TOKYO:  Japan’s Nintendo Co Ltd on Tuesday said it expects to sell 15 million Switch game consoles in the financial year to end-March 2024, compared with 17.97 million the previous year.

The Kyoto-based gaming firm posted operating profit of 504.38 billion yen ($3.73 billion) in the year ended on March 31, beating estimates, compared with profit of 592.76 billion yen a year earlier.

Nintendo is facing slowing demand for its aging Switch console in its seventh year on the market, even as supply chain snarls have eased and the company bolsters its games lineup.

On Friday Nintendo launches “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom”, one of the most widely anticipated games of the year.

The robust appeal of Nintendo’s roster of characters has been underscored in recent weeks by the box office success of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”.

Reuters