The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel delay knocks down Nintendo’s shares by 6%

gamepur.com:

Nintendo’s shares have declined by 6% after the company announced yesterday it was delaying the release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel to Spring 2023.

According to a report by Reuters, the mini slump comes after Nintendo gained a 25% year-to-date increase in shares. The climb was due in large part to strong Switch sales, the console’s impeccable gaming lineup, and the successful releases of new open-world games, including Pokemon Legends: Arceus in January and Kirby and the Forgotten Land just last week.

Fans were not the only group of people expecting the Breath of the Wild sequel to come out this year following its announcement at E3 2021. Stockholders were also expecting Nintendo to deliver on the promise of pushing the game out at the exact time they initially said. But just like other game companies, Nintendo is not immune to game delays, which means its decision to delay the Breath of the Wild sequel, whatever its final title will be, may have upset some stockholders. Other people aren’t too upset by the news, however.

“If there’s a year Nintendo can afford to push Zelda out of, it’s this year,” Serkan Toto, founder of the Kantan Games consultancy, said. “The fiscal year hasn’t even started yet, and they have spread out all of these potential blockbuster titles.”

The blockbuster titles they’re referring to are Splatoon 3, the next installation of the squid-kid paintball shooter series that is due out this summer, and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, which is slated for release this fall. The Gen 9 games are said to take after Pokemon Legends: Arceus’ open-world game mechanics.