Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Behind the Story: Nintendo's Secretive 2019 Zelda Reveal

The reveal of the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild during E3 2019 serves as a case study in corporate information control and the management of media expectations.

• Nintendo maintained extreme secrecy regarding the 2019 reveal of the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, with fewer than 10 people at Nintendo of America aware of the announcement plans prior to E3.
• To prevent leaks, Nintendo provided members of the press with an embargoed 'final' version of their E3 2019 press release and video presentation that intentionally omitted the Zelda teaser.
• The version of the Nintendo Direct screened for the press under NDA concluded with the announcement of Banjo-Kazooie for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, rather than the Zelda reveal.

Super Mario Party Jamboree and Party Games on Live Streaming

The release of Super Mario Party Jamboree highlights the evolving landscape of party games within the live-streaming industry.

• Super Mario Party Jamboree generated 5.3 million hours watched in its debut week, driven by high-profile streamer support despite a relatively low total airtime of 35.5K hours.
• The title achieved the second-highest weekly viewership among Mario spin-off games, outperforming Mario Kart 8’s peak weekly viewership by 1 million hours.
• Top global streamers, including alanzoka (208K hours), Squeezie (207.5K hours), and VTuber Usada Pekora (165K hours), were primary drivers of the game's initial viewership.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero’s Record Success on Live Streaming

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero has achieved record-breaking success on live-streaming platforms, establishing itself as a dominant force in the fighting game genre.

• Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero achieved the best opening week of any fighting game on live-streaming platforms, recording 14.7 million hours watched and a peak viewership of 352,000.
• The game generated 612,000 hours of airtime and reached a peak of 91,000 concurrent players during its early access period, significantly outperforming the all-time peak of 44,000 concurrent players for Dragon Ball FighterZ.
• The title outperformed other major fighting games in its debut week, surpassing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (14.2 million hours) and Street Fighter 6 (13.6 million hours).

Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and Switch Games on Live Streaming

The release of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom serves as a case study for the performance of Nintendo intellectual property on live-streaming platforms.

• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom generated 3.4 million hours watched and over 100,000 hours of airtime during its debut week, significantly outperforming the 2019 release of Link’s Awakening, which saw 2 million hours watched.
• The game's open-ended 'Echoes' puzzle system drove high engagement by encouraging unique player solutions, a feature that mirrors the successful live-streaming appeal of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
• Western viewership for the game was primarily driven by streamers alanzoka (194K hours), BarbarousKing (73K hours), and Ponce (61.5K hours), while Japanese viewership was led by NIJISANJI VTubers Hayama Marin and Yorumi Rena.

College Street Fighter Tour Coming to CECC Texas 2025

Collegiate Sports Management Group (CSMG) has announced a partnership with Capcom to launch the College Street Fighter Tour, a new competitive initiative for the collegiate esports landscape.

• Collegiate Sports Management Group (CSMG) has partnered with Capcom to launch the College Street Fighter Tour, with finals scheduled for the Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup (CECC) Texas in 2025.
• Street Fighter 6 joins Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Overwatch 2, Rocket League, and Valorant as an official competitive title within the CECC ecosystem.
• Esports industry veteran Wim Stocks, formerly of Beyond Gaming, Collegiate Starleague, and Virgin Gaming, has been appointed as the commissioner of the new tour.

Cologne Gaming Network Partners With Razer

The Cologne Gaming Network (CGN Esports), a German esports organization, has entered into a partnership with the European division of Razer, a global manufacturer of gaming peripherals.

• German esports organization Cologne Gaming Network (CGN Esports) has entered into a partnership with the European division of hardware manufacturer Razer.
• Under the agreement, Razer will provide its esports-specific gaming peripherals to CGN’s professional Valorant and Fortnite rosters for use in competition.
• Razer intends to utilize feedback from CGN’s professional players to assist in the future development of its esports hardware lineup.

2023 CESA Games White Paper

The 2023 CESA Games White Paper serves as a comprehensive annual assessment of the global and domestic home video game industry.

• The 2023 CESA Games White Paper reports the total Japanese domestic home video game market (hardware and packaged software) reached 377.4 billion yen, a slight increase from 371.9 billion yen in 2021.
• The international home video game market saw significant growth, reaching a total of 3.6772 trillion yen in 2022, up from 3.3978 trillion yen in the previous year.
• Domestic download-only game software sales were estimated at 30.1 billion yen in 2022, a decline from the 34.6 billion yen recorded in 2021.

Illinois High School Association Dumps NBA 2K Tournaments

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) has officially excluded NBA 2K from its 2023 State Series esports competition.

• The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) has removed NBA 2K from its 2023 State Series esports competition to avoid mandatory reliance on third-party tournament organizer PlayVS.
• The IHSA board maintains a standing policy against working with third-party scholastic esports programs, citing incompatible rules for titles like Mario Kart 8 and the absence of FIFA support as primary friction points with PlayVS.
• PlayVS holds the exclusive licensing rights to NBA 2K for scholastic tournaments, effectively forcing the IHSA to either partner with the company or drop the game entirely from its state-wide series.

Esports Stadium Arlington to Host CECC Texas Finals

Collegiate Sports Management Group and ESPORTSU have announced that the OpTic Gaming-owned Esports Stadium Arlington in Texas will host the Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup (CECC) Texas Finals.

• Esports Stadium Arlington, owned by OpTic Gaming, will host the Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup (CECC) Texas Finals from May 6–7, 2023.
• The event will feature 64 collegiate teams from across the United States competing in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Overwatch 2, Rocket League, and Valorant.
• The tournament schedule begins with a May 5 red carpet ceremony and media day, followed by qualifying rounds on May 6 and finals on May 7.

Financial Results Briefing for Fiscal Year Ended March 2019: Nintendo

The fiscal year ended March 2019 marked a period of sustained growth for Nintendo, characterized by the continued momentum of the Nintendo Switch platform across Japan, North America, and Europe.

Nintendo: Supplementary Information for Earnings Release Fiscal Year Ended March 2019

The fiscal year ended March 2019 represented a period of significant financial growth for Nintendo, characterized by a substantial increase in both net sales and operating profit.

Corporate Management Policy Briefing: 3rd Quarter Results for Fiscal Year Ending March 2019

Nintendo is navigating a transitional period in the fiscal year ending March 2019, prioritizing the long-term expansion of its intellectual property and the strengthening of its digital ecosystem.