Japanese videogames maker Nintendo Co Ltd reported its biggest third-quarter operating profit in eight years, driven by smashing demand for its new Switch games console, and said it expected annual earnings to outstrip its previous estimate.

Growing popularity of the hybrid home-portable Switch has led to a near-doubling of Nintendo's stock price to nine-year highs since the device's launch in March. Sales have exceeded initial estimates, on track to beat the lifetime numbers of its predecessor Wii U, leaving suppliers scrambling for parts.

Switch console sales will likely hit 15 million units in the year to March and climb to 20 million next year, Nintendo said, fuelling hopes of a repeat of the success of the first Wii that debuted in late 2006 and sold more than 100 million units.

“The momentum for Switch over the last 10 months has been stronger than that of the Wii,” Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima said at an earnings briefing on Wednesday. “The key to Switch's success in the second year will be to attract non-gamers,” he added. Analysts believe Nintendo's plan to launch “Labo”, LEGO-style accessories for the console that kids can build themselves on cardboard sheets, could bring in a younger audience.

“This is exactly the kind of crazy idea that Nintendo is known for which we believe will help expand the company's audience,” analysts at Macquarie wrote in a recent research note. It will be “appealing to younger audience which has not been addressed by Nintendo for some time”.