👉 Background: Nintendo is the gaming company that's gifted us the Gameboy, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, and don't forget... the GameCube. They've also given us the Wii and Switch.

👉 What happened: Now, Nintendo just saw its highest first-quarter profit in history. In fact, we're talking 50% increases versus the same time last year. And it's all thanks to:

• The release of its new Zelda game which blew the roof off the Nintendo Switches.
• The release of the Super Mario Bros movie,
  which earned more than $1 billion USD in the box office

👉 What else: The sustained popularity of Mario and Zelda is pretty impressive, considering they were created in the early 80s. And these characters should really be at retirement age right now.

What's the key learning?

💡The balance between tradition and innovation is crucial to sustain a popular game. Each new game needs to meet and ideally exceed the expectations set by previous instalments... Or, it risks damaging the franchise's reputation.

💡Nintendo was able to breathe new life into the Zelda game, but also kept the core elements that fans love. (Think: puzzle solving, dungeons, and fantasy.)

💡But even with a significant amount of funding and a big brand behind it, a character's success is not guaranteed. Ever heard of Blinx the Timesweeper? Probably not. Xbox introduced the character - but apparently it lacked personality.. so it disappeared into the abyss pretty quickly.

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