No matter the company or the “field” they are in, there are always certain “constants” that they try to achieve. The biggest one is that they desire every year to be good, profitable, memorable, and a “banner year” for the company in some form. This can be especially true in the gaming space, as companies need to perform well every year to prove they can go up against their competitors and maintain their slice of their market. For 2023, there’s little doubt that Nintendo has had a year for the record books, and not just on the gaming side of things.
This statement comes not from fans but from Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser, who talked with IGN during the recent live event in Seattle, where he said that several factors have led to The Big N having a “unique” year:
“It started with the opening of Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios in Hollywood, which follows the opening of the park two years ago in Osaka.
We launched The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which very quickly became the second-largest box office grossing animated film of all time at $1.3 billion. We launched The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which, 18 million units later after a very brief period of time, it’s one of our fastest launch titles ever.”
He also cited the “Nintendo Live” event in the US and other things as driving The Big N forward during the year. Other things you could point to that helped drive their success were their numerous first-party titles outside of the “big two” doing well, including Kirby’s new game, the recent success of Pikmin 4, and the success of Fire Emblem Engage. The Switch has crossed 130 million units sold and continues to rise through the ranks of the best-selling systems, and gamers are very eager for what is coming to the console next.
The biggest things that The Big N has for the rest of the year include the upcoming Super Mario Bros Wonder title, a new Wario game, and the long-anticipated remake of Super Mario RPG. Plus, fans are hoping that a Nintendo Direct will arrive this month so that fans can get a glimpse at what the company has in store next year. Not to mention, the hype is slowly building for what the Switch successor will be. There are already plenty of rumors about what it may or may not offer, but it’s hard to know whether they’re true.
Either way, 2023 is looking to end strong for Nintendo.
