Nintendo is selling so many Switch consoles that it's predicting a $4.3 billion profit for the year — 50% more than it previously anticipated

• Nintendo's sales have boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, as more people stayed home due to lockdowns around the world.
• The Japanese video games company sold more than 12 million Switch consoles between April and September, and credited sales of "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" for its rising revenues.
• Nintendo's sales were up 73.3% year-on-year in the six months to September, to 769.5 billion yen ($7.4 billion), it said Thursday.
• Nintendo's half-year operating profit more than tripled, causing it to increase its full-year forecast by 50%.

Nintendo's sales boomed as more people turned to gaming during lockdowns around the world.

The company has sold more than 12 million Switch consoles since the pandemic started, partly due to rocketing demand for "Animal Crossing: New Horizons."

Sales were up 73.3% year-on-year in the six months to September, to 769.5 billion yen ($7.4 billion), Nintendo said Thursday.

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Half-year operating profits for the Japanese gaming giant more than tripled to 291 billion yen ($2.8 billion) – almost reaching the 300 billion yen ($2.9 billion) operating profits it had forecast for the whole 12-month period.

After recording rocketing sales during lockdown, Nintendo has revised its financial forecast. The company expects an operating profit of 450 billion yen ($4.3 billion) in the year to March 2021 – 50% higher than it previously forecast.

Since its release in March, sales of "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" totaled 26 million, making it Nintendo's second-best selling Switch game of all time. The game "contribut[ed] significantly" to Nintendo's booming software and hardware sales.

People flocked to the game, which was introduced just as western Europe and the US headed into lockdown, to escape from reality.

Its release meant the Switch became the bestselling console in March, surpassing the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" became the bestselling game across all consoles that month – beating heavyweights such as "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare," which are available on multiple platforms.

In its first six weeks, the game sold more than 13 million copies.

Read more: How brands are breaking into Animal Crossing to launch products and create in-game experiences

Games across Nintendo's Mario franchise also performed well, the company said. This included more than 5 million sales for "Super Mario 3D All-Stars" in September alone. "Paper Mario: The Origami King" sold almost 3 million units between July and September.

"Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" remains Nintendo's bestselling Switch game, shifting 28.99 million units since its release in May 2014.

The company sold 12.5 million Switch consoles between April and September, bringing its total sales to 68.3 million. Its half-year sales included 4.2 million Switch Lites.

Nintendo expects to sell 24 million Switch consoles in the year to March 2021 – up from its previous forecast of 19 million.

Switch consoles, games, and accessories made up 95% of Nintendo's revenue in the six months. Hardware sales across Nintendo's consoles jumped 91% year-on-year to 12.53 million units, and software sales rose 71% to 100.25 million units.

Almost a quarter of sales were in Japan, and digital sales of software and add-on content more than doubled.