Epic Games Beats Nintendo As 'World's Most Popular Gaming Company'
Well, it was a good run, but in the competitive world of gaming, no one gets to sit on Princess Peach's throne for long. In a not-so-shocking development, Fishstick has just pummelled that portly plumber as Epic Games has overtaken Nintendo as the world's most popular gaming company. All these years of Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon count for nothing when butting heads with the runaway train known as Fortnite.
More than just dishing out a battle royale rumble to see who's left as last skin standing, Epic Games has branched out its monopoly to its Epic Games storefront as a serious rival to Steam. Only recently, Epic gave players free games over the Christmas period, with the download number for the once-forgotten Star Wars Battlefront II soaring. We've only just scratched the surface of Epic's potential, meaning the ongoing battle with Apple just got a little more interesting. So, just how popular is Epic Games?
How did Epic Games Beat Nintendo?
Click to enlargeAccording to stats from BusinessFinancing.co.uk, Epic Games is starting to overtake more established companies. The site used the Google Keyword Planner to note changes in purchasing patterns in the past 12 months, measured search volume by country, and came to its final conclusion that Epic is the world's most popular gaming company. The figures speak for themselves thanks to a certain battle royale bruiser helping Epic sail to the top.
As of May 2020, Fortnite has 350 million players worldwide, helping make Epic Games the top brand in 141 countries. With 4,716,375 global searches, the map shows Epic was the most popular gaming company in all of Central and South America, as well as claiming most of Africa, Asia, and Europe. Nintendo still held ground in key areas like Canada, China, Australia, and the United Kingdom, however, it looks like the house that Mario built has been leapfrogged by Epic. Nintendo might look like stiff competition, but with second place taking 3,120,010 total searches and only 24 countries, it's got a lot of catching up to do.
Other legacy developers like Atari are popular in Antarctica (of all places), while Activision, Ubisoft, and Blizzard Entertainment are all mentioned. Given Blizzard's popularity with Overwatch and World of Warcraft, it's a surprise its name doesn't pop up more on the map. Also, even though Activision is dominating the shooter market with the Call of Duty franchise, the numbers don't translate as an overall gaming company.
Can Nintendo Beat Epic Games?
Considering the Nintendo name has actually been around for the past 131 years, it's amazing to think Epic Games has taken the top spot after just 30. Originally founded by Tim Sweeney as Potomac Computer Systems, the Epic of old released the action-adventure game called ZZT IN 1991. From there, Epic MegaGames was born in 1992, the company went on to find fame with the Unreal Engine, and the rest is history.
Although Epic has had great success with the Gears of Wars games before handing the reins to The Coalition, you can't mention Epic without addressing the battle royale elephant in the room - Fortnite. Throwing off accusations Fortnite is a dead game, player numbers are still through the roof as we wade our way through the hunter-packed Chapter 2 Season 5. As well as keeping us glued to the Fortnite map, there's also plenty of buzz surrounding the upcoming release of Epic's Spyjinx after it launched its beta in 2020.
While Nintendo once held the keys to the Mushroom Kindom, it's clear this young upstart is here to disturb the peace. There have already been complaints that Nintendo has become complacent with its big legacy franchises, however, rumours of an incoming Nintendo Direct should put those fears to rest. It'll be interesting to see what's in the bag to help take Nintendo into this next generation of games. Whether you love jumping off the Battle Bus of not, it's clear Epic is continuing to take the gaming world by storm. Well, don't say we didn't warn you.
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Images via Nintendo | Epic Games | BusinessFinancing.co.uk
