Nintendo Operating Profit Jumps 88% Despite Softer Switch Sales

Though the number of consoles sold was down from a year earlier, the number of games sold more than doubled

Takashi Mochizuki

July 31, 2018 5:57 a.m. ET

TOKYO—Nintendo Co. said its operating profit nearly doubled in the fiscal first quarter as strong game-software sales more than offset a falloff for its main Switch game console.

During the April-June quarter, Nintendo sold 1.88 million of the handheld-hybrid consoles, down from 1.97 million a year earlier—right after its March 2017 release—when component shortages made it hard to keep up with demand.

Still,...