Game Bytes: Nintendo Sets Records, Saudi Arabia Invests In Game Biz
It’s February and while some of us have been taking time off to play the newest Pokémon game or watching the Winter Olympics, there has been a ton of news in the world of video games. Sony had an answer to Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard, Nintendo had a great week and Saudi Arabia is joining in the buyouts of video game companies.
This week saw Nintendo reaching all-time highs in sales and breaking its own records. The new game Pokémon Legends: Arceus already has outsold other Pokémon games in its first week by selling to over 6.5 million players. The new Pokémon game has been the talk of the town with how different it is from other Pokémon games and only time will tell if GameFreak and Nintendo choose to keep this formula. The Switch also broke some Nintendo records this week by outselling the Wii and becoming Nintendo’s best-selling home console. The Switch has now sold 103.54 million consoles worldwide beating the 101.6 million sales benchmark of the Wii. Nintendo also announced this week that unlike Microsoft and Sony, it won’t be acquiring any other studios at the moment. In the investor call which happened this week, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa addressed the matter and spoke about how the company would rather prioritize investing in the developers that it already owns. The last studio it bought was in 2021 with Next Level games which had already established a relationship with Nintendo over a few years.
Sony has responded to Microsoft by buying Halo creator and Destiny developer Bungie in a deal valued at $3.6 billion. Despite buying the company, Sony plans to have Bungie become an independent subsidiary. This acquisition will give Sony access to Bungie’s world-class approach to live game services and technology expertise, furthering Sony’s vision to reach billions of players. Bungie will continue to operate independently, maintaining the ability to self-publish and reach players on whatever platform they choose to play.
Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund is investing in Capcom and Nexon. The kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has announced it acquired a 5 percent stake each in Capcom and Nexon, with its combined investments in both companies reaching $1 billion, according to Bloomberg. The PIF, which is run by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is looking to grow the size of its portfolio to more than $1.07 trillion by the end of 2025. The oil-rich kingdom is trying to create a new image for itself by diversifying its portfolio with purchases such as these instead of what it’s known for as an oil tycoon.
Valentine’s Day is coming up and there are plenty of new games releasing just in time to get for your sweetheart. OlliOlli World (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC) and Sifu (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC) both come out on the 8th, with Action Arcade Wrestling (Switch) and Backbone (Switch) releasing on the 9th. The 10th is packed with games releasing, including CrossfireX (Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One), Edge of Eternity (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One), Kardboard Kings (PC), Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue (Switch), Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix (Switch), Kingdom Hearts III (Switch) and Know By Heart (PC). On the 11th we will see the release of Lost Ark (PC).
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