Nintendo Stock Drops 20% and One Man Loses $300 Million [UPDATED]

Those quotes are all fucking stupid. I can see why Nintendo did their business like they did.

Now is definitely the time to buy Nintendo stock.  

@White_Silhouette said:

Starting to see the ripple effect of the price drop. I wonder what affect it will have on the perception of the WiiU and the Vita down the line.

From the article it sounds like the price drop was in response to the quarterly earnings report, not the other way around.

Hmm. Yeah, that's a lot of money.

($500 million...? Damn, son...)

Even sadder because the Wii U will not save them

@shenstra said:

While I'm hopeful that NIntendo will pull another rabbit out of its big red hat, the situation is pretty dire. Considering only the stock price, as an indicator of investor's estimated future profit potential, Nintendo is back to the pre-Wii situation which, you may remember, was rather dire. The general consensus was that Nintendo's hardware (both the DS and the Wii) had to be a hit for Nintendo to remain healthy. Of course, both were huge hits and Nintendo's stock exploded (at the height of Wii hype, Nintendo stock was over ¥70.000 per share, almost six times the current value).

They're now back to the same position they were in in 2006, but instead of the DS and the Wii (Revolution at the time), they have the 3DS and Wii U to work with. Not only is the marketplace (and the global economy for that matter) different, but they're also competing against their former selves. Both the 3DS and Wii U invoke thoughts of their predecessors, through name, appearance and functionality. How are they going to convince DS owners who now just play shitty iPhone games that they should buy a 3DS? How are they going to convince Wii owners whose shiny little toy has been gathering dust for years that the Wii U will be different?

We've all been asking those questions ever since these new devices were announced and the stakes have been getting higher. Most gamers' answer is that Nintendo should make more and better games and people will start buying consoles and software. But that hasn't exactly worked for Nintendo for the past fifteen years or so. Perhaps partly because the games they do develop are less amazing and less original as time goes by. But more importantly, I think, because people demand something different from video games nowadays. Nintendo has been hopelessly out of touch, and I've been one of the schmucks defending their decision making because I don't care about online and I don't care about graphics and I don't care about shootan games. But the rest of the world does, and by sticking to their old ways, Nintendo has painted itself into a corner, or a niche, if you will. A niche that cannot sustain a console, let alone an entire company the size of Nintendo. Especially since Sony and Microsoft are also increasingly catering to that niche market.

So it turns out Nintendo hasn't been doing all that well for as long as most of us can remember. All the hype around Nintendo's success in recent years is based on two products. The DS has done very well over a long period of time, but the 3DS has a hard time getting near the same level of success. It may still manage (after all, the DS had a slow start too), but it's a harder sell and the 3DS has actual competition. The Wii has turned out to be a flash in the pan. It has made Nintendo a lot of money in the short run, but hasn't substantially changed the position they're in when looking at the long term.

The blue ocean, it turns out, doesn't hold many fish.

That is all. ;-P

You're right on all accounts, straight up. It is insane that their stock prices are at Gamecube-levels. They're betting on the same two horses that pulled them out of the rut in 06, but, since 06, those horses have gotten old and stale, and that's the whole reason they're back in the rut in the first place. I honestly don't see a bright future ahead for Nintendo.

I really hope they turn it around, but they've got a lot of work ahead of them, and frankly the odds don't look too good.

@Crushed said:

It's not confirmed since the transcript hasn't been put up yet, but Iwata said at a shareholder meeting today that because of this stuff, the lowered earnings projection, and Nintendo taking a loss on each post-price drop 3DS, he'd be cutting his own salary in half and cutting the top round of exec's salaries by 30%.

I don't think you would hear this happen ANYWHERE outside of Japan if this were to be official. Sure as hell not in the US.

500 mill i wouldnt even wipe my ass with that.

What exactly is Nintendo putting out for people to buy? Wii Play Motion? No thanks.

Looks like Pachter's vision of platform atheism may come true sooner than we think.

Starting to see the ripple effect of the price drop. I wonder what affect it will have on the perception of the WiiU and the Vita down the line.

He used run operations at Nintendo? I'm not sure what that means but it sounds scary.

@XNaphryz said:

@White_Silhouette said:

Starting to see the ripple effect of the price drop. I wonder what affect it will have on the perception of the WiiU and the Vita down the line.

From the article it sounds like the price drop was in response to the quarterly earnings report, not the other way around.

Agreed probably best to say. The earnings report caused the price drop, which then effected the stock prices... Curious to see what the next event is (if they is one. )

Is he worth 4.6 billion before or after this? Assuming he was worth that before this drop, and according to these numbers, he had 2.38 billion in Nintendo and 2.22 billion elsewhere. Say what you will about him, but he's got half of his wealth in Nintendo. I wonder what he's got the other half in?

I thought Giant Bomb's news coverage wouldn't include the economics of the video game industry and what not. What's with the change? Slow news this week eh?

@Duder_Me: Well this is pretty big news actually

I guess he'll just have to use his smaller jet to get around now.

No more AirBus parties for you, Mr. Yamauchi.

@haggis: Exactly.  All this points to is the fact that Nintendo's profit-from-hardware mentality isn't going to cut it in this more discerning market.  Disposable income just isn't what it was when the Wii released, so that money wave they were riding because people could spend on a frivolous, gimmicky system just isn't there any more.  Instead of telling gamers what they want, Nintendo better start listening to us instead and deliver performance hardware even if it's at a loss.

He lost $500 million but he gained the knowledge that true wealth is friendship.

@Duder_Me: Well this is pretty big news actually

Nintendo has to notice that their market that they target has gone to the Iphone/smartphone users. Time for a new strategy

@pyromaster222 said:

man that is a crazy drop...

He'll probably find millions of dollars of lose change down the back of his sofa chair so this's probably nothing to him. lol

Y'know what'll help you rise to heaven? Games. They're the only thing that'll sell a console that's not that much different than its predecessor in the eyes of the masses.

What's that? Nintendo doesn't care about games? Oh alright. Carry on.

The games will come. And then I will giggle. All these Nintendo is doomed comments make me lol.

and Microsoft watches...   and waits

I think theyre suffering from the same problem the psp had in its launch. With Nintendo 3ds's expensive price in addition to having only street fighter 4 and wii resorts piloting simulator as the strongest launch titles its not surprising that people werent thrilled to spend 250 dollars for another PORTABLE handheld device.

I don't think it's the end for the Big N, but this is most definitely the wake up call: "Hey guys... You know what you did with the NES and SNES...? Yeah, do that again."

man i bet he's crying into his spare $4 billion right now, oh wait....

Oh updated...*phew* only 300 million.

$169.99? I think I just bought a 3ds on august 12.

I don't think it's the end for the Big N, but this is most definitely the wake up call: "Hey guys... You know what you did with the NES and SNES...? Yeah, do that again."

in other news, stocks go up and down.

@YukoAsho: Can they just make another 2d metroid game please?  With 3d graphic's and 2d game play like New Super Mario Bros...............  Please,please, LOOK I LOVED Metroid: Zero Mission and it was a freaking remake for GBA!!!!!

Wow. Lots of rich-hating folk in here. 
Too bad on the stock's loss and the inefficient direction. I'm sure it will give him a new perspective on launches.

The games will come. And then I will giggle. All these Nintendo is doomed comments make me lol.

I think the new $170 price tag is a good move for the big N, but I really think they should bundle the new Zelda 3ds game with it to make it a homerun. I remember the day when games were always bundled with system, the big N should revert to those days.

Dude looks like what I'd expect a Japanese mobster to look like.

To talk about loss when stocks go down is kind of stupid. Nice headline, still stupid.

Pretty sure this is also the guy responsible for the feud with Square-Enix during the N64 era

@Deric said:

The games will come. And then I will giggle. All these Nintendo is doomed comments make me lol.

They have happened, and will continue to do so, since the Dreamcast. Haters want to play Zelda and Mario on their console of choice so they circle like vultures waiting. They're gonna still be circling for a long time.

man i bet he's crying into his spare $4 billion right now, oh wait....

As one of many guys out there that have to get up at 5:30 am every morning and actually work for a living I say: If you have $300 million to lose in the first place, too fuckin' bad...

Meanwhile, Apple is turning record profits with their App Store. Nintendo was very wrong when it turned it's back on indie developers and low-cost (or no-cost) games.

Good maybe they will make changes that would warrant me to play or buy their products.

I would love to get just one 1/1000th of what this man just lost.

Fan boys be damned. Nintendo's been making some bad missteps lately and it's about time the market punished them for it.