Games firm Nintendo is moving into the hardware market with a specific focus on sleep tracking, following the company’s return to profitability after a period of heavy losses.

The first product from Nintendo’s healthcare division will be a handheld device designed, in collaboration with US company ResMed, to sit on a bedside table while its owner sleeps. It is therefore not a wearable piece of technology.

Nintendo’s move into health care was announced in January 2014 and the product is due to launch during the company’s next financial year, which ends in March 2016. Details of the exact launch date and the cost of the product have not been revealed, however Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told a press conference in Japan that a recurring subscription might be a payment method for the device.

Although Nintendo is no stranger to activity-tracking software – with its series of Wii Fit games – the new sleep tracking device will compete with more general activity-tracking devices made by companies including Fitbit and Withings.

Nintendo’s plans mean it will also be competing with Microsoft in a new market beyond games consoles. The newly unveiled Microsoft Band gadget tracks sleep quality as well as daytime activity.

For the six months to 30 September 2014, Nintendo reported net sales of ¥171.4bn (US$1.5bn, €1.2bn, £983.3m) and a net profit of ¥14.3bn (US$129m, €104m, £82m). A total of 3.2m sales of the Super Smash Bros 3DS game contributed to the upswing, as did growing sales of Nintendo’s Wii U console.

Sales of wearable technology are taking off, with the global wearable electronics market expected to reach revenues of US$8bn (€6.3bn, £5bn) by 2018. Health and fitness trackers are anticipated to represent 61 per cent of the sector.

Wellness-related devices are even being developed to manage stress and teach users meditation.