By Sam Nussey
TOKYO (Reuters) – Nintendo Co shares slumped 5% in early Tokyo trading after the Kyoto-based gaming firm said it was pushing back the release of the hotly awaited sequel to “Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” to spring 2023 from this year’s planned debut.
The fall comes after Nintendo’s shares had gained 25% year-to-date at Tuesday’s close, shaking off concerns that the hit Switch console might have peaked following a hardware refresh in October, and the launch of a critically acclaimed “Pokemon” title in January.
“In order to make this game’s experience something special, the entire development team is continuing to work diligently so please wait a little longer,” Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma said in a video posted to Twitter.
The original “Breath of the Wild” was a Switch launch game in 2017 and has sold more than 25 million units.
The widely emulated title was praised for its open world gameplay. Nintendo launched a spin-off, “Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity”, in 2020.
(Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
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