TOKYO (Reuters) -Sony raised its full-year operating profit forecast on Thursday by 4% to 1.33 trillion yen ($9.01 billion), citing a diminished impact from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war.

Sony sees a tariff impact of 70 billion yen, compared to 100 billion yen forecast in May. It said the estimated impact is based on tariff rates as of August 1 and said the situation remained fluid.

Japanese companies such as Honda Motor have trimmed their expected hit from tariffs amid a reduction in uncertainty with Japan striking a trade deal with the U.S. last month.

Sony was once well known as a maker of household electronics such as the "Walkman" portable cassette player but has become an entertainment giant spanning games, movies and music as well as a leading maker of image sensors for smartphones.

Sony reported a 36.5% rise in operating profit to 340 billion yen for the April-June quarter, beating the 288 billion yen average of eight analyst estimates compiled by LSEG.

Sony sold 2.5 million PlayStation 5 game consoles in the first quarter, a 4% rise compared to the same period a year earlier.

The console industry was set to receive a boost this year from the launch of "Grand Theft VI" but the latest addition to the popular series has been delayed to 2026.

Nintendo, which is seen as a potential beneficiary of GTA 6's delay, last week reported robust early demand for its new Switch 2 gaming device.

Elsewhere in the conglomerate, Sony is preparing to cut its stake in its financial unit to less than 20% through a partial spin-off, with the business to list in Tokyo on September 29.

($1 = 147.5700 yen)

(Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Christopher Cushing)