By Sam Nussey TOKYO (Reuters) -Nintendo on Tuesday hiked its sales forecast for the Switch 2 gaming device to 19 million units for the financial year ending March 2026 from 15 million units previously. The Kyoto-based gaming company also raised its full-year operating profit forecast by 16% to 370 billion yen ($2.45 billion). Investors have been weighing the likely strength of sales momentum for the hybrid home-portable gaming device since its launch in June. The successor to the hit home-portable Switch went on sale in the midst of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war, testing Nintendo's supply chain management. Nintendo has sold 10.3 million Switch 2 units as at September-end, supported by titles including "Mario Kart World" and "Donkey Kong Bonanza". The company's operating profit ratio in the first half of the year was 13.2% compared to 23.2% in the same period a year earlier. Games to underpin demand into the key year-end shopping period include "Pokemon Legends: Z-A" and "Kirby Air Riders". "The first holiday shopping season will be a key proving ground and we are maintaining good momentum towards that," Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said at earnings briefing. Nintendo's shares closed down 0.8% ahead of the earnings release and have gained roughly 40% year-to-date. ($1 = 150.7800 yen) (Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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