Nintendo says Splatoon 3 for Switch sold 3.45M total copies in Japan in its first three days, beating Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ first-week record by 600K (Andy Robinson/Video Games Chronicle)

James Batchelor / GamesIndustry.biz:
Nintendo announces a new joint venture, called Nintendo Systems, with DeNA, which co-developed several Nintendo titles for mobile, including Fire Emblem Heroes  —  New subsidiary will open in April 2023, focusing on research and development to improve Nintendo’s digital business  —  At a glance

Rachael Levy / Reuters:
Sources: the US Department of Agriculture is probing Neuralink for potential animal welfare violations after complaints that its animal testing is being rushed  —  Elon Musk’s Neuralink, a medical device company, is under federal investigation for potential animal-welfare violations amid …

Takashi Mochizuki / Bloomberg:
Nintendo reports Q2 operating profit of ~$809M, up from ~$685M YoY, and cuts its fiscal year Switch sales forecast by 10% to 19M; a weakened yen boosts results  —  Nintendo Co. cut its fiscal-year forecast for Switch console sales by 10% to 19 million after reporting earnings in line with expectations.

Shannon Liao / Washington Post:
Microsoft signs a 10-year deal to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo platforms for the first time, pending FTC approval of its Activision Blizzard acquisition  —  Microsoft has signed a deal to bring the Activision Blizzard-published Call of Duty franchise to Nintendo for the first time …

Makena Kelly / The Verge:
Behind the rise of “cozy” games that encourage players to take their time in open worlds devoid of competition and went from niche to video game fixture in 2022  —  For as long as I had a GameCube, I don’t think I ever once beat a game. … It was the one chore needing completion …

Christine Hall / TechCrunch:
MarginEdge, which provides software for restaurant management and bill payment, raised a $45M Series C led by Ten Coves, bringing its total funding to $71M+  —  The global pandemic was tough on the restaurant industry, one that was already slow to adopt technology but then also had to quickly learn …