The last few months have seen many game developers lose their jobs. Overall, the gaming industry is doing rather poorly. However, Nintendo has surprisingly been doing well for years in contrast. Instead of trying out short-term trends, Nintendo has relied on tried-and-true content and products.
Considering the last few weeks and months, it has not been a good time for the gaming industry:
- Microsoft laid off 9,000 employees in the gaming sector in the summer of 2025.
- Epic Games announced it would part ways with 1,000 employees and also plans to discontinue several game modes of Fortnite.
- Other studios, such as Electronic Arts and Ubisoft, are also shutting down entire departments and consolidating staff to save money.
- At the same time, AI is causing many people to lose their jobs in recent months.
However, one company surprisingly defies the crisis that seems to affect everyone right now: Nintendo. For years, Nintendo has been successful and apparently has not been hit as hard by the current crisis as other competitors.
Nintendo relies on the principle of “playing it safe”
The Japanese company behind the Switch relies little on experiments, but mainly on things that have been working for years:
- With games like “Pokémon Pokopia” and “Donkey Kong Bananza,” Nintendo has celebrated big successes in the last few months: Both titles have sold millions of copies and more than recouped their production costs.
- Furthermore, important games like “Mario Kart World” and “Animal Crossing” are being provided with crucial updates to keep players engaged.
- With the new “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” a major film is also in preparation, set to hit theaters in April. Its predecessor grossed $1.36 billion alone in 2023, and the new film could also generate billions in revenue.
- With the Nintendo Switch 2, a new console has been launched that builds on the strengths of its predecessor and has succeeded. In just the first few days, it is said that 3.5 million consoles were sold, and by the end of December 2025, it is expected to reach 17 million.
On the other hand, not everything is running smoothly: Nintendo is affected by U.S. tariffs and increasing hardware prices just like other companies. Nintendo has raised prices for older hardware, is reportedly planning to reduce production of the Switch 2 and is demanding significantly more money for physical games. This fact has been sharply criticized by many gamers.
Additionally, the company has been embroiled in a legal dispute over the game Palworld, where it has had varying levels of success.
Nevertheless, with its current strategy of playing it safe, it is more successful than many other developers who are currently facing challenges. Nintendo does not follow short-term trends that other studios are burning millions of euros on: The result has often been games like the infamous Concord, which was quickly discontinued.
Shuntarō Furukawa, the current president of Nintendo, explained in a conversation regarding the impact of rising storage costs that “it is not an appropriate approach to be overly influenced by short-term trends.” (via TheVerge.com).
The Nintendo Switch and its successor are good alternatives if you don’t want to give up gaming despite the RAM crisis. For more options on how you can still game despite high prices, check out MeinMMO: Is RAM too expensive for you? Here are 5 alternatives to game without an expensive gaming PC.
