Nintendo has weighed in on the commercial success of the Super Mario Bros. Movie, which according to Variety has raked in an estimated $1 billion at the global box office, but it seems the console maker is less concerned about how much cash it's making, and more focused on how the movie is impacting is broader business.
During an financial Q&A, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa described the flick as a "powerful touch point" for the franchise, and said it has the long-term potential to turn "people who never really played games before into fans of Mario and Nintendo."
Furukawa said that while Nintendo will obviously stand to benefit financially from the movie's box office performance, noting that revenues will be reported as sales in the current fiscal year, what's more important is that the film helps inspire interest in Mario titles and the Nintendo Switch.
Notably, he added that Nintendo is already benefiting from the ripple effects caused by the release of the animated adventure.
"We are already seeing a variety of positive effects. For example, sales are growing for Mario related merchandise, and there is a slight rise in activity for classic Mario titles that can be played through Nintendo Switch Online," said Furukawa.
"In the long term, we think this will become a powerful touch point, turning people who have never really played games before into fans of Mario and Nintendo, and renewing the interest of people who used to play (on a Nintendo game platform) but are taking a break."
Furukawa said the company intends to continue pouring its efforts into a "variety of visual content," but will focus on "carefully developing and further expanding each IP while respecting its unique characteristics."