NE W H ORI Z ONS

After a stellar opening year, Switch has had a quiet 2018 in software terms, as the natural consequences of launching a mainline Mario and Zelda game in the same year come to pass. Nintendo’s stock price may have suffered as a result, but the one-two winter punch of new SmashBros and Pokémon games should put investors in better mood – and while Nintendo is keeping its plans for 2019 close, the future already looks bright. Of those confirmed for release next year, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Yoshi’ s Crafted World and Fire Emblem: Three Houses are the highlights, but hopes are high that other announced games – including MetroidPrime4, AnimalCrossing and Bayonetta3 – will join them. And the company is bound to have a few surprises up its sleeve too. The investment community, one suspects, won’t stay grumpy for long.