Nintendo has kept players interested in its aging line of Switch consoles with key games featuring characters like “Super Mario” and “Zelda.”
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Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has reduced its stake in Nintendo, a day after reports that a senior executive at the kingdom’s massive sovereign wealth fund said it was considering increasing its stake in the company.
PIF reduced its stake in the Japanese video game giant to 7.54% from 8.58% previously, according to Japanese regulatory filings.
Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan al-Saud, deputy chairman of Savvy Games Group, PIF’s gaming-focused subsidiary, attended Tokyo Games in late September During the exhibition, he was asked about the possibility of increasing his stake in Nintendo and other Japanese game companies.
“It’s always a possibility,” Prince Faisal told local outlet Kyodo News at the time, while adding that partners’ agreement was crucial, saying: “It’s important to maintain communication so that goals can be achieved in the right way. We don’t want to rush into anything. “
Nintendo shares rose 4.4% on Monday after the report was released.
Saudi Arabia has invested billions of dollars in the gaming industry at home and abroad in recent years, aiming to become an esports and gaming hub as part of the country’s “Vision 2030” plan, which aims to reduce the country’s heavy reliance on oil. modernize and diversify the Saudi Arabian economy. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is also the chairman of Savvy Games Group.
Nintendo has been grappling with a slowdown in the console gaming market and aging products. Its flagship Switch hybrid console is its best-selling product ever, with global sales of 143.4 million units. Seven years ago, it lost some of its luster as gamers switched to more advanced machines from the likes of Microsoft and Sony.
The awards for the Esports World Cup will be presented at the opening ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on July 2, 2024.
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Sales of Switch devices have also been slowing in recent years for a variety of reasons, including players emerging from Covid-19 lockdowns and the arrival of new home consoles like the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.
In the company’s first fiscal quarter ended June 30, Nintendo reported a 46% year-over-year decline in sales of its Switch game console. The company shipped 2.1 million units in the three months, down from 3.91 million units a year ago.
The market is now watching to see what products the company will release next. In May, Nintendo confirmed that it would announce a successor to its Switch this fiscal year, but did not provide any further details on how it would look or reveal any specifications.
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