Japanese gaming giant Nintendo reportedly saw a rise of 5% in its shares after Splatoon 3, its new game title, made its debut in the country and broke a domestic sales record.

According to the company, the game sold over 3.45 million units, setting a new domestic record for software designed for the company’s gaming console, Switch, within the initial three days of commercial launch.

Splatoon 3 was unveiled last week on 9th September and is an action-shooting game that was one of the most anticipated titles of this year’s line-up by Nintendo.

The record sales supposedly absolved fears of a slowdown across the industry, which saw a pandemic-fueled boom, with more people spending time at home and playing video games, during early lockdowns.

Investors were also concerned over the impact of a possible recession in the video game sector as gaming behemoths Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo registered disappointing results in this year’s second quarter after the lifting and easing of COVID-19 restrictions worldwide.

Serkan Toto, CEO, Kantan Games, stated that the new title was a cult hit in Japan, and believes that the recent slowdown in the industry was because no major titles were being released.

Although the industry is still experiencing several headwinds, such as supply chain challenges, with the success of games like Splatoon 3, the growth momentum of Nintendo’s flagship console, now completing almost 5 years since its launch, will continue into the upcoming holiday season

The gaming company also recently held its Nintendo Direct event, where it revealed news about its upcoming releases and products, on Tuesday, 13th September.

The firm announced that one of its most anticipated games, the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which came out alongside Switch, was to make its debut next year, on 12th May. The new game’s official title is Tears of the Kingdom.

Breath of the Wild is also one of the best-selling titles of Nintendo, having sold more than 28 million copies. Other game franchises that will see new installments include Mario, Pikmin, and Fire Emblem, with many older games, like GoldenEye 007, all coming to Nintendo Online.

Source credit: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/13/nintendo-shares-jump-after-splatoon-3-japan-sales-record.html