Gaming PIF cuts stake in Nintendo as Switch sales slow By Chris Hamill-Stewart November 13, 2024, 3:01 PM Wachiwit/Alamy via Reuters Connect The Nintendo Switch is the company's best-selling product, having sold 143.4 million units worldwide PIF trims Nintendo holding to 7.5% Switch sales down 46% PIF investing heavily in gaming Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has trimmed its holding in Nintendo, as the Japanese gaming company suffered a drop in sales for its biggest product. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund reduced its stake to 7.54 percent from 8.58 percent, according to a Japanese regulatory filing on Tuesday. The news of the cut comes just a month after Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud, the head of the PIF’s gaming-focused subsidiary division, Savvy Games Group, said raising the company’s stake in Nintendo was a “possibility”. Nintendo has been grappling with a slowing console gaming market and an ageing product in its flagship Switch hybrid console – its best-selling system ever, which sold 143.4 million units worldwide. PIF explores raising stakes in Japanese gaming companies Saudi Arabia plays the long game in a high-stakes market Saudi sovereign fund raises Nintendo stake to 8.26% In the company’s fiscal first quarter ending June 30, Nintendo reported a 46 percent year-on-year drop in sales of the Switch. They sold 2.1 million units in the three-month period, down from 3.91 million units a year ago. Savvy Games Group is tasked with developing the gaming and esports industry in Saudi Arabia through strategic investments and acquisitions, such as the recent $5 billion deal for Monopoly Go developer, Scopely. Beyond gaming itself, the investment group also says it holds a 40 percent stake of the global esports market share.
