TOKYO: Japan’s Nintendo cut its operating profit forecast on Tuesday by 22.2% to 280 billion yen ($1.8 billion) for the financial year ending March.

In the April-December period, profit fell 46.7% to 247.6 billion yen.

Nintendo remains dependent on its console business even as it has opened stores and its roster of characters feature in theme parks and film.

The company said last month it will release a successor to the hit home-portable Switch console this year.

The Switch 2 appears to closely follow the design of its predecessor, which transformed Nintendo’s fortunes after the underperformance of the Wii U.

Reuters