with racing game "Mario Kart World"--released on the same day as the hardware--accounting for about two-thirds of the sales. It continues to expect to sell 45 million copies this fiscal year.

The videogame maker also maintained its top- and bottom-line forecasts for the full year, expecting revenue to climb 63% to Y1.900 trillion and net profit to rise 7.6% to Y300.00 billion.

The company said Friday that while there have been some changes in the operating environment, such as U.S. tariffs, their impact on its earnings outlook isn't significant at this point.

Nintendo has been diversifying its revenue streams with some success, offering different forms of entertainment by leveraging its popular characters and game titles.

The videogame maker plans to produce new films based on the "Super Mario" and "The Legend of Zelda" game series, looking to build on previous box-office success. A Nintendo-themed zone opened at Universal Epic Universe in Orlando, Florida, in May.

First-quarter intellectual property-related income declined 4.4% to Y16.7 billion.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 01, 2025 07:37 ET (11:37 GMT)

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