INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightNintendoJapanese games giant Nintendo reported annual profits of $1.28bn, a 36% rise, due to the continuing popularity of its
The profits are ahead of Nintendo's own guidance, which has been repeatedly revised higher on better trading news
The company has appointed a new president, 46-year old Shuntaro Furukawa
He is currently in charge of oversees marketing.Switch, launched last year, has proved a runaway success for Nintendo.It has become the
fastest-selling games console in the Japanese firm's history and the firm's biggest hit since the Wii was launched in 2006.Sales of Nintendo
products more than doubled from the previous year, the company said.Nintendo also said it expects to see impressive growth this year as well
It forecast this year's net profit would be 18% above this year's and annual sales to rise 13.7%.The company said in a statement: "The
results for this fiscal year show a very positive trend in global hardware sales for Nintendo Switch, which sold a total of 15.05 million
units during this fiscal year.It said its game, Super Mario Odyssey had been "a major hit with audiences worldwide".It had sold 10.41
million units, bringing Switch software sales to 63.51 million units this year.The Kyoto-based firm also named Mr Furukawa, aged 46, as
"My top priority is to keep and expand the momentum for the Switch," he said.Incumbent chief Tatsumi Kimishima - a 68-year-old former banker
who assumed the role after the death of predecessor Satoru Iwata in 2015 - decided to step down as he is "close to fulfilling
responsibilities" to revive the firm, Nintendo said.
