NINTENDO'S PROFIT DROPS FROM LAST YEAR'S PANDEMIC BOOM

Japanese video game maker Nintendo’s profit dropped 19% in the first half of its fiscal year from the previous year when it received a big lift as people stuck at home by the coronavirus pandemic turned to its products.

Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. reported Thursday a 171.8 billion yen ($1.5 billion) profit for the April-September period, down from 213 billion yen in the same period the previous year.

Fiscal half sales slipped 19% to 624 billion yen ($5.5 billion). It did not break down quarterly numbers.

Nintendo, which is behind the Super Mario and Pokemon games, was among the global companies that received a boost from the pandemic by providing at-home entertainment.

That’s why Nintendo enjoyed strong sales of its game “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” in the April-September period the previous year. That momentum was hard to maintain into this year, although the game was so popular that it also boosted sales of the Nintendo Switch machines.