Saturday Night Live poked fun at characters from two of the holiday seasons most anticipated video game releases last month: Link from the upcoming remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Jason from Grand Theft Auto VI.

The segment , which aired on October 3, highlighted how different the two games are: Link, in his green tunic, described how he started his day in Hyrule by buying magic beans and playing his ocarina, a wind instrument. Jason, seated next to him with a bandaged bloody arm, bragged about stealing cars and spending $1 million at a strip club.

Beneath the humor, the sketch hit on a key point. Nintendo is the only gaming company willing to go toe-to-toe with GTA VI, which is expected to be the biggest game launch of all time. Its a testament to Nintendos faith in its strategy over the last four decades: bringing back its mainstay characters in new formats across console generations. Its a tactic thats recently expanded to movies, concerts and theme parks.

And its paying off: The gaming giant reported a 52% year-over-year increase in gross profit during its second-quarter earnings, despite declining sales of its latest Switch 2 console. This was thanks in part to surging income related to its Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

Still, gaming still accounts for most of Nintendos business. Between skyrocketing memory prices and increased competition from free games that arent on Nintendo devices, like Roblox, it can be a tough time to be in the console gaming business. Nintendo is betting that its remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time will help drive Switch 2 sales this holiday season.

The stakes are high for Nintendo, and they have to come out of this holiday season very strong, said Joost van Dreunen, a professor at New York Universitys Stern School of Business who has published a book about the gaming industry.

Nintendos strategy

The Nintendo Switch 2 was off to a strong start, with roughly 24 million consoles sold since its June 2025 launch. But Nintendo needs to keep giving fans reasons to upgrade, especially with such a broad library of games available for its predecessor, the first-generation Switch.

Nintendo said in its most recent earnings report that Switch 2 hardware sales declined 34.4% year-over-year, but thats largely because many gamers bought the system last year when it launched.

Its roster of exclusive games is key to that push. After launching with Mario Kart World, Nintendo has trickled out new games in popular franchises like Donkey Kong Bonanza, Fire Emblem: Fortunes Weave and Pokmon Pokopia.

But while those franchises all have their fans, theyre not Mario or Zelda.

The original Ocarina of Time was released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64 and is recognized as one of the best games ever made, said Mat Piscatella, executive director of games coverage for market research firm Circana. He expects the majority of Switch 2 owners to buy the new version.

Its not the first time Nintendo has re-released Ocarina of Time; the game was also released for the GameCube, Wii U and 3DS. But the new version isnt just a direct reboot; Nintendo has updated the controls, dialogue, graphics and other elements, bridging the classic story and familiar characters with the more modern gameplay introduced in newer Zelda games like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

Nintendo also launched a 40th anniversary edition Zelda-themed Switch 2 console in late October, which is currently sold out. A Zelda orchestra concert and movie are planned for next year.

Its part of Nintendos classic playbook: betting big on the characters its fanbase grew up with.

Its a broad opportunity to provide different experiences that connect with the players and fans, and then open up the door to Zelda for new generations of players to come in, Devon Pritchard, president of Nintendo of America, said in an interview with CNN.

The new Zelda game is launching just before GTA 6, which is expected to break sales records. However, NYUs van Dreunen says Nintendo likely wont have to worry about the competition because the games appeal to very different audiences. But that may not always be the case.

Over time, its like, yeah, what are you going to offer this aging audience, the generation that grew up playing Nintendo? At some point, theyre going to want more mature content, he said.

Industry-wide video game challenges

Nintendos strategy has worked for decades. But like other gaming companies, it is grappling with rising prices in video games.

A shortage in memory has caused Nintendo and other console makers to raise their prices, with Nintendo increasing the Switch 2s price from $450 to $500 in September. Consumer spending on hardware across all console makers is down 9% so far in the US this year compared to last year, Circanas Piscatella said.

And video games themselves now cost around $70 to $80. ( The digital version of the new Zelda game is $60, and the physical edition is $70 ) .

That could make it harder to convince players to shell out for games, especially as free-to-play multiplayer games like Fortnite have grown in popularity.

You have increasingly sort of a velvet rope in the games industry, where there is the crowd that can afford it early and for a high price and is willing to pay a premium to have great hardware, great experiences, and then theres everybody else, van Dreunen said.

Nintendo is better positioned to weather the memory shortage because its consoles dont require as much computing power as those made by Sony and Microsoft, according to Piscatella.

Microsoft and Sony also sell pricier consoles than Nintendo; the Xbox Series X digital edition is listed at $750 on Microsofts website, while the PlayStation 5 starts at $649. Microsoft also sells a cheaper version of the Xbox called the Series S for $500. Those costs reflect price hikes announced by both companies earlier this year.

But the shortage has made it more challenging for companies to produce cheaper electronics, an audience that Nintendo has traditionally catered to. After the first Switchs launch in 2017, Nintendo released the less expensive Switch Lite in 2019 as a cheaper alternative for those who just wanted to game on the go.

Pritchard said Nintendo was focused on the Switch 2 platform and didnt comment on whether the company has plans for a Switch 2 Lite. Nor did she say how long Nintendo plans to support the first-generation Switch, which makes up the majority of Switch users with about 156 million units sold.

When I sat down with Pritchard, our conversation started with a simple question: What game am I playing right now? Thats the kind of impact Nintendo wants its games to have, regardless of the console or platform.

It goes back to that relationship with the player and fan, she said. We want to build these experiences that connect with people that they want to come back to time and time again.

上个月，《周六夜现场》节目调侃了假日季最受期待的两款电子游戏中的角色：即将重制的《塞尔达传说：时之笛》中的林克，以及《侠盗猎车手 VI》中的杰森。

10 月 3 日播出的这段节目突显了两款游戏的天壤之别：林克身着绿色束腰外衣，描述了自己在海拉鲁的一天是如何开始的——买魔法豆、吹奏陶笛（一种管乐器）。坐在他旁边的杰森手臂缠着带血的绷带，吹嘘自己偷车，并在脱衣舞俱乐部挥霍了 100 万美元。

在幽默的表象之下，这段小品触及了一个关键点。任天堂是唯一一家敢于与《侠盗猎车手 VI》正面交锋的游戏公司，而后者预计将成为有史以来规模最大的游戏发布。这充分体现了任天堂过去四十年来对其战略的坚定信念：在每一代主机更迭中，以全新形式重新带回其招牌角色。这一策略近年来已扩展至电影、音乐会和主题公园等领域。

这一策略正在奏效：尽管最新款 Switch 2 游戏机销量下滑，该游戏巨头在第二季度财报中仍实现了毛利润同比增长 52%。这部分归功于其《超级马里奥银河大电影》带来的收入激增。

尽管如此，游戏业务仍然占据任天堂收入的大部分。由于内存价格飞涨，以及来自 Roblox 等非任天堂设备上免费游戏的竞争加剧，如今做主机游戏生意可谓举步维艰。任天堂寄希望于重制版《塞尔达传说：时之笛》能在今年假日季推动 Switch 2 的销量。

" 任天堂面临的风险很高，他们必须在这个假日季表现强劲，" 纽约大学斯特恩商学院教授约斯特 · 范德鲁宁表示。他出版过一本关于游戏行业的著作。

任天堂的战略

任天堂 Switch 2 自 2025 年 6 月发售以来，开局强劲，已售出约 2400 万台。但任天堂仍需持续为粉丝提供升级的理由，尤其是考虑到其前代产品——第一代 Switch 拥有如此庞大的游戏库。

任天堂在最新财报中表示，Switch 2 硬件销量同比下降了 34.4%，但这很大程度上是因为去年该主机发售时，许多玩家已经抢先购入。

其独占游戏阵容是这一战略的关键。在推出《马力欧卡丁车世界》之后，任天堂陆续发布了多款热门系列的新作，如《大金刚狂欢》、《火焰纹章：命运交织》和《宝可梦宝可乐园》。

不过，尽管这些系列作品都有各自的粉丝，但它们终究不是《马里奥》或《塞尔达》那样的经典。

市场研究公司 Circana 的游戏内容执行总监马特 · 皮斯卡特拉表示，原版《时之笛》于 1998 年在任天堂 64 平台上发售，被公认为有史以来最优秀的游戏之一。他预计，绝大多数 Switch 2 用户都会购买这款新版本。

这并不是任天堂第一次重新发布《时之笛》；该游戏此前也曾在 GameCube、Wii U 和 3DS 平台上推出过。但此次的新版本并非简单的直接重制；任天堂对操作、对话、画面及其他元素进行了更新，将经典故事和熟悉角色与《旷野之息》和《王国之泪》等新作中引入的现代玩法相融合。

任天堂还在 10 月下旬推出了《塞尔达传说》主题的 Switch 2 主机 40 周年纪念版，目前该产品已售罄。此外，塞尔达主题交响音乐会和电影计划于明年推出。

这是任天堂经典策略的一部分：押注于伴随其粉丝群体成长的经典角色。

" 这是一个广阔的机遇，可以提供与玩家和粉丝产生共鸣的多样化体验，同时为《塞尔达传说》打开大门，吸引新一代玩家加入。" 美国任天堂总裁德文 · 普里查德在接受 CNN 采访时如此表示。

新款《塞尔达》游戏即将发售，紧随其后的是预计将打破销售纪录的《GTA 6》。不过，纽约大学的范德鲁宁表示，任天堂或许不必担心这场竞争，因为这两款游戏面向的受众截然不同。但情况未必总是如此。

随着时间的推移，就像这样，是的，你打算为这个日益成熟的受众群体——那些在任天堂游戏中长大的一代人——提供什么呢？在某个节点，他们会渴望更成熟的内容，他说道。

全行业电子游戏挑战

任天堂的策略已奏效数十年。但与其他游戏公司一样，它也在应对游戏价格上涨带来的挑战。

内存短缺已导致任天堂及其他游戏机制造商上调价格，其中任天堂于 9 月将 Switch 2 的售价从 450 美元提高至 500 美元。Circana 公司的皮斯卡特拉表示，今年以来，美国市场所有游戏机制造商的硬件消费支出较去年同期下降了 9%。

而电子游戏本身现在的售价大约在 70 至 80 美元之间。（新《塞尔达传说》游戏的数字版售价为 60 美元，实体版售价为 70 美元）。

这可能会让说服玩家为游戏付费变得更加困难，尤其是随着《堡垒之夜》等免费多人游戏日益流行。

范德鲁宁表示：" 游戏行业里，那道‘天鹅绒绳’正变得越来越明显——一边是愿意为顶级硬件和卓越体验支付高价、抢先入手的玩家，另一边则是其他所有人。"

皮斯卡特拉表示，任天堂更有能力应对内存短缺问题，因为其游戏主机所需的计算能力不及索尼和微软的产品。

微软和索尼的游戏主机售价也高于任天堂；微软官网上的 Xbox Series X 数字版标价为 750 美元，而 PlayStation 5 起售价为 649 美元。微软还销售一款更便宜的 Xbox 机型—— Series S，售价 500 美元。这些价格反映了两家公司今年早些时候宣布的涨价举措。

但芯片短缺使得企业生产更廉价电子产品的难度加大，而这一市场正是任天堂传统上重点服务的对象。继 2017 年首款 Switch 发布后，任天堂于 2019 年推出了价格更低的 Switch Lite，作为面向那些只想便携玩游戏的用户的廉价替代选择。

普里查德表示，任天堂目前专注于 Switch 2 平台，并未就公司是否有推出 Switch 2 Lite 的计划作出回应。她也没有透露任天堂计划对第一代 Switch 提供多长时间的支援，该机型累计销量约 1.56 亿台，占据了 Switch 用户中的绝大多数。

在我与普里查德坐下交谈时，我们的对话从一个简单的问题开始：我现在正在玩什么游戏？这正是任天堂希望其游戏产生的影响力，无论玩家使用何种主机或平台。

" 这归根结底是与球员和球迷之间的关系，" 她说道。" 我们希望打造这些能与人们产生共鸣的体验，让他们愿意一次又一次地回来。"