Nintendo To Launch Life-Sized Video Game At Universal Studios

Nintendo (OTC:NTDOY) is reportedly planning to open a life-sized video game via a new attraction at Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) owned Universal Studios Japan.

Per Bloomberg, Super Nintendo World is slated to open this summer and will feature a ‘power up band’ wearable that lets visitors collect coins and battle bosses while exploring a physical environment, with progress being tracked via a smartphone app.

The studio hinted that the game will follow classic Nintendo themes, revolving around a mission to recover a golden mushroom stolen by Bowser Jr., a Mario antagonist.
Moreover, it will feature locations from the games like Mushroom Kingdom and Bowser’s fortress.

Super Nintendo World is also set to open at Universal’s parks in America and Singapore though launch date is available.

The game is part of Nintendo’s focus on opening up its iconic characters for use beyond its own devices. The company is benefiting from the successful launch of a number of smartphone games, notably a free-to-play version of the Mario Kart franchise.

Notably, shares of Nintendo have returned 35.1% in the past year, compared with the industry’s rally of 18.8%, primarily driven by its expanding portfolio and strong player base.

Expanded Offerings to Drive the Top Line

Nintendo has been focused on maximizing the value of its intellectual properties (IP) by moving them outside its core consoles and releasing expansions for its existing IPs.

Notably, the company recently announced that it is working on two expansions for Pokemon: Sword and Pokemon: Shield, which are set to release this year.

Although this isn’t the first time the company has dabbled with downloadable content, it is the first time Nintendo has done so for a main series Pokemon title. Sword/Shield is one of the best-selling Switch titles of all times and the expansions are likely to drive growth in the near term.

Nintendo also expanded its console offerings with the release of Switch Lite in September 2019, which provided a significant boost to its top line. Notably, the console sold 1.95 million units within the first 10 days of its release.

However, the company is facing stiff competition in the video game market from the likes of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) .

Activision and EA released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, respectively, in 2019, which were huge successes.

Moreover, the upcoming launch of EA’s Command and Conquer: Remastered and Star Wars: Rise to Power and Activision’s Galakrond’s Awakening expansion for Hearthstone is expected to intensify competition in the market.

Zacks Rank

Currently, Nintendo carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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