Nintendo surges after record debut of new switch game

Nintendo Co.’s family-friendly online shooter game Splatoon 3 became the biggest Switch debut to date with 3.45 million units sold in Japan over its opening weekend.

Shares in the console maker surged as much as 6% in Tokyo after the announcement, their biggest intraday jump since December 2020.

The long-awaited release topped initial domestic sales of any Switch title, surpassing Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ 1.88 million units. Animal Crossing provided a major boost to Nintendo’s software sales during the pandemic and helped sustain hardware demand for the now five-year-old platform.

The debut also sets a new high for any game launch in Japan, according to industry analyst Daniel Ahmad of Niko Partners.

Splatoon 3 is part of a strong stable of games Nintendo has lined up for the holiday period, as it seeks to extend the life of the Switch beyond the typical window for a single console generation. The company is also betting on its Pokémon franchise to keep up momentum alongside Splatoon.

Nintendo reported declining sales last month and hardware remains a pain point. Prolonged component shortages and this year’s elevated materials costs have put pressure on its outlook, though the company has stuck to its forecast of selling 21 million units of the handheld-hybrid Switch console, down from 23 million in the previous year.