It seems our excitement about the new NIntendo Switch console didn’t translate to its Wall Street investors. Nintendo’s stock dropped 10 points immediately following the presentation earlier this week.
This isn’t totally unexpected, though it is still troubling. Nintendo stocks struggled after their Switch announcement in October, as well. It seems investors consider their efforts with the console too gimmicky, and are worried the console will never be able to compete with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Statistics gathered from the Game Developers Conference’s fifth annual State of the Industry Survey may point to a grim fate for the Switch. Only about 50% of developers thought that the Switch would outsell the Wii U. The Wii U has only sold around 13 million units, compared to the Wii at 101 million. If only around half of industry experts think it will be able to meet that low bar, what might Nintendo’s future hold?
It’s worth considering that the suits on Wall Street can be out of touch with gaming culture. In fact, Nintendo’s huge stock surge after Pokemon Go — a phenomena that had many of us scratching our heads — only lasted until investors realized Niantic actually owns the AR sensation.
Another console flop with the Nintendo switch will surely increase investor pressure, possibly taking the company away from hardware altogether. Only time and launch success will tell.
What do you think? Are Nintendo’s investors overreacting to the Switch, or is it doomed to be another overhyped console? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
