TOKYO: Japanese videogame maker Nintendo Co Ltd said on Tuesday it expects to sell 21 million Switch games consoles in the current financial year that started on April 1, a 9% year-on-year fall.

       Nintendo sold 23.06 million Switch consoles in the year ended March. That compared with the 23 million units that the games maker forecast in February.

       Demand for the Switch has been boosted by the November launch of a model with an OLED screen but the upgraded device remains in short supply.

       Nintendo, which depends on in-house titles to drive games sales, expects to sell 210 million units of software this year, compared with 235 million last year.

       The company has a strong pipeline despite the delay of the sequel to "Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" to spring 2023, with upcoming titles this year including "Splatoon 3".

       Nintendo's shares have risen 5% year-to-date and closed flat ahead of earnings. - Reuters