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The new console is due to go on sale in the U.S. June 2025.
Revenue and profit plunged in the fourth quarter, the Japanese video game company said, although this was largely expected as Nintendo fans await the Switch 2 launch.
The Switch 2 will start at $449.99 in the U.S. and has improved features compared with its predecessor.
Gaming console sales have not met expectations. For example, sales of Sony’s PlayStation 5 have decreased from 3.3 million units in the same period last year to 2.4 million units in the fiscal first quarter of 2024.
The gaming industry experienced a substantial increase during the COVID-19 pandemic due to people staying indoors more often. Yet, with the easing of restrictions, there has been a noticeable change in consumer habits, with a trend towards increased outdoor activities.
Increased interest rates and inflation have diminished discretionary income, leading to a decrease in consumer spending on games.
The industry has faced mass layoffs and other operational challenges, which have impacted growth.
Despite these challenges, there are optimistic projections for 2025 with anticipated major releases like the eagerly awaited successor to Nintendo’s Switch console and Grand Theft Auto (GTA) VI.
Predictions for 2025 suggest that the new Nintendo console and GTA VI will make a significant impact, potentially revitalizing the industry.
The U.S. and China account for around half of consumer spending on games.
The gaming industry as a whole is currently estimated to be worth around $188 billion globally and this is projected to grow in 2025.
Amazon offers weak guidance citing Olympics and the Trump assassination attempt as cause (consumers are distracted). However, Amazon’s cloud unit reports 19% revenue growth, topping estimates and a 20% increase in business in Q2. Amazon stocks pull back after guidance update.
Intel endures a 22% share plunge dragging down other global microchip stocks from TSMC, ASML to Samsung. Company to cut 15% of workforce, reports quarterly guidance miss.
Meta shares climb 6% on positive earnings data and good revenue forecast. Zuckerberg enthused over AI and how it’s helping create profits suggesting ‘Meta’s advertising growth is proof that BIG AI spending is already paying off.’ However, Meta’s Reality Labs posts $4.5 billion loss in second quarter.
Nintendo profit falls 55% as sales of its ageing Switch console plunge. Nintendo revenue and profit plunged in Q1 as sales of its ageing Switch console decline. Nintendo sold 2.1 million units of its Switch consoles, down 46% on the year. Investors are seeking news surrounding a successor to the Nintendo Switch console.
Apple sales climbed 5%, topping estimates as iPad and services revenue lift despite ongoing issues with iPhone sales slipping in China. Apple is spending more on AI but remains way behind its peers.
Snap shares plunge more than 20% on weak guidance.
Qualcomm beats estimates as phone microchip sales up 12%.
Samsung Q2 revenue and profit comes in above estimates amid strong AI demand.
AMD jumps 5% as global microchip stocks rally. Data centre sales doubled.
Nintendo said on Wednesday 8th November 2023 it plans to develop a live-action film of The Legend of Zelda, one of its most popular game franchises.
Nintendo has been encouraged by the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie which has generated more than $1 billion at the box office since its April 2023 release.
Nintendo shares surged 6% in Japan on Wednesday 6th November 2023 on the Zelda movie news, and after the company raised its sales and profit forecast for the fiscal year.
Nintendo reported better-than-expected sales and profit for fiscal Q2 on Tuesday 6th November 2023 as it continues to benefit from the Zelda game released this year and from the Super Mario Movie.
Nintendo said it sold 6.84 million Switch consoles in the April to September period, up 2.4% year-on-year. The company maintained its forecast for 15 million Switch unit sales. The Nintendo Switch is 6 years old – pretty good going for an old console.
Nintendo raised its sales and profit forecast for its current fiscal year. Nintendo’s revenue fell 4% year-on-year and its profit dropped 19%.
Sales in the first half of the fiscal year were the largest since the launch of the Switch, Nintendo reportedly said in a statement.
Arm is a British semiconductor and software design company that is known for its Arm processors, which are widely used in smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other devices. Arm was founded in 1990 as a joint venture between Acorn Computers, Apple Computer, and VLSI Technology. The company was originally called Advanced RISC Machines, but later changed its name to Arm Ltd in 1998.
In 1985, the first Arm silicon chip was created by Acorn engineers Sophie Wilson and Steve Furber, who designed a 32-bit processor with a simple and elegant instruction set.
In 1990, Arm was spun off from Acorn as a separate company, with Apple as a major investor. Arm’s first product was the ARM6 processor, which was used in Apple’s Newton personal digital assistant.
In 1993, Arm introduced the ARM7 processor, which became one of the most successful embedded processors in history. It was used in devices such as the Nokia 6110 mobile phone, the Nintendo Game Boy Advance, and the Lego Mindstorms robotics kit.
In 1994, Arm launched the ARM9 processor family, which offered higher performance and lower power consumption than previous generations. The ARM9 was used in devices such as the Sony PlayStation Portable, the Palm Treo smartphone, and the Amazon Kindle e-reader.
In 1997, Arm introduced the ARM10 processor family, which featured a superscalar architecture and a floating-point unit. The ARM10 was used in devices such as the Apple iPod, the Samsung Galaxy S smartphone, and the Raspberry Pi computer.
In 1998, Arm changed its name from Advanced RISC Machines to Arm Ltd, reflecting its global expansion and recognition.
In 1999, Arm launched the ARM11 processor family, which featured a vector floating-point unit and a TrustZone security extension. The ARM11 was used in devices such as the iPhone 3G, the Nintendo DS, and the Raspberry Pi Zero.
In 2000, Arm became a public company, listing on the London Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. The company raised £213 million in its initial public offering.
In 2001, Arm introduced the Cortex processor family, which offered a range of performance, power, and cost options for different applications. The Cortex processors are used in devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S10, the Apple Watch, and the Tesla Model 3.
In 2005, Arm acquired Artisan Components, a provider of physical intellectual property (IP) for chip design. This enabled Arm to offer a complete solution for system-on-chip (SoC) development.
In 2006, Arm announced the Mali graphics processing unit (GPU) family, which complemented its CPU offerings with high-performance graphics capabilities. The Mali GPUs are used in devices such as the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, the Oculus Quest, and the Samsung Smart TV.
In 2009, Arm partnered with IBM, Samsung, Texas Instruments, and others to form the Linaro consortium, which aimed to improve the Linux software ecosystem for Arm-based devices.
In 2010, Arm unveiled the Cortex-A15 processor, which was the first Arm processor to support virtualization and big.LITTLE technology. The Cortex-A15 was used in devices such as the Google Nexus 10, the LG G3, and the Nintendo Switch.
In 2011, Arm announced the Cortex-M0+ processor, which was the world’s most energy-efficient microcontroller. The Cortex-M0+ was used in devices such as the Arduino Nano 33 IoT, the Fitbit Flex 2, and the Nest Thermostat.
In 2012, Arm launched the Cortex-A53 and Cortex-A57 processors, which were the first Arm processors to support the 64-bit ARMv8 architecture. The Cortex-A53 and Cortex-A57 were used in devices such as the iPhone 6s, the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, and the Microsoft Surface Pro X.
In 2013, Arm acquired Geomerics, a developer of real-time lighting technology for video games. This enhanced Arm’s graphics portfolio with dynamic illumination and global illumination effects.
In 2014, Arm introduced the Cortex-A72 processor, which delivered a 50% performance improvement over the previous generation. The Cortex-A72 was used in devices such as the Huawei P9, the Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus, and the Amazon Fire HD 10.
In 2015, Arm announced the Cortex-A35 processor, which was the most efficient Arm processor for smartphones and tablets. The Cortex-A35 was used in devices such as the Nokia 2.1, the Samsung Galaxy J2 Core, and the Lenovo Tab M7.
In 2016, Arm was acquired by SoftBank Group for £24.3 billion, becoming a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate. The deal was motivated by SoftBank’s vision of investing in technologies that would drive the future of artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IoT), and smart cities.
In 2017, Arm launched Project Trillium, a suite of machine learning (ML) solutions that included an ML processor , an object detection processor , and an open-source software framework. The Project Trillium products aimed to enable low-power and high-performance ML applications on edge devices.
In 2018, Arm unveiled the Cortex-A76 processor , which offered a 35% performance boost over its predecessor. The Cortex-A76 was used in devices such as the OnePlus 7T, the Huawei MateBook D14, and the Acer Chromebook Spin 13.
In 2019, Arm announced the Cortex-A77 processor , which improved on its predecessor with a higher clock speed, a larger cache, and better branch prediction . The Cortex-A77 was used in devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S20, the Asus ROG Phone II, and the Lenovo Yoga C940.
In 2020, Arm introduced the Cortex-X1 processor , which was its most powerful CPU design to date. The Cortex-X1 was designed to deliver peak performance for premium device , such as flagship smartphones, laptops and gaming consoles. The Cortex-X1 was used in devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, the Xiaomi Mi 11, and the Google Pixel 6.
In 2021, Arm launched the Cortex-A78C processor , which was optimized for high-performance computing (HPC) applications. The Cortex-A78C featured up to eight CPU cores , a larger L3 cache, and support for ECC memory. The Cortex-A78C was used in devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro, the HP Elite Folio , and the Acer Chromebook Spin 513.
In 2022, Arm unveiled the Cortex-A710 processor, which was its first big core to support the Armv9 architecture. The Cortex-A710 offered a 30% energy efficiency improvement over its predecessor, as well as enhanced security and ML features. The Cortex-A710 was used in devices such as the OnePlus 10 Pro, the Huawei MatePad Pro 2, and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio.
In 2023, Arm announced the Immortalis GPU family , which was its next-generation graphics solution that included hardware-based ray-tracing and variable rate shading capabilities . The Immortalis GPUs aimed to deliver realistic and immersive graphics for gaming, VR and AR applications on mobile devices . The Immortalis GPUs were used in devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra , the Sony Xperia 1 IV, and the Oculus Quest 3.
Arm is a leading semiconductor and software design company that has revolutionized the computing industry with its innovative and efficient processor architectures. Arm’s processors power billions of devices across various domains, such as mobile, IoT, AI, HPC, and gaming. Arm has been at the forefront of technological advancements for over three decades, delivering performance, energy efficiency, and security to its customers and partners.
Arm is a subsidiary of SoftBank Group and has a massive global presence.
Nintendo Co. has reported a new high for its first-quarter profit, thanks to the blockbuster launch of its latest Legend of Zelda game.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, released in May 2023, sold more than 18.5 million copies in the first quarter and received universal acclaim. The game features an open-world adventure with stunning graphics and gameplay, and is considered one of the best titles on the Switch platform. Interestingly, the game is played offline.
The outstanding performance of Zelda has helped Nintendo prop up flagging sales of its Switch console, which is now in its seventh year on the market and faces competition from rival console makers Sony Group Corp. and Microsoft Corp. Nintendo has not announced any major games for the rest of the fiscal year, nor has it revealed any plans for a successor to its flagship console.
Nintendo maintained its full-year forecast for the console of 15 million units, which would be an impressive feat at this stage of the console’s lifecycle. The company also has a strong pipeline of titles for the year-end shopping season, including Detective Pikachu Returns and Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
Nintendo saw a boost from the ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘, based on the company’s best-known characters, which has generated more than $1 billion at the box office since its April release. The film was produced by Universal Studios.