Nintendo Switch sales surge past those of the 3DS

Nintendo has sold about four million more Switch consoles than those of its 3DS

Sales of Nintendo's Switch gaming consoles have surpassed those of their predecessor - the 3DS - despite being available for a much shorter period.

The firm said 79.87 million units had been sold since its March 2017 launch.

The figures accompanied the Japanese firm's financial results, which saw it declare a record 377bn yen ($3.6bn) profit for the April-December period.

Analysts attribute the Switch's success to the popularity of Animal Crossing, among other family-friendly exclusives.

Super Mario 3D World - which goes on sale on 12 February - is expected to provide it with a further boost.

Nintendo ended production of its 3DS handheld in September 2020 and says it sold 75.94 million units over its nine-and-a-half year lifetime.

Up to four players can take part in the forthcoming Super Mario title

The Switch first went on sale in 2017, and was joined by a lower-cost model - the Switch Lite - in 2019, which is also included in the tally.

The firm said demand for the machines was 35.8% up on the same period the previous year, with a total of 24.1 million units sold over the last nine months of 2020.

Nintendo's president Shuntaro Furukawa said that the company had sufficient components to continue producing the devices - despite wider industry shortages - and it now expected to sell 26.5 million of the consoles over the financial year as a whole. That represents 10% more than its previous guidance.

He added that there were no plans to launch a successor in the near term. However, there is continued speculation the company will unveil a "pro" version of the Switch before the end of 2021.

"The sales success of the Switch justifies Nintendo's decision to stick with its product strategy of combining unique and innovative dedicated games hardware with compelling first-party games," Piers Harding-Rolls from Ampere Analysis told the BBC.

"Sometimes this approach misses the mark - see the Wii U for example - but when it works it tends to result in very successful products.

"Clearly the stand out hit is the 30-million-selling Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a gentle, sociable game that will be synonymous with lockdown for many people."

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has provided a distraction from the Covid pandemic for its millions of players

Despite the Switch's success, it still has some way to go before overtaking sales of four of the firm's other consoles:

• Wii - 101.63 million units

• Nintendo DS - 154.02 million units

• Game Boy Advance - 81.51 million units

• Game Boy - 118.69 million units

If ever it was needed, the Nintendo Switch is proof that you don't need the highest-resolution graphics or fastest processor to make great games.

Sometimes people just want a cute, relaxing experience - and to be several thousand bells in debt to an entrepreneurial Japanese raccoon dog.

Animal Crossing has always been a best-seller for Nintendo's consoles, but New Horizons has surpassed expectations, shifting about 31 million copies.

Its blend of relaxing island life and home decoration have provided some much-needed escapism during the coronavirus pandemic.

Its social features also helped friends connect, chat and visit one another's homes - at least virtually - during lockdown restrictions.

Critics say New Horizons is not that dissimilar from previous games in the series.

Indeed, some of the best-selling games for the Switch - such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - are pretty much re-releases from the flop Wii U console.

But Nintendo seems to have found a winning formula with the Switch that shows no signs of slowing down.