Japanese video game company Nintendo (NTDOY -1.77%) has churned out well-loved hits for decades. From Mario to Zelda to Donkey Kong, its characters are easily recognized by people around the world. However, despite the strength of its intellectual property, the company has rarely ventured outside of its core video game business.
That's about to change. In this video clip from Motley Fool Backstage Pass, recorded on Sept. 27, Fool contributor Jon Quast tells analyst Sanmeet Deo and fellow contributor Jose Najarro about Nintendo's plans to release an animated movie in 2022.
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Jon Quast: Well I mean this isn't as newsworthy as what Jose just brought us but I did notice that Nintendo is releasing a Super Mario Brothers movie coming in 2022. I don't know when this news first broke. This might be old news for a lot of people.
But for me, this is interesting because among all the media companies out there in the world, Disney stands apart for its intellectual property but another company that really has incredible intellectual property is Nintendo. These are very recognizable characters the world over.
It's probably not going to be a great movie in the sense that it's not going to break any barriers with animation or it's not going to be the greatest story you've ever heard but it is going to be probably a fun movie and one that a lot of people, I could see, going out and watch because it is so recognizable.
Sanmeet Deo: Yeah, that's interesting. You mentioned that. Have you looked at Nintendo, Jose? What do you think about their properties and their content potential?
Jose Najarro: Just like Jon mentioned, Nintendo was one that I feel has such a strong IP and I don't know why, I don't know if they're waiting for something but especially in the mobile game. I feel like in the mobile game, they haven't really used it to its full potential. I think they released Super Mario Kart mobile a year ago or so. That was super popular, even where I was working, it was a super popular game. But I have yet to see a, imagine like a Super Smash Brothers game on their mobile department or maybe create a mobile Zelda game or Link. I feel like they have so much potential to push into the mobile game.
At the same time, I believe that maybe they just really want to keep within that Nintendo Switch and keep everything within their own handheld. Maybe for that reason, they might have done some form of financial numbers that say, "Hey, for us, it makes more sense not to compete within ourselves in the mobile market." I'm not sure if that's what management is, but I believe their IP is super impressive.
I think in Japan, they recently just followed suit with what Disney is doing and created Nintendo World. Unfortunately, I think it opened up during the pandemic time, so we haven't really seen the true numbers on there, but Nintendo World is also pretty impressive. I want to see, now that things are opening back up, what numbers are going to be reporting from parks. Nintendo in form of fundamentals. Maybe not one I follow too much, but like I said, their IP is definitely looking super impressive.
