Nintendo Co Ltd has had its first profitable quarter in a year as revenue from its mobile games boosted the company's coffers.

It's not all positive though - poor hardware sales have dragged down its annual earnings forecast.

The company's console sales have stagnated as the company prepares to bring the Nintendo Switch, it's new flagship device, to market.

This news has led to a sell-off of the company's shares.

Downloads of games for its consoles and sales of its "amiibo" characters (toy figures which unlock in-game content) have been lower than anticipated.

It mobile gaming contributed 12bn yen (€98m) - Pokemon Go and Super Mario Run are the only Nintendo titles currently available.

Mario's mobile debut has only been released on Apple devices and will launch on Android in March. So far it has made 7bn yen (€57m) - while its stake in the Pokemon augmented reality game grossed 5bn yen (€41m).

Fire Emblem will be its next mobile launch in March - the tactical RPG first appeared in 1990.

The first run of Switch consoles are due to sell out in pre-orders - but investors are skeptical about the hybrid machine's long term earning potential. 

It is a cross over between a traditional TV console and a portable gaming unit. It will launch on March 3rd, and will cost €329.99.