Nintendo launched the Switch in China this week leading the company's stock to hit an almost two-year high.
Nintendo continues to enjoy a lot of success via the Switch. The console's lifetime sales have already hit the 40 million mark which means it has sold more units than the GameCube and the Nintendo 64. Should it carry on in the same vein, then at some point pretty soon the Switch will leave the SNES eating its dust too.
Chances are the Switch could be about to see a big bump in sales. That's due to the fact it was released in China this week. That's a big deal for Nintendo for a number of reasons. The country is home to more than a billion people and although not every single one of them is an avid gamer, China's gaming community is a big one that continues to grow.
That has already been demonstrated even though the Switch was only released in the country yesterday, December 10, 2019. Nintendo's stock saw a big increase, jumping up 2.9% following the console's release. Not only is that a nice number to look at for everyone at Nintendo, but it's the highest point the company's stock has hit in the past 19 months.
Although Nintendo will have expected an increase in stock price, to see a jump such as this one might have come as something of a surprise. Yes, the Switch's Chinese launch is a big deal, but even Nintendo CEO Shuntaro Furuwaka admitted that there were no expectations for the launch to have any sort of drastic effect on the company's numbers for this fiscal year. Seems as if some recalculations are in order.
The other reason Nintendo will have been expecting a slow start to Nintendo's life in China is due to the games approved for sale on the console. There's currently just one, Super Mario Bros. Deluxe. While that's a solid game to have in your collection, not being able to extend that collection beyond the one title might be a little off-putting. Other games will be released in time, of course, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Mario Odyssey already confirmed.
Source: Seeking Alpha