Nintendo Shares Tumble Following Wii U Reveal

[Andy Chalk]

Nintendo Shares Tumble Following Wii U Reveal

The Wii U [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/110750-E3-Nintendos-New-Console-Is-The-Wii-U] caused quite a stir at E3 but it didn't do much good for Nintendo's share price, which fell to its lowest point in more than five years following the announcement of the new console.

The announcement of a brand-new gaming console is the sort of thing that's supposed to excite consumers, which in turn excites shareholders, which naturally pushes share prices up, even if only temporarily. Isn't it curious, then, that with the upcoming Wii U and its unique, tablet-like controller making a splash at E3, Nintendo's price fell to its lowest point in more than a half-decade?

Regardless of the response on the E3 floor, Nintendo shareholders apparently aren't too impressed with Nintendo's vision for the future. "There were high expectations from the new version of the Wii and this fell far short," Tokai Tokyo Securities analyst Yusuke Tsunoda told Bloomberg [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-08/nintendo-falls-amid-questions-whether-new-console-can-repeat-wii-s-success.html]. "People had expected to see something more at a big event like the E3, but there wasn't really anything more than what's already reported."

Nintendo's price fell off 5.7 percent at the close of trading in Osaka yesterday, dropping to $212 per share.

It's a safe bet that this isn't the reaction Nintendo was hoping for when it pulled the covers off its new hotness, but on the bright side the Wii U is more than a year away, which gives the company plenty of time to square away third-party support, show off its capabilities and really knock the socks off gamers and investors alike. Hey, it wouldn't be the first time Nintendo took a weird idea and a silly name and spun them into gold, right?


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[Jumwa]

I can almost hear the foaming occurring at the mouths of so many angry gaming enthusiasts gleefully clacking away over this news. Not since the days of the Gamecube have they had such news to buoy their rage and proclaim the end of all things Nintendo for whatever arbitrary reason.

 

[Jumplion]

Ow, that's gotta hurt.

The WiiU (Weeueeueueeuueeuu [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JElywbkSbY]) does look interesting, though I doubt I will get it as I have never really been a Nintendo person. The controller looks interesting, though it does look a bit ridiculous. Still, kind of harsh that their stocks went down like that. They'll recover once it launches, it'll sell like legalized crack.

 

[Treblaine]

I can almost hear the foaming occurring at the mouths of so many angry gaming enthusiasts gleefully clacking away over this news. Not since the days of the Gamecube have they had such news to buoy their rage and proclaim the end of all things Nintendo for whatever arbitrary reason.

Wait... the "gaming enthusiasts" hate this now?

Err dual analogue sticks and more graphics power is just the kind the things "we" want.

I think the reason stock is tumbling is because stock-holders are idiots who think the ONLY way Wii is successful is as a toy for the lowest common denominator. Seriously, anyone can buy stock and THINK they know why a company is successful.

 

[JediMB]

As I recall, their shares didn't exactly shoot into the sky when the DS was announced either. We'll have to wait and see how media and regular people react over the coming weeks (and months).

 

[Hitman Dread]

The stocks are dropping because Nintendo is taking a risk. Any company taking a risk will see their stocks fall.

 

[Sevre]

If Jim Cramer could see this(and had some knowledge of the gaming industry) I'm sure he'd be screaming 'BUY!BUY!BUY!'

 

[Canadish]

I know myself, and every gamer I've spoken to (that I know personally) laughed when we saw it.

I just don't see what this brings to the table really...
I don't think casual family gamers are going to get particularly exited about this. It looks like a big Gameboy to them.
As stated above, Nintendo abandoned hardcore gamers, and we're already invested in our other consoles. Too little to late.
Who is this exactly marketed at then?

Unless we get a really cheap price point for this, I don't see it taking off.

 

[Jumwa]

Wait... the "gaming enthusiasts" hate this now?

Err dual analogue sticks and more graphics power is just the kind the things "we" want.

I think the reason stock is tumbling is because stock-holders are idiots who think the ONLY way Wii is successful is as a toy for the lowest common denominator. Seriously, anyone can buy stock and THINK they know why a company is successful.

If you're one of those who'd dare call themself a "gaming enthusiast" but have something to offer up to the internet other than hateful bile, than it's nice to meet you. But I've not encountered many of such an ilk.

I watch all the news with a mostly detached interest, as my gaming is done almost purely on PC, but it doesn't seem Nintendo could say or do anything that wouldn't get it a heap of vitriol from most outspoken gamers about the internet.

 

[Xanthious]

This doesn't surprise me in the least. People were expecting something that would cater more to the hardcore gaming crowd and they brought out some bastardized abomination between a Wii and an iPad. This thing will ultimately be too expensive and complicated to attract any of the casual "Wii Audience" and will just be too little too late and far too many gimmicks to get all that many hardcore gamers to buy into it. Thats going to leave nobody but the die hard Nintendo crowd.

Nintendo just doesn't understand or doesn't want to admit that the hardcore audience doesn't want all the gimmicks. They could give a fuck about a 6 inch screen crowbarred into the controller. They don't want motion controls. They want a simple old school controller on a quality console that people like because it's a good console not because all the meaningless extraneous bullshit Nintendo thinks is the future of gaming.

Ultimately by trying to cater to everyone Nintendo will likely throw it's self back into the days of the Gamecube sucking hind tit behind both Sony and Microsoft.

 

[Doclector]

Maybe it has something to do with, I dunno, the fact it's called a gorram Wiiu!?

snip

True. This seems a case of not necessarily too little, but far, far too late as far as nintendo trying to regain the hardcore Market. Even the most patient of nintendo enthusiasts have surely made the switch by now. It seems in general like nintendo is giving us everything we asked for, luigis mansion 2, a proper new starfox game, so on, around five years after we asked for it, by now we've all left the party.

End of nintendo? I doubt it. The brand name still carries alot of weight in the casual crowd, I'm sure Wiiu will sell to plenty of people who think a starfox is a dodgy doctor who plot device [/stillangryaboutthegorramstarwhale]

 

[beema]

I'm guessing the stocks fell based on the astoundingly stupid name alone.

 

[Electrogecko]

Wait... the "gaming enthusiasts" hate this now?

Err dual analogue sticks and more graphics power is just the kind the things "we" want.

I think the reason stock is tumbling is because stock-holders are idiots who think the ONLY way Wii is successful is as a toy for the lowest common denominator. Seriously, anyone can buy stock and THINK they know why a company is successful.

If you're one of those who'd dare call themself a "gaming enthusiast" but have something to offer up to the internet other than hateful bile, than it's nice to meet you. But I've not encountered many of such an ilk.

I watch all the news with a mostly detached interest, as my gaming is done almost purely on PC, but it doesn't seem Nintendo could say or do anything that wouldn't get it a heap of vitriol from most outspoken gamers about the internet.

I think that most of the people on this site would like to think that they're a gaming enthusiast who is capable of having an intelligent and relatively unbiased conversation.

 

[Sparrow]

Wow, seems like a bit of a logic failure to me. The new gimmick that the console brings is all well and good, but the impressive bit for me was the titles. The new Batman? The latest Tekken? The latest Tom Clancy? These are big titles that are going to appeal outside Nintendo's regular audience. Combined with the ridiculous fanbase Nintendo has and the appeal the console will have for the casual gamer I can only assume that the thing will sell like hotcakes.

 

[Jumwa]

I think that most of the people on this site would like to think that they're a gaming enthusiast who is capable of having an intelligent and relatively unbiased conversation.

I wasn't insulting anyone's intelligence. You don't need to be dumb to just be a hyperbolic internet rager on a public forum, you just need some reservoir of anger that's unquenchable or a thirst to criticize everything because it's a safer way to avoid people "one upping" you online.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

shares dropped when the Wii was also announced. Like I said, Nintendo seems to gain power from the amount of anger against them. Considering how badly Escapists are pissing and moaning I'm pretty this means the WiiU is going to beat the CRAP out of its competitors.