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Nintendo revenue surges on the back of the Switch 2
Nintendo recorded a massive rise in revenue on Tuesday as the Nintendo Switch 2 became the fastest-selling console it ever released. The gaming giant’s revenue rose 86% year-over-year to 806.32 billion Japanese yen (US$5.2 million). Despite this jump, it still fell short of the 847.73 billion yen expected by analysts. However, net profit managed to jump 24% year-over-year to 159.93 yen and beat analyst expectations of 147.3 billion yen. The company also maintained its sales forecast for the Switch 2 of 19 million units in the fiscal year ending March 2026. So far, the gaming giant has sold 17.37 million units of the console, with 7 million units sold in the December quarter alone. Last month, research firm Circana said the Switch 2 was the best-selling console in December in the U.S. However, future sales of the console have become a headwind for Nintendo. When the Switch 2 was first announced, the company’s stocks hit a record high of over 14,000 in August, but have since fallen more than 30%. Analysts are wary of whether the Switch 2, which was released in June last year, has a strong enough pipeline of games to convince people to upgrade from its predecessor. This comes as the original Nintendo Swi
Gaming
EA reports drop in income but rise in revenue
Electronic Arts reported lower profit during its third quarter, despite a rise in revenue. The gaming company reported net income of US$88 million, or 35 cents per share, which was a drop from last year’s $293 million or $1.11 per share. This was driven by a rise in net bookings, which rose 38% to US$3.046 billion. Despite the drop in income, the company reported a 1% increase in revenue to $1.901 billion for the quarter. This was driven by EA’s best seller, Battlefield 6, which set new franchise engagement records. The gaming giant didn’t host its regular conference call with executives this quarter, ahead of its pending $55 billion deal to go private. In the earnings report, the company noted that its deal with Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund Silver Lake and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners is still set to go ahead in June of this year during the company’s first quarter of 2027. If the deal goes through, EA shareholders will receive $210 per share in cash, representing a premium 25% as of the company’s closing share price on 25 September. Following the acquisition, Andrew Wilson will remain CEO of the company. The pending acquisition sparked controversy after it was announced last September, wi
Gaming
Gamestop earnings take a hit in Q3; shares sink 5.7%
Gamestop's top line has slid back in Q3, according to its latest earnings report. Net sales for the quarter were down from US$860.3 million to $821.0 million, compared to the same time last year. This was a total miss of what analysts had estimated; $987.28 million. Hardware underperformed, with that sector making up the majority of GameStop's sales. Collectibles were performing well, however, up by nearly 50% compared to Q3 in 2024, featuring things like the virally successful Labubu figurines and Pokémon trading cards. The lower-than-expected figures caused shares to drop approximately 5.7% and were at $21.80 in after-hours trading.
Gaming
Nintendo raises forecasts on the back of the Switch 2
Nintendo is reaping the success of their latest console launch, the Switch 2, according to the numbers released in its latest earnings report. The successor to the Switch was released in June this year, and broke console sales records during its first week. The Japanese gaming titan is now reporting that 10.36 million units have been sold, with 19 million expected by the end of the financial year, finishing in March 2026. This is up 4 million from a previous forecast. Games exclusive to the Switch 2 have also been a boon, with 20.62 million games also sold since launch, though this increased forecast was less ambitious, with Switch 2 game sales expected to come in at 48 million instead of 45 million. The combined success of the new handheld console, on the hardware and software fronts, has been benefiting Nintendo across the board, with the latest earnings report showing that profit rose more than 270% year-on-year, landing at JP¥102.9 billion against the ¥63.6 billion forecast. Net profit also landed higher than expected at ¥102.9 billion compared to ¥63.6 billion expected. At the time of writing, Nintendo (TYO: 7974) stock was trading at ¥12,945, easing 0.8% from Monday's close. Nintendo's market cap stands
Gaming
EA net sales slide as Saudi-led buyout looms
Electronic Arts (EA) saw sales fall by 13% year-over-year just after the company announced it was lined up to go private a month ago. The gaming company attributes the drop in net sales to the strong sales for “College Football 25” at the same time last year. Net revenue for the company reached US$1.84 billion for the quarter, which is a downgrade from the US$2.02 it reached in the second quarter of last year. However, the company reported earnings per share of 54 cents, surpassing Wall Street expectations of 35 cents per share. Alongside issuing its financial details, the company said it would forgo its usual quarterly Q&A call between analysts and EA leadership and would no longer be issuing financial guidance. This choice is attributed to the gaming giants' pending US$55 billion deal to be taken private by Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund Silver Lake and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners. The buyout is expected to close by June 2026, which is the end of EA’s first fiscal quarter for 2027. If the deal goes through, EA shareholders will receive US$210 per share in cash, representing a premium 25% as of the company’s closing share price on 25 September. Following the acquisition, Andrew Wilson will re

Gaming
EA to abandon Wall St battlefield for US$50bn payday
Electronic Arts is lined up to go private in what could be Wall Street's largest leveraged buyout in history from Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners finalising the takeover, which could drop as early as next week. Shares in the gaming giant rocketed 15% on Friday when news broke, and at around US$50 billion, this smashes TXU Energy's previous go-private record from 2007 and values EA at a chunky premium to its current US$43 billion market cap. But why are these financial heavyweights throwing such serious coin at a video game outfit? Maybe it's because EA isn't just selling titles, it's providing a huge income-generating subscription service too. Top titles such as FIFA, Madden NFL, and The Sims are played by millions of punters that happily pay for the privilege year after year, with the company banking US$7.58 billion in FY 2025 takings at a steady 3% growth. Publishers now trade at 13.8x EBITDA multiples, while mobile developers languish at 4.7x.The buyersGlobal equity fund Silver Lake knows tech acquisitions inside out (they took Dell private) and Saudi Arabia's PIF is diversifying beyond oil at breakneck speed, having already dropped US$4.9 billion on Scopely l
Gaming
Nintendo Switch 2 powers growth, profit margins shrink
Nintendo's first quarter revenue exploded 132% to ¥572.3 billion (US$3.8 billion) as the Switch 2's blockbuster debut dominated earnings - though the hardware's lower profit margins mean the Kyoto giant isn't counting its coins just yet. The Japanese gaming giant shifted 5.82 million units of its latest console in its first quarter after launching globally on 5 June, marking what Nintendo calls its strongest four-day debut in company history. Mario Kart World bundled hardware proved wildly popular, but the success comes with strings attached. Yet while revenue soared, operating profit barely budged at ¥56.9 billion - a modest 4.4% increase. Hardware now represents 64.8% of Nintendo's dedicated gaming platform sales, up from 40.2% last year, and the Switch 2 carries significantly thinner margins than its predecessor. That saw gross profit margins collapse from 61.8% to 32.3% - an inevitable trade-off for selling expensive tech instead of high-margin software. And digital sales declined 13.5% to ¥69.8 billion, despite accounting for 59.3% of software revenue. It should be noted that the Switch 2 game catalogue is still in its infancy - meaning there's big margins for growth in the software division as marquee an
Gaming
EA beats Q1 targets, eyes strong FY26 growth
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) posted a solid start to fiscal year 2026, reporting Q1 net bookings of $1.298 billion — above its $1.275 billion guidance. Net revenue rose slightly year-over-year to $1.671 billion, while net income fell to $201 million from $280 million. Diluted earnings per share came in at $0.79, down from $1.04 in Q1 FY25. Analysts at LSEG predicted 63-cent earnings per share (EPS) on $1.24 billion in revenue. EA attributes the performance to strong contributions from EA SPORTS titles, Apex Legends, and record bookings in FC Mobile.Credit: Electronic ArtsOperationally, EA saw broad-based growth across its portfolio, with EA SPORTS F1 25 and Global Football leading gains. The company also returned significant value to shareholders, repurchasing 3 million shares for $375 million in Q1, and declaring a $0.19 dividend payable on 17 September. Operating cash flow for the quarter was $17 million, with trailing twelve-month figures showing $7.474 billion in net revenue and $1.976 billion in cash flow. Looking ahead, EA reaffirmed its FY26 guidance, projecting net bookings between $7.6 billion and $8.0 billion and net revenue between $7.1 billion and $7.5 billion. Q2 expectations include net b
Gaming
Video game voice actor strike ends after deal made
Hollywood video game voice actors have signed a new contract with a focus on AI, according to the actors' union SAG-AFTRA. Around 2,5000 members of SAG-AFTRA were involved in the strike against 10 of the biggest gaming companies, including Activision and Electronic Arts. According to the union, 95% of the members voted in favour of the new Interactive Media Agreement, which included AI guardrails as well as pay and health protections. "AI was the centrepiece of our proposal package," video game voice actor and member of the negotiation committee Sarah Elmaleh told Reuters after the new agreement passed. The agreement includes a compounded interest in performer compensation of 15.17% upon ratification, plus additional 3% increase in November 2025, November 2026 and November 2027. The overtime rate maximum for over-scale performers will also be doubled based on scale. Health and retirement rates for the AFTRA Retirement Fund will also increase from 16.5% to 17% and then to 17.5% in October 2026. In protection of performers' health, the contract also offers more safety measures for motion caption performers. "There are folks who not only give their voices to these characters, but their bodies, and they put the