Nintendo saw a staggering 98 percent annual increase in operating profit across its Q3 earnings, the Japanese company reported Monday. Net sales also rose more than 37 percent, bringing in $13.8 billion.

The surge was driven by hardware and software sales relating to the Nintendo Switch family of consoles, which saw a boom amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Total units sold increased by nearly 36 percent year-over-year to 24.1 million. Nintendo saw strong sales associated with the Super Mario Bros. 35th anniversary campaign, with Paper Mario: The Origami King selling 3 million units and Super Mario 3D All-Stars selling 8.3 million units.Additionally, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit sold 1.1 million units.

Titles released prior to the fiscal year also retained momentum, contributing to sales increases. Animal Crossing: New Horizons, released March 20, sold 19.4 million units, bringing its total units sold to 31.2 million, making it the second-highest selling title on the Switch. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, released April 28, 2017, sold 8.6 million units in the current fiscal year. At 33.4 total units sold, it is the console's overall best selling title.

As of Dec. 31, Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield have sold 20.4 million units, the first Pokémon game to cross the 20 million mark since 1999's Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver. Nintendo released The Crown Tundra, add-on content for Sword and Shield expansion passes, in October. No sales numbers were provided in the report, though the company remarked “sales also grew.”

So far in the current fiscal year, 29 game titles sold over one million units for the Nintendo Switch, including titles from other software publishers.

Nintendo’s fiscal year ends March 31, with profits projected to continue to increase. Buddy Mission: BOND is slated to launch for the Switch in January, and the Super Mario Bros. 35th anniversary campaign will strike again in February with the launches of Super Mario 3D World and Bowser’s Fury simultaneously.

Photo courtesy of Nintendo

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