NINTENDO PROFITS SOAR AS PEOPLE PLAY GAMES DURING PANDEMIC

Nintendo Co. reported that its profit for the first three fiscal quarters nearly doubled as people around the world stayed home for the pandemic and turned to playing games.

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The Japanese video-game maker behind the Super Mario and Pokemon franchises said its April-December profit surged to 376.6 billion yen ($3.6 billion) from 196 billion yen the previous year.

Its nine-month sales jumped 37% to 1.4 trillion yen ($13 billion).

Kyoto-based Nintendo’s success has come on the back of the popularity of its Switch console, as well as game software like “Animal Crossing: New Horizons.”

Other Switch software enjoying healthy demand included “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” and “Super Mario 3D All-Stars,” according to the company.