“The success of the current version of Switch exceeded analysts’ expectations” – Kommersant FM

Kommersant FM columnist Alexander Levi discusses why Nintendo does not plan to release the Switch 2 console, and also talks about the new part of GTA from Rockstar Games.

The world of gamers is preparing for an important event. Rockstar Games has confirmed rumors about the imminent announcement of the sixth part of the Grand Theft Auto game. The publisher promised to release the first official trailer in early December. I believe that the timing and other details of the launch will be revealed in this video.

The upcoming title can rightly be called one of the most anticipated in the last decade. The circulation of the current version of the game, Grand Theft Auto V, has exceeded 185 million copies. In terms of absolute sales, it is second only to Minecraft, which, unlike GTA, is also presented on mobile platforms.

Along with Rockstar’s announcements, another important announcement was made in the gaming industry. The President of Nintendo denied information about the Switch 2 console. Reports about secret showings of the new product are nothing more than rumors, Shuntaro Furukawa emphasized. And the vendor’s patent, which describes a device with a pair of separable displays, which allegedly refers to a potential gadget, will not necessarily be implemented, the head of Nintendo explained.

This is easy to believe given the gaming company’s latest financial report. Sales of Switch consoles reached 132.5 million units. And this is the second position among the family of game consoles. In first place is the Nintendo DS model, officially released from 2004 to 2013. The absolute record so far belongs to the Sony PlayStation 2, which was purchased 155 million times.

The success of the current version of the Switch console has exceeded analysts’ forecasts in May. This was facilitated by the release of the film “Super Mario Brothers at the Movies.” The cartoon significantly influenced the sales of games related to the character. For example, the arcade Mario Kart 8 Deluxe alone sold over 3 million units after the release of the animated film. In addition to the main franchise about the mustachioed plumber, Nintendo has powerful supporting titles with the heroine Zelda. One of them, released in May, has already been sold 19.5 million times.

Last year, the so-called big three gaming companies (Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo) accounted for almost a third of the global market. With a share of only 0.06% in the distribution of operating systems, Nintendo accounts for 7% of the revenue from the global “pie” of $131.4 billion. And in the market of portable consoles it is the hegemon.