Nintendo shares fall after Wii U reveal

By Ellie Gibson Published 8 June, 2011

Analysts disappointed by conference.

Nintendo's share price has hit its lowest value in five years following the unveiling of the Wii U device.

That's according to Bloomberg, which noted a 7.5 per cent drop in the price to ¥16,610 (around £125). More than 1.67 million shares changed hands yesterday, compared to the daily average of 724,000.

"There were high expectations from the new version of the Wii and this fell far short," said analyst Yusuke Tsunoda.

"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."

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (56) Latest comment 9 months ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • mingster #1 9 months ago

    Bit harsh..

  • Inmediasress #2 9 months ago

    How unexpected.

  • NOSAVIOUR #3 9 months ago

    The problem was it was poorly executed, the only games shown were "tech" demos and what will be year old ones by the time it comes out. The actual system itself and controller has great potential it's a shame people can't see that.

  • hugejeans #4 9 months ago

    Wii U buy 1 ? Only if price is right. And some great first party games

  • davisorle #5 9 months ago

    Truth be told even I was dissapointed when I expected Nintendo to grab them all by the balls just from the new console alone. But when you tell me I dont have the option for a normal comfy controller even it just put me off senceless. Its as if MS would be showing only Kinect and Sony the Move. Thats what they did more or less. Thats that and I dont know Nintendo would chose to do this. Im MAINLY a gamer and a hardcore gamer. Why not give me the option to play traditionally? I love gadgets. id love for the new controller to be optional or even freaking charge me an extra ammount of money but everything BASED on that as a main controller? I dunno.

    Still i love ya Nintendo Im justa bit let down cause I was all hyped I was going for a new beast of a console :(

  • Ignatius_Cheese #6 9 months ago

    Got it in one NOSAVIOUR.

    Confusing explanation, low on detail and no end product in sight means a tough 2011 for Nintendo. Investors will see that Wii is pretty much dead and 3DS isn't exactly flying off shelves currently.

    Sell at a high price now, buy again in 2012 at a lower price. Makes sense.

  • Yuroko #7 9 months ago

    People are just narrow minded.

    Just like the people negging me. I'm talking about the investors who don't see the potential in the new machine.
    Edited by 1 at 08/06/11 @ 11:08

  • sfp_noodle #8 9 months ago

    I can honestly say that this was the most underwhelming console reveal I've ever had the displeasure of experiencing at E3. It was just so confusing and boring. There was no buzz, no.excitement that normally accompanies a new console announcement. They focussed so aggressively on the controller that if anyone walked in to the room during that point in the presentation, they'd think that Nintendo were just revealing a new controller for the original Wii. Nintendo have a lot of convincing to do at the next E3 to convince people their console is worth having, but even then it might be too late because I have a strong feeling MS and Sony are going to reveal their new hardware too. That will really take the thunder away from anything Nintendo reveals.

  • speedjack #9 9 months ago

    What were they expecting ?!! Could it be possible that shareholders and analysts are short term ill informed blinkered reactionary idiots who generally are only interested in short term gain ?

    Speaking as exactly the target market for this console I think it looks great and innovative. My only question mark is can Nintendo deliver the online infrastructure to match an XBLA or PSN ?

    If they can then I predict a healthy future... If not they still get the sales from the faithful who want Zelda/Mario in HD and care little for COD online.

  • AcidSnake #10 9 months ago

    Hmm, might be tempted to buy me some shares when they go down a bit more...I don't think it's wise to bet against Nintendo...

  • sonicyoda #11 9 months ago

    BUY BUY BUY!

  • Lusterpurge #12 9 months ago

    I don't think the reveal was any different than the Wii reveal, which was similarly spread across two E3 events. I don't think Nintendo announced many games when they first showed off the console (they didn't even show the controller) and many people were still expecting Xbox 360 graphics. Imagine the disappointment when the graphics were only Gamecubesque. That's why I'm not holding my breath for great graphics on the WiiU. I am starting to wonder if it will even be as powerful as the 360.

  • kamps09 #13 9 months ago

    There were for sure some weak and questionable parts. For me tablet-based controller is interesting and strong aspect, but use of Xbox 360 and PS3 game footage for advertising was plain wrong. This is Nintendo for gods sake! This is how it looks they say and back it up with tech demo, what seems to be, for my half-trained eye, pure scripted rendering. Im looking forward to Wii U, but for me this presentation was way too early, more big shiny talk than showing something credible.

  • spliffhead #14 9 months ago

    I'll get one, but only for first party games, where's the new revised Wii store that would have livened up the offering and taken the edge off underpowered console itself?

  • geeza2020 #15 9 months ago

    Nintendo dont't do online, and unless they manage to radically change that with this new console, or release it at an extremely low price, it will fail miserably.

  • BloodSaint #16 9 months ago

    Im not trolling, but honestly the controller is pretty pathetic... I mean the screen and all is cool, but honestly and rectangle with those tiny weeny buttons??? ffs how do you expect me to play Battlefield with that controller... It is uncomfortable and ugly...

  • RawNinjaKid #17 9 months ago

    The whole conference was weird and everyone was acting strange!

    Maybe I am looking too much into this but all key Nintendo personal came on stage abruptly and just went through the motions. It's like they didn't want to be there, and were unprepared. I wouldn't be surprised if they was a few confrontations between the N top brass as this is the case when presentations don't have a clear message to send or is just disorganised.

    Man, in all of last year's conferences: Nintendo was the clear winner with the 3DS. But that hasn't translated into their sales expectations. That must have affected them.

    Kind of like Sony E3 2006 conference (but in that case they were just chatting shit), where you could easily spot that the Playstation brand was a bit loss at that particular point of time.
    Edited by 3 at 08/06/11 @ 10:56

  • Artemis_Matsas #18 9 months ago

    The showing was interesting for everyone that's into gaming (like most of the people posting in these forums). The people that stand on the sidelines selling and buying stocks were probably expecting a spectacular extravaganza featuring dancing elephants and talking dogs.
    In any case, Nintendo should have done a little better presentation.

  • playgen #19 9 months ago

    It makes sense for shares to be sold and drop in value at this point. The 3Ds hasn't set the world alight with excitement, and the Wii has pretty much run its course now. Nintendo aren't going to be making the sort of money they were with the DS and Wii at their peak for a good while now - and there's no guarantee the Wii U will be a success.

  • tomjoadsghost #20 9 months ago

    Im quite excited about the controller, i think the trailer kind of demonstrated how nintendo are adressingf the idea of getting aditional output and by extension gaming information into the environment whilst the other guys are still flailing about and playing catchup on input.

    Still havent forgot how dismissive everyone was when it was revealed that the DS had two screens and how that worked out.

  • Trigga_Tybalt #21 9 months ago

    did they fall when the wii was first shown? would be interesting to compare...

  • eviroboy #22 9 months ago

    Just goes to show how those in business are paid far too much for too little brains.

  • Daeltaja #23 9 months ago

    Harsh indeed. What did they expect? A more powerful variance of a PS3, with little to no innovation? Wouldn't be Nintendo.

    The problem I see though, is convincing the casual market to shell out another 300+ quid for something that will probably gather dust like they're Wii is currently doing. It looks a bit too much like a toy, particularly the controller. It's like a big Etch-A-Sketch.

    I'll most likely give Nintendo one more chance.

  • TonyCB #24 9 months ago

    @speedjack

    You have just described capitalism my friend...

  • paulf #25 9 months ago

    what ya selling stranger?

  • jumpdeveraux #26 9 months ago

    From an analysts perspective the question is the size of the target market and sales rates. You've got the existing Wii owners and what % of those will upgrade to the WiiU (not quite sure the families will rush headlong to it like they did the Wii). Then you have the 360/PS3 owners - by the time the console launches you can bet that both Sony and Microsoft will have price cuts ready to try and make the WiiU less attractive on price. I'd also expect MS and Sony to use the next E3 to drop some teasers/hints about their next gen platforms - just enough to give the impression it will be significantly more powerful than the WiiU. With Xbox Live and PSN it's also hard to move people out of those communities as you have to try and take their friends with them and for that you need an overwhelmingly more powerful proposition to what they use today.

    Perhaps some of the knock to the share price was also due to the lack of any new first party IP's from Nintendo. It's great seeing Mario Kart again, Mario 3D, Zelda as they are all strong sellers ... but they really need to be seen to be nurturing and growing some new IP given their renown for creativity to strengthen their portfolio.

  • StanMadeley #27 9 months ago

    A few things struck me. I think E3 came a bit too early for them and they could have done with more time before revealing this console. Lots of tech demos and nothing else. Reminded me of the launch for the PS3 Move.

    It also looks like the price we pay is going to be more evenly divided between controller and system unit and I’d be surprised if we can connect more than a single controller.

    Thirdly, I think it’s a masterstroke to effectively give us a handheld console in which all the heavy duty processing is shifted to the system unit. I think the problem people are having is that there’s been nothing like it before. It’s like all those distributed gaming systems we’ve been hearing about for ages. Only Nintendo have actually made one that works. I know it’s early and there’s so much we don’t know but the possibilities are fascinating even if the presentation was confused.

  • coolbritannia #28 9 months ago

    I didn't see a console reveal, I saw a controller reveal. Share price dropped accordingly.

    They will recover from this, but we won't see the launch titles on the actual console until next E3 I'd wager.

  • Malek86 #29 9 months ago

    Apple's shares also fell the day after the reveal of the iPad. Just saying.

  • DJ_2011 #30 9 months ago

    I wasn't impressed at all by this new console but to be honest I've never been a Nintendo fan. I personally think that for all its flashy things like that tech demo and the small TV sized controller, the console is going to sink back in to casual/kid gamers territory after release. I don't want to sound at all like a snob, but people who are genuinely "gamers" will have a hard time seeing Nintendo as anything other than a console for kids.

  • Monkeyspoon #31 9 months ago

    How much did microsofts shares fall. Their E3 was easily the worst. I think Sony stole the show. The best games line up and a brand new hi spec handheld.

  • CallousB #32 9 months ago

    @DJ_2011

    People who are genuinely "gamers"...would likely support the only "gaming company" still making consoles.

  • coolbritannia #33 9 months ago

    I think Ninty won it, then Sony, then Microsoft.

  • CamberGreber #34 9 months ago

    Because its a 360/PS3 with a Touch Sensitive Controller without a cpu/gpu so you cant even take it faraway from the console.

    You will not be able to take this to work or school with you. It will end up not very different from owning a 360/PS3 only with a High Controller Premium tacked on.

    Please Nintendo fans don't buy into this OK the wii remote turned out allright but how many decades are you guys gonna keep playing another Zelda/Mario Sequeals forever.

    Your Just Promoting Nintendo into not creating any new software.

  • MARKIV #35 9 months ago

    By the scale of things looks like there will be a few more up's and downs..... uk.finance.yahoo.com Nintendo stock since 2003

  • Mr.Spo #36 9 months ago

    A bit like the DS reveal in 2004, then...

  • elchongo #37 9 months ago

    Im not surprise, the conference was confusing at best
    go back in time when they show wii play and compare this U pad,
    and you would see the difference

    it seems to me that is very difficult to stay on top
    look at playstation how they lost momentum and now is ninty turn
    after wii fit, they did not do anything sucessfull
    wii music ? , vital sensor ? stupid 3ds ?
    and now again with this new console
    playing the same old games

    and i do have a Gameboy / GBA advanced, GC DS Wii etc

  • Ranger101 #38 9 months ago

    From an investment perspective, the Nintendo conference/reveal was confusing, and confusion doesn't build confidence. Simple as that.

  • Power_n_Glory #39 9 months ago

    I actually thought they were demonstrating a new control pad to be used with the Wii when I saw the trailer.

  • Yuroko #40 9 months ago

    @CamberGreber
    I'll continue to buy Mario and Zelda because they are brilliant every time. You can't moan about Nintendo sequels when all this gen has been is sequels. Look how many part 3 games were at E3 this year.

  • dirtysteve #41 9 months ago

    I saw #analysts', but I didn't see 'Pachter'. How strange.

  • CrimsonSoul #42 9 months ago

    Sure this article will help the share price on it's downward spiral.

  • murphsp1 #43 9 months ago

    Nintendo offered two tech demos and showed off a new, albeit interesting controller. I'm not terribly surprised and I would launch this winter and not 2012. Basically, we will see almost every 3rd party game also ported to Wii U except it will support 1080p at 30 or 60 fps. In the first year, only a very few developers will bother to focus solely on the new machine and create games that are graphically a step beyond the PS3 or 360. In the following year, Sony and MS will release truly next gen machines that are graphically far more capable. If the Wii U has a large enough installed base (a very big "if", mostly based on the cost of the new machine), it will become the target machine for most 3rd party developers and the next 360/PS3 will play games that will simply be minor graphical upgrades of Wii U games. If not, many gamers already invested in a PS3 or 360 will simply wait and 3rd party developers will use the new 360/PS3 as the main target for development and the Wii U will start getting graphically downgraded ports.

  • PixelPirate #44 9 months ago

    I just dont see how the casuals will fork out for another console, they went out and bought a Wii on the hype train, got themselves Wii Fit, and some dancing games. Played them all a few times and now its gathering dust somewhere.

    They now consider themselves "gamers" and are off on the next hype train to the local gym for a Zumba lesson so they can also say they are a "dancer".

    Ninty got lucky, just like Activision with COD. They hit the right beat with the public at the right time, its unlikely to happen again.

  • Lemming81 #45 9 months ago

    Nintendo's track record or not, it's still a large risk financially. It doesn't matter how well they've done with the Wii/DS. A Console developer is only as good as it's current gen, so it effectively resets all the good will/back patting when you announce a new console.

    Those who've made a fortune on the Wii's success are quite sensibly being cautious and cutting and running now.
    Edited by 1 at 08/06/11 @ 13:47

  • uknortherner2000 #46 9 months ago

    Activision put out the same polished turds every year - share prices go through the roof. Nintendo put out something that's actually innovative and shares take a dive. Nintendo must clearly be doing something right then.

  • BonzoBanana #47 9 months ago

    It may be innovative but do we want that innovation? I doubt I could shift my ass off the settee to place the controller on the floor so I can swing at it with a wii remote as if it was a real golf ball shown on the screen. That would get tired very quickly. I'm playing on my hd plasma tv and I then decide to switch off the tv and play on a small low res screen? Nope that won't happen either. Unless the wii u is seriously more powerful than ps3/360 I don't want one. I'll admit if some awesome exclusive games come out for it then I'll be tempted but I'm getting a little tired of the Nintendo franchises I still love them but they aren't as compelling to buy as in the past. The whole concept doesn't work for me but I do love Nintendo games. This looks like a console I won't even be interested in until a 1 year into its life when a decent selection of games are available.

  • Cjail #48 9 months ago

    Here the good news for Nintendo: WiiU price just doubled!
    Just joking... it tripled!

  • Cronan #49 9 months ago

    If capitalism is pathetic, then why are Nintendo a public listed company? It's because offering shares is a cheaper way to borrow money to fund the growth of your business than borrowing, which is why so many companies do it. Without shares and without a market in those shares, the Nintendo we all know would not exist.

  • MrVengeance #50 9 months ago

    I reckon shares fell because its not out soon enough. I can't see Wii selling much this Christmas and hardly anything next year.

    They'd want to start making some decent games to keep people interested, and stop trying to sell ancient games like New Super Mario Bros and make some new killer-app franchises.

    There's not enough software development going on at Nintendo and what is going on is mostly retreads of existing games, only with the odd new feature thrown in here and there and slightly better graphics. I'm lloking at you Nintendog and Cats, Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, etc.

  • silversun #51 9 months ago

    "did they fall when the wii was first shown? would be interesting to compare... "

    No the difference back the was people where not ready to jump to hd and bigger graphic quailty games, at that point i did not even have a hd tv , the ps3 price point was insane and a turn off , nintendo brought a low cost and unquie machine out that had a lot of buzz.
    The new nintendo machine looks intresting , it really depends on how well 3rd party supports it now.
    The first party games will be great as always but will that be enough , i dont know yet.
    One big thing people not talking about is how will it feel to hold that controller , will it be unconfortable experience.

    I expect 3ds sales to pick up after the games line up they annouced for it.
    As for the new wii u , i am unsure if its something i want to buy , intrested but not completely sold on it yet and this is why nintendo had a bad e3 showing, it had a great 3ds showing though and people are crazy if they cant see that.
    Edited by 1 at 08/06/11 @ 19:14

  • penhalion #52 9 months ago

    Totally expected. I saw the conference live and was waiting to see something spectacular. Instead I saw a controller that made me laugh (and not in a good way) as I tried to imagine how you'd use it for more than 10 minutes without getting wrist cramp. As the presentation went on it became obvious that the hardware couldn't support more than one of those controllers. The lego announcement left me totally confused.

    If I had Nintendo shares this presentation would have had me rushing to call my broker yelling sell for frak sake sell!

  • shadowdogg #53 9 months ago

    What did they expect? Tron like system or something?

  • Arwin #54 9 months ago

    I like it so far, and there seems to be a fair bit of opportunity to take some of the Dual Screen features to a new level that they are already putting to pretty decent use. The big question is, as ever, whether Nintendo will make games that I personally care about for it. Also, I couldn't help but notice the opportunity here for Sony to offer a similar experience with PS3 and Vita combined, and it was cool to see yosd on twitter compliment Nintendo on thinking of cool new stuff and the opportunnity to rip those ideas off with PS3 and Vita ... :D

    But they did a good job at taking the iPad rage into a new direction, at no doubt by the time it launches at half of the price of an actual iPad while actually being comfortable to hold and play games on (including those dual sticks). But we'll see how things progress. For now, I'm more interested in Vita itself - LBP Vita alone looked cool enough by itself for me to sell the system, never mind some of the other really cool stuff on it. I hope LBP Vita also shows the way forward for the Move update for LBP2 on PS3 coming in September (I was hoping we'd have it already, but it is clear what they've been distracted by ;) ).

  • Der_tolle_Emil #55 9 months ago

    To be honest I think the timing was unfortunate for Nintendo. I am sure that the console will be fantastic but it was too early to be announced. People want to see content too and so far there is none.

    The thing is, using a tablet as a controller is (thanks to the iPad) not as revolutionary as motion controls were when the Wii was announced. Of course having it as a controller with the added bonus of traditional controls is a great idea and offers lots of potential but I think that if they announced it a year from now most people would have said: 'Well, they have taken an iPad and put buttons on it'. There are so many additional peripherals coming out at the moment for mobile phones and tablets to add traditional controls that this would have been the general consensus. That and the fact that I also think Nintendo were a bit surprised to find the Wii losing momentum incredibly fast during the last year. I am sure they were hoping to get through this fiscal with only announcing the 3ds and keeping the next home console for next year.

    We also have to remember that the launch of the 3ds was probably the rockiest hardware launch for Nintendo since the Virtual Boy. The hardware is great and it showed lots of potential at last year's E3 but so far there just has not been enough software. At the moment the same seems to be true for the Wii U which is probably the reason why the Wii U didn't meet all the high expectations.

  • seeyoshirun #56 9 months ago

    If you really believe in Nintendo, this is the best time ever to buy shares, it seems.