Japanese tech giant Nintendo reported a Q4 operating profit of $229.7 billion yen ($2.2 billion), smashing its original forecast of 189.6 billion yen.

Momentum for the popular Switch console – bolstered by the COVID-19 lockdown – helped Nintendo to reach its best quarterly earnings since 2008.

Nintendo expects full-year Switch sales of 26.5 million units, already well above its projection of 25 million, reports Bloomberg.

Analysts also predict the Switch’s full-year tally of sales could be 28 million units.

The release of the hit game Animal Crossing: New Horizons helped skyrocket console sales for this quarter.

Switch, which has been on the market for five years, sold 11.6 million units during the 2020 holiday- up 7 per cent from the previous year.

“Without a Switch Pro and suite of new games such as a sequel to Zelda Breath of the Wild, Nintendo’s 2020 will mark the high watermark as the Switch cycle wanes and with a difficult year-ago comparable as 2020 results were significantly boosted by Covid-19 demand,” wrote analysts Matthew Kanterman and Jitendra Waral.

Even without a new generation Switch released, Nintendo sales shattered rivals PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X – who sold around 4 million units and 3.3 million respectively.

Nintendo shares have also outperformed gaming console competitors Sony and Microsoft, both of which are battling stock shortages for the PS5 and new Xbox.