Japanese gaming giant Nintendo said Thursday its first-half net profit soared 243.6 percent on-year and upgraded its full-year sales and profit forecasts, with coronavirus lockdowns driving extraordinary demand for the games industry. The firm said its bottomline profit jumped to 213.1 billion yen ($2.0 billion) for the six months to September as sales climbed 73.3 percent to 769.5 billion yen. si/sah/dan