It seems that Nintendo Stockholders, in Japan at least, are a bit weary of the success of the Wii U and the announced launch titles. Following the Wii U Presentation, share prices dropped 2.68% since trading opened. Today, the Nintendo stock dropped an additional 0.99% in Japan. Sony’s stocks rose by 2.14% after their presentation.
Does this mean that the Wii U is destined to fail? I don’t think so. I think that if Nintendo would have released additional specs on the system, as well as the price, release date, and even the release of anticipated games, they would have fared better. As we get closer to launch, I believe the market will jump on board with the system and stocks will again rise, but for now we really aren’t left with anything to get super excited about.
Did Nintendo fail at E3 by not announcing any “Must Have ” games? Sure there were some pretty awesome and highly anticipated games announced, but we already knew about most of them. Sure, ti was great seeing the trailers at E3 and finally getting a little clarity on the release dates, but what about the the games that have been “leaked” or the games that will completely blow our socks off? Honestly, now that I think about it, Nintendo didn’t have to release anything that blew our mind. They did exactly what they needed to do, and that was to announce the Wii U and some of its titles.
Neither Microsoft or Sony announced a new console, so Nintendo already had a one up on them. Announcing a price for teh Wii U could have been bad, if both Sony and Microsoft would have lowered their base prices. Neither did, but lets say they drastically lowered their price to $150 for both systems, and Nintendo announced a $350.00 system? People would be very upset at the large price compared to the new “lower” price of the older consoles. It would make Nintendo look bad.
I also think that, since the Wii U is going up against older systems, they did not need to pull out the big guns just yet. You can bet that both Sony and Microsoft will be watching the Wii U closely. I wouldn’t doubt that both Sony and Microsoft are working diligently on their next gen consoles to be released just as the Wii U excitement dies down a bit. I believe that is when Nintendo will bring out the big, highly anticipated titles and possibly some other surprises.
Nintendo has been around since 1889. They have had many successes (NES and playing cards) as well as failures (a Cab Company and a Love hotel). Sure they have only been in the video game industry since about 1974, but a company that has been around that long is not blind to the needs and wants of the consumers.
I will probably get the Wii U, as I am sure that millions of Nintendo fans will. I am looking forward to the plethora of new titles that will be released over the coming years. In the end, the presentation was only the first hour and a half of the Wii U’s very long public life. We witnessed the birth, now it is time to watch it grow, mature, and become the successful adult that we know it will be.
