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TOKYO (Reuters) – The runaway success of Nintendo Co Ltd’s island life simulator, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, has overshadowed an uncomfortable fact for Switch console fans: it lacks upcoming titles.
FILE PHOTO: The Nintendo logo is displayed at Nintendo Tokyo, the first official Nintendo store in Japan, at the SHIBUYA PARCO department store and at the shopping center complex on November 19, 2019. REUTERS / Issei Kato / File Photo
Nintendo said Thursday that Animal Crossing, which has become an escapist success for players locked in by the coronavirus, is one of 27 Switch titles that changes over a million copies, after games populated with characters like the plumber. Italian Mario and the sword fighter Link.
But the Japanese company’s current game list is marked by the absence of highly successful names, with Nintendo on Thursday signaling updates and expansions to titles already on the market like Super Smash Bros.
Rival Sony Corp has already been forced to announce delays on major titles like The Last Of Us Part II as the coronavirus affects production. Nintendo, traditionally keeping its lips shut on releases, has refrained from describing upcoming titles since the start of the outbreak.
“The board is completely empty,” said Serkan Toto, founder of gaming industry consultancy Kantan Games. “The COVID-19 situation only increases Nintendo’s conservative stance when it comes to announcing games.”
Nintendo said Thursday that it sees software sales drop to 140 million units in the current financial year, even as Animal Crossing shows runaway success, selling more than 13 million units in its first six weeks.
The company’s shares fell 3.5% in early operations in Tokyo on Friday, compared to a 1% increase in the benchmark index.
The growing catalog of the Switch device includes titles, such as Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, with a dedicated fan base and a longer lifespan than games on other systems.
Because users will continue to buy the Switch to play older games, Nintendo is less pressured to announce games before they’re ready, said Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Securities.
Fans are still awaiting details on highly anticipated titles, such as the sequel to Breath of the Wild, which was again categorized as “To-Be-Announced” in Thursday’s introductions.
Many consumers can’t find the Switch hardware either, as Nintendo’s lean supply chain was further stretched by the coronavirus outbreak. Chief Executive Shuntaro Furukawa said he sees the disruption going down for the summer.
About 85% of fourth-quarter software sales were titles developed by Nintendo. The sales boost serves as a reply to critics who point to the threat from participants like Google and Apple.
By contrast, players who want to suck up the ghosts in Luigi’s Mansion or engage in a Turkish war on Splatoon must purchase a Nintendo console.
Reporting by Sam Nussey; David Dolan and David Evans edition
