Why Nintendo Stock Is Jumping Today

Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) stock is climbing in Thursday's trading. The gaming company's share price was up 2% as of 2:45 p.m. ET and had been up as much as 3.5% earlier in the daily session.

Nintendo stock is climbing today following the initial reveal of the company's upcoming Switch 2 video game console. The new system is the follow-up to the Japanese gaming giant's hugely successful Switch platform and is scheduled to launch later this year.

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Nintendo unveils the Switch 2 and a new Mario Kart

In a promotional video released today, Nintendo took the wraps off its Switch 2 platform. The new system looks quite similar to the existing Switch system from a hardware design standpoint, but will feature improved graphical capabilities, control interfaces, and ports for USB devices, headphones, and other peripherals. Nintendo will share more news about the console in a stream scheduled to take place on April 2.

The Switch 2 is on track to launch at some point in 2025. In conjunction with the reveal trailer for the system, Nintendo also debuted a short clip of a new Mario Kart game. Mario Kart is one of the company's best-selling series, and launching its new gaming system with a fresh title in the franchise would be a great way to drive sales.

What comes next for Nintendo?

The Switch 2 is poised to be a very important hardware release for Nintendo, and the new gaming platform will likely play a huge role in shaping the company's stock performance over the next five years. Expectations are high for the platform.

The original Switch system was launched in 2017 and went on to be a massive hit for Nintendo. The platform had sold over 146 million units worldwide as of the company's most recent update and it helped power an impressive comeback for the Japanese gaming leader after weak performance from its Wii U console in the pervious hardware generation. Matching the hardware sales of the original Switch could prove to be a very tall order, but there seems to be a good chance that the Switch 2 will be a success for the company.

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Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Nintendo. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.