Investors were not thrilled with the recent Nintendo Direct: the company's stock price dropped by 7%

Shareholders were expecting a new game about Mario's adventures.

Yesterday's Nintendo Direct presentation was well-received by most players, but investors reacted much more cautiously. Amidst the absence of major announcements capable of becoming the main sales driver for the Nintendo Switch 2 during the holiday season, the company's shares fell by 8% today, then partially recovered, ending the day at around -6.75%.

According to Reuters, Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal noted in a client memo that the absence of a new Super Mario series game in the holiday lineup has significant commercial implications. He stated that the Nintendo Switch 2 debuted last summer with projects like Mario Kart World, and then received Donkey Kong Bananza. However, in its second year of life, the console enters the key sales season without a franchise of comparable scale.

For Nintendo, such a market reaction is not unusual. The company's shares had been declining for five months until early May, as investors anticipated a price increase for the Switch 2. After the console's price was indeed raised, Nintendo's shares still plummeted by 12% due to a cautious forecast for the 2027 fiscal year.

At the same time, the views of investors and players traditionally differ. While the former are concerned with profit growth, the latter primarily evaluate the quality of the game lineup.

During the presentation, strong support for the Switch 2 from third-party publishers was announced. Both well-known projects and entirely new games will appear on the console, including Rise of the Tomb Raider, DayZ, Devil May Cry 5, Dragon's Dogma 2, Stellar Blade, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, Lies of P, RuneScape: Dragonwilds, Lords of the Fallen II, Final Fantasy Resonance, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, and Kingdom Hearts IV.

Nintendo itself is not lagging behind. The company presented Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, Splatoon Raiders, Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, Xenoblade Genesis, as well as the long-awaited remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.