TOPSHOT – Super Mario characters are photographed on a Nintendo display at a home electronics retailer in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture on June 2, 2025, ahead of the release of the company’s game console “Switch 2.”
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nintendo From Super Mario to Pokemon, there’s no doubt that it features some of the most famous characters in video games.
Now more than ever, the Japanese giant is betting on nostalgic and new gamers to expand the reach of its valuable intellectual property (IP), from movies to merchandise to theme parks, to boost sales of its flagship Switch 2 console and major games.
“These characters, like Mario and Pikachu, are obviously Nintendo’s major IP franchises and are very recognizable, so they have a lot of appeal,” Ruben Martens, a lecturer in film and media studies at Manchester Metropolitan University, told CNBC.
In November, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa explained the company’s thinking behind promoting intellectual property.
“We believe that the combination of three elements – our core principles of putting Nintendo’s unique and original entertainment at the core of our business, expanding the fan base of Nintendo IP, and fostering long-term relationships with consumers – will drive medium- to long-term growth for our business and leverage our unique strengths,” Furukawa said.
Nintendo is the focus of a new episode of my show “Built for Billions.” The show delves into the gaming giant’s console hits and misses, and considers how the company is positioned for the future with its treasure trove of intellectual property.
Expanding Nintendo’s footprint
Over the past five years, Nintendo has significantly stepped up its efforts to promote its famous series and characters in order to reach a wider audience.
In 2021, Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan, opened Super Nintendo World, an area of the theme park based on the world of Super Mario, with areas such as Bowser’s Castle. Super Nintendo World areas have since opened in other parts of Universal Studios.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie, released by Universal Pictures in 2023, has grossed more than $1 billion at the box office, and a sequel is scheduled for release this year. A movie based on Zelda, one of Nintendo’s most popular characters, is also in the works.
There are also products, from clothing to stuffed animals, that are sold at Nintendo Stores and other locations.
However, IP itself is not Nintendo’s main driver of revenue. In the first nine months of Nintendo’s fiscal year, which began in March 2025, the company reported IP-related revenue of 54.5 billion yen ($347.7 million). This amounted to just under 3% of Nintendo’s overall sales during the same period.
Nintendo announced that the Nintendo Switch games “Pokémon Scarlet” and “Pokémon Violet” have achieved the highest sales records in the company’s history. Pokémon is one of Nintendo’s longest-running and most popular series.
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Rather, movies and theme parks play an important role in driving fans to Nintendo’s core gaming products, as well as attracting new players.
For example, the 2023 Super Mario Bros. movie gave Nintendo a short-term profit boost, even though the original Switch console was six years old. This allowed Nintendo to extend the lifespan of the console and turn the Switch into the gaming giant’s best-selling device of all time.
Nintendo entered the home game console market in 1983 with the release of the Famicom in Japan, which became the NES worldwide in 1985. As such, Nintendo has been around for a long time, and several generations of players have interacted with the company’s games and consoles.
This nostalgia element is key to the company’s continued momentum and the ability to leverage its leading brands to do so.
“Nintendo was able to cultivate a Disney feel by leveraging nostalgia and accessibility in a very powerful way – the fact that you can step inside the characters and immediately engage with them without any prior knowledge,” Martens said.
Focus on Switch 2 sales
How Nintendo presents its characters in movies and theme parks will become increasingly important as the Switch 2, which was released in June of last year, is being developed. Nintendo has sold over 17 million devices to date.
Mario Kart World was the best-selling game on the Switch 2, highlighting how Nintendo’s high-profile games are key to driving sales.
The challenge for the company will be to continue reinventing the franchise while running the risk that currently popular and beloved characters may become obsolete among gamers.
“One risk is that at some point, people may get tired of the same IP that Nintendo is making games for,” Kantan Games CEO Serkan Toto said on CNBC’s “Built for Billions.”
“So Nintendo is in a treasure trove of IP, but the top three are Zelda, Mario, and Pokémon,” Toto said.
“Everyone is happy with these IPs… But what about 10 years from now, or 20 years from now? So I think Nintendo, at some point, is going to have to come up with new IPs, new ideas, characters, new worlds, because there’s a certain risk because things can get a little stale.”
