Ouch.
When I first saw what Nintendo was going with in the
Wii U, my initial reaction was that they MAY have finally caught up to the Xbox 360 and PS3 (6 years late mind you) in the hardware department. However, that tablet/controller/Sonic Drive-in tray looking thing was obnoxiously big and would be pretty uncomfortable to hold for long periods. It also made me think that this was yet another “Motion Plus” style correction, with Nintendo FINALLY providing something they should have had at launch…only years later and for a price.
I wasn’t sure if anyone else shared my opinion on the Wii U being an underwhelming announcement, but it looks like one very important group of people out there agree with at least some of my thoughts. On the Nikkei 225 (Japan’s Stock Exchange) today, investors basically took Nintendo out behind the woodshed and fragged them for the Wii U announcement. This came in the form of a 5% stock price drop today. The
AP article (via Yahoo) quotes analysts that don’t feel the Wii U is innovative enough to convince people to buy it and that it doesn’t really set itself apart from the smartphones, tablets and other consoles in the market. I am sure the fanboys will still snap this up, but with pricing not even released yet and the controller alone looking like it will be north of $100, this will get interesting next year. In my opinion, the only reason the Wii grabbed the market share it did was through smoke and mirrors, having hit on the perfect combo of price, buzz and gimmick that lead many people to buy something that today is collecting dust.
Regardless of your personal opinion of the Wii U and it’s controller, the folks that matter most to Nintendo right now gave it a big thumbs down today. While the stock price may recover tomorrow, the point has been made and Nintendo has over a year to “fix” the Wii U more to the liking of investors.
