Quickies: Stock and awe over the Wii U

Quickies: Stock and awe over the Wii U 
Source(s): Joystick Division 

Yesterday's conference was met with shock amazement and confusion as Nintendo reveals their latest innovation; The Wii U.  On the investor end this confusion has lead to negativity and a drop in stock in the company. here's the blurb from Joystick Division

​Nintendo's new console, the Wii U, won't be released until 2012, but the stock market didn't wait to give an early review. Nintendo's stock dropped more than 5% to 16,970 yen (or $212.44) per share after the company announced the Wii U at its E3 press conference yesterday, reports the Associated Press. Analysts' primary fear is that the Wii U, whose main selling point is a tablet-style controller with a 6.2" touchscreen, will struggle to compete with smartphones, tablets, and other general interest handheld devices.

It's widely thought that the ubiquity of smartphones and the burgeoning popularity of the iPad and other tablets has already cut significantly into the handheld gaming market, potentially resulting in the softer-than-expected sales of the Nintendo 3DS. The Wii U isn't technically a handheld, but its unusual controller resembles a small iPad with joysticks and facebuttons, and Nintendo's E3 presentation emphasized the controller's portability and cross-device functionality with a TV. Nintendo swears the Wii U isn't a handheld, but you can't fault analysts for assuming consumers might view it as one.

Between that and the lack of hardware specs and other details about the console, it's no surprise that financial analysts would question the Wii U's marketability in a space where other handhelds with a wider selection of applications flourish, and where two aging consoles like the 360 and PlayStation 3 already offer a potentially comparable performance. Without proof of the Wii U's technical superiority over existing consoles or any guarantee that its unique experiences will appeal to consumers as thoroughly as cheap and easy-to-play smartphone and tablet games, the stock market remains bearish on Nintendo.

Analysts are confused as to what the device is (derp it's a controller). And assume that the controller isn't marketable against applications such as ios devices and smartphones. Nintendo decided to basically reveal the technology and show it's variety of potential uses, much like they did with the Wii. back in 2006.  As it stands they have about one year to show the specs and the games coming for it before its March 2012 release. Something i'm sure they can pull off in time.

You know the drill, though. it's the games that are going to make the hardware. So we'll see how things play out.