Thanks to a new investor which added over $1 billion in funds, Nintendo might be on its way to conquer entertainment giants like Disney.
Nintendo is easily one of the most popular companies in the world. Making its start in 1889 the company started with Japanese playing cards. What we all know it for though started in the mid-70s and early 80s with the age of video games and consoles. Fast forward to present day and Nintendo is still on top with an estimated net worth of over $50 billion.
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A recent investor named ValueAct Capital Partners added $1.1 billion to the company, acquiring 2.6 million shares and a 2% stake at Nintendo. Instead of aiming for a spot at Nintendo’s board of directors, ValueAct would rather like to see the company push beyond its boundaries and explore new possibilities. VA’s idea will see Nintendo go against some of the biggest companies in the world like Disney, Tencent, and others.
ValueAct and Nintendo are reportedly already in negotiations about the potential new expansion into new territory. Mario branding made its way into Lego recently, while Nintendo is also working on a Super Mario movie and a dedicated theme park. This brings it closer and closer to one of its main rivals – Disney.
We can only hope that the new Mario movie won’t be a total disaster like the notoriously hated live-action one from the 90s. The new version will be entirely animated in 3D with Illumination the studio behind Despicable Me and Minions being hired for the job. Shigeru Miyamoto is also going to be involved in the process. For anyone unfamiliar Miyamoto is the creative mind behind both the Super Mario and Zelda franchises, two of the most successful ones for Nintendo.
The change of course from gaming to entertainment as a whole was predicted by Satoru Iwata, one of Nintendo’s previous presidents back in 2014:
A lot of people around the world think Nintendo is solely a company that makes video games, and I believe more and more of our own employees have started thinking in this way. Some employees in charge of development find themselves in positions where all they are thinking about is how they can make the game in front of them more fun, so I don't think it can be helped if others outside of our company see us the same way. So even though we won't change the fact that our focus is on video games, I felt the need to take that occasion to state that Nintendo is a company that can do whatever it wants.
All of this is still in the making and in the next few years, Nintendo could easily do a step further into the entertainment industry. Whether it will though remains to be seen. In the meantime check out more gaming news at EarlyGame.
