2024 has been a mixture of good and dangerous information for Thunderful Group, with the excellent news first: Bergsala, part of the group, can be Nintendo’s distributor for the Baltic area for one more 2 years. The arraignment between the 2 goes again to 1981, and with this newest extension, nothing has modified between the 2 firms.
Thunderful Group depends on the revenue from distributing Nintendo merchandise, which is, sadly, the place the dangerous information is available in. With declining Nintendo Swap gross sales and a softening of the market, Thunderful Group posted a lack of $59.2 million for 2023. That is in stark distinction to the $11.8 million reported for the prior 12 months.
The sudden downturn resulted within the announcement that 20% of Thunderful’s workers can be laid off. Regardless of the discount in earnings, CEO Martin Walfsiz said that they’re “wanting ahead to the launch of Nintendo’s new console.”
As well as, Walfsiz praised the power of the partnership between the 2 firms, “Thunderful’s distinctive relationship with Nintendo stretches again to the early Nineteen Eighties when our subsidiary Bergsala began distributing Nintendo’s implausible merchandise to customers throughout the Nordics and the Baltics. We’re exceedingly pleased with this long-lasting partnership and stay up for a few years of continued shut collaboration with Nintendo.”
Thunderful Group not less than ended 2023 on a excessive be aware, with the video games division posting report numbers in Q3 2023 on the again of Steamworld Construct, the most recent within the long-running Steamworld franchise. Whereas a hit, gross sales failed to fulfill the corporate’s expectations, with Walfsiz laying blame on the ft of the developer, The Station, for, once more, swapping genres and doubtlessly alienating earlier followers.
By reducing prices heading into 2024 and sustaining the Nintendo distribution deal by means of the launch of the subsequent Swap console, Thunderful Group has set itself up for fulfillment.
