What You Missed This Week in Video Games

“Game On” is The Fly’s weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks.

NEW RELEASES: This week’s major new game release is Ubisoft’s (UBSFY) “Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown,” the first brand new console title in the franchise since 2010. The game launches January 18 for PC, Nintendo Switch (NTDOY), Xbox One (MSFT), Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4 (SONY), and PlayStation 5. Also out this week is Sony’s (SONY) “The Last of Us Part II Remastered,” a PS5 remaster of the 2020 title of the same name with new content. The update releases January 19 exclusively for PS5.

NINTENDO HITS RECORD: Last week, Nintendo shares reached a record high in Japan, pushing the video game giant’s market capitalization past the 10T yen mark for the first time since November 2007, VideoGamesChronicle’s Tom Ivan reported. The stock spike was driven by a number of factors, including the anticipated launch of a new consoles, expectation for the expanding IP business, and speculation that oil money is set to acquire more Japanese video game stocks, the author noted at the time.

Meanwhile, VGC’s Ivan reported Friday that Nintendo gaming systems have dominated Japanese sales charts for 19 straight years, selling over 4M units in Japan in 2023 and with all ten of 2023’s best-selling console games in Japan being on Nintendo Switch, according to data from Famitsu. The Switch’s closest competitor, Sony’s PlayStation 5, sold nearly 2.6M units in Japan in 2023.

NETFLIX GAMES GROWTH: Last year, Netflix Games (NFLX) downloads rose over 180% year-over-year, TechCrunch’s Sarah Perez (TTWO) older “Grand Theft Auto” titles, the author noted.

OTHER STORIES TO WATCH:

• Capcom (CCOEY) said “Street Fighter 6” has sold over 3M units worldwide (read more)
• Apple’s (AAPL) request for a Supreme Court review of the Epic ruling has been denied, Bloomberg reports(GME) is shuttering its NFT marketplace next month, according to media reports (read more)
• Microsoft’s upcoming “Indiana Jones” games is set to launch in 2024, Insider Gaming reports (read more)