TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's Nintendo ( NTDOF ) said on Tuesday it plans to make an announcement about the successor to its aging Switch console during the financial year ending March 2025.

Nintendo ( NTDOF ) has extended the lifecycle of the Switch device with hit titles such as "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom", with the market focused on the timing and prospects for next-generation hardware.

The Kyoto-based gaming company said on Tuesday it expects to sell 13.5 million Switch units in the current financial year as the company squeezes out sales of the aging device.

Nintendo ( NTDOF ) last year sold 15.7 million units of the hybrid home-portable device, which launched in 2017. Nintendo ( NTDOF ) lifted its full-year forecast to 15.5 million units in February.

Nintendo ( NTDOF ) has introduced incremental changes to its Switch devices, with sales of the OLED model growing year-on-year even as broader hardware sales continued their annual decline.

The company is seen as having a thin pipeline for this year, with announced titles including "Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door" later this month and "Luigi's Mansion 2" in June.

Nintendo ( NTDOF ) shares closed up 2.4% ahead of earnings and have gained 5.4% this year.