Nintendo Direct Highlights Solid 2023 Lineup

Nintendo Direct Highlights Solid 2023 Lineup

The Nintendo Direct event on February 8 highlighted the upcoming Nintendo Switch products.  A major focus was on the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom which launches May 12, 2023, at $70 for the basic version and $130 for the collector’s edition. Nintendo also did a surprise launch of the long-rumored Metroid Prime Remaster, an update of the 2002 GameCube title.  Advance Wars 1+2: Boot Camp is r.....
Nintendo Lowers Switch Forecast Again

Nintendo Lowers Switch Forecast Again

For the third fiscal quarter ending 12/31/22, Nintendo announced revenue declined 8% to ¥638,204.  Switch unit sales declined 23% in Q3 to 8.2 million.  For the full fiscal year ending 3/31/23, Nintendo lowered its forecast for Switch hardware units to 18 million. Software sales for Nintendo were only down 3% in the third quarter.  However digital software sales were up 10% and downloads of packaged software was up 28% compared with the previous year quarter.  Pokemon Scar.....
Does Nintendo Have the Best Online Subscription Service?

Does Nintendo Have the Best Online Subscription Service?

A great deal of attention has been focused on Microsoft’s Game Pass subscription service.  However, the recent Microsoft quarterly earnings show that the service does not appear to be doing much for Microsoft’s bottom line.  Revenue from both Xbox hardware and content and services declined during the holiday 2022 season.  This begs the question, does Microsoft’s game business model make sense.....
Nintendo Releases Patch for Pokemon

Nintendo Releases Patch for Pokemon

On December 1, 2022, Nintendo released a software update for the newly launched Pokemon Scarlett and Pokemon Violet titles.  With the release of the update, Nintendo acknowledged performance issues with the games and issued an apology. Analysis The new Pokemon games have sold well but had well-documented performance issues with graphical glitches and frame rate drops.  The actual text .....
Could New Nintendo System Leapfrog PlayStation 5?

Could New Nintendo System Leapfrog PlayStation 5?

The Nintendo Switch is arguably the most successful video game system ever. At least for Nintendo, if not for major third-party publishers. Of course, nothing lasts forever and inevitably Nintendo will need to release a new system. Given current market conditions, a major question is will a new Nintendo console with a strong online component for live service games make the PlayStation 5 obsolete? Switch In Downcycle Switch sales hit records in both 2020 and 2021. Nevertheless,.....
Nintendo Switch Sales Forecast Lowered

Nintendo Switch Sales Forecast Lowered

For the first half of fiscal 2023 that ended 9/30/22, Nintendo reported Switch hardware sales down from 8.3 million units in the previous year period to 6.7 million.  In addition, forecasts for the year were lowered from 21 million Switch units to 19 million units. Analysis Despite the decline in hardware unit sales, Nintendo reported an increase in revenue.  This was largely due to favorable exchange rates with a strong U.S. dollar compared to the Japanese yen.  Neverthele.....
DFC Lowers 2022 Video Game Console Forecast

DFC Lowers 2022 Video Game Console Forecast

As the first quarter of 2022 comes to an end video game console shortages remain a major issue. Sales potential for both hardware and software has been limited and will remain as an issue throughout the rest of the year. While market growth is still expected, DFC’s forecasts have been lowered in expectation of limited supply. The latest DFC Intelligence forecasts expect 4% growth in the video ga.....