Japan’s gaming platforms are seen to dominate the videogame industry RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has announced a 5.01 percent stake in Japanese multinational video game company Nintendo Co. amid efforts to propel the country’s gaming industry, Bloomberg reported, citing a filing to Japan’s Finance Ministry. While the acquisition was made for investment purposes, it also makes the PIF Nintendo"s fifth largest shareholder. The Kyoto-headquartered firm is anticipating selling as many as 21 million switches this year, 700,000 switches short of the originally forecasted 21.7 million switches. Over the past two years, the PIF has shown interest in the gaming and e-sports industry, investing in stakes accumulating to over 5 percent in two Japan-listed gaming firms: Capcom Co. and Nexon Co. This comes as Japan’s gaming platforms are seen to dominate the videogame industry especially after technology giant Microsoft Corp invested up to $69 billion in the acquisition of video game company Activision Blizzard Inc. Other firms including Japan’s mega-conglomerate Sony Group are also jumping into the trend as it announced the $3.6 billion purchase of US video game company Bungie Inc.