The Switch console has been a lifesaver for Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY). After the failure of the Wii U, which was launched in 2012 and was to be the great successor to the Wii console, the company needed a spark to recover its mojo. The Switch did that and more. It has been the number 1 console in sales for 24 consecutive months, surpassing even new video consoles. MicrosoftXbox and SonyPlayStation in November of last year.
However, with almost 71 million consoles in the hands of customers, now there is an expectation of continued production of new games. Here are some Nintendo titles scheduled for release in 2021.
Image source: Getty Images.
New Pokémon Snap
Announced on January 13 and scheduled for release on April 30 New Pokémon Snap is an exclusive game produced by Nintendo and the Pokémon Company (of which Nintendo has a 33% stake). It is a sequel to the original Pokémon Snap game that was released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64. The objective of the game is to explore the Lental Region (an area invented in the world of Pokémon) and research and photograph various creatures. It sounds trivial for a video game, but the original Pokémon Snap it was a success, selling more than 1.5 million copies in the United States in 1999.
The sequential part of the game is important because it highlights the nostalgia and staying power of Nintendo / Pokémon titles. Parents who touched the original Pokémon Snap may be motivated to buy and play the new version with their children, creating new Pokémon Snap fans (or just Pokémon fans in general).
The game sold for $ 59.99. Don’t expect it to be a monster title like Mario Kart or Cross between animals, but it definitely has a chance to be a top 5 game on the Switch this year.
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser Fury
Scheduled for release on February 12, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser Fury essentially two Mario adventures in one game, with classic Mario battles against Bowser at the heart of the action. To accompany the launch, Nintendo is now selling a limited edition of the blue and red Switch console with the Mario theme, the first themed Switch to hit the market since its launch in 2017.
As with New Pokémon Snap, investors should not wait 3D World to be the best-selling Nintendo game this year. However, at the same time as the game was released, Nintendo announced the Super Mario Bros. 35 World Count Challenge, a competition in which online players work together to kill 3.5 million Bowsers in the free limited edition title that celebrates Mario’s 35th birthday. The important part of this challenge is that it requires a Nintendo account and a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, two products that the company wants to increase significantly in the coming years: subscriptions because, well, that will help to increase revenue, and Nintendo accounts because it is still trying fix Wii bugs where accounts were console-based and did not move to new systems.
How is the stock
Nintendo’s shares are at historic levels or close to the maximum, which may lead investors to think they have lost the boat and all the gains from the success of the Switch console. However, it appears that console sales will not decline anytime soon. The Switch was the most popular search in Amazon in 2020 (not just electronics, but for the entire site), and more than 1 million units were sold in China through its partnership with Tencent which was launched in December 2019. Considering that its shares are still trading at only 11 times earnings, there may still be time to get on Nintendo’s train.