Nintendo, (NTDOY) Currently at 12.51, which is close to its lowest point in the last year, (high was 18.95). I know Nintendo has taken a beating the last couple of years with the Wii U being a bit of a disappointment, but Nintendo has shown in the past the ability to profit even during their "off" times. It appears they had an excellent 4th quarter with the 3DS selling well, and even the Wii U saw a good bump in sales. Add to that, the popular releases of Pokemon and Super Smash Bros releasing for both systems. Then, there is the unknown of how much money they made off their Ambiio toy character figures, (ala Skylanders). Reports are they sold exceptionally well. I am close to pulling the trigger on this one. Any input?
Don´t see it happening. The problem is with new games. The port to Nintendo is more difficult and less cost-effective for developers... so new games that are hyped all over the place are being developed for Nintendo competitors first and then Nintendo, maybe, as an afterthought. The problem with Nintendo has never been their equipment or products, it has always been with their relationship with developers. It is the same reason why Facebook killed Myspace.
Yeah, it is a whole name battlefield in the gaming industry, (pun intended) with the likes of tablets, a Sony machine that is dominating, and even the PC gaming is coming back strong with the awesome Steam digital download program. Maybe I am a bit biased with Nintendo, because I grew up playing their games. I am curious to see where its stock goes once Nintendo releases their financial numbers for 2014 this March.
Nintendo is always a trading stock and I wouldn't view it as a long-term investment. It's been like that for a number of years (and I use to recommend Japanese stocks so I've watched it for a while). It's a stock to dip in and dip out of but it's structurally in a bad space, and the technology industry is moving against it.
I kind of like the Wii because it is not as complicated as some of the other systems. When I think of the brand I mostly think of the old machines we used to have on the 80s. I am not sure I would call the brand a gem.
Yep, the last thing you should use when deciding on a stock to buy is ´sentimental´ feelings. I thought wii was awesome and loved wii fitness... but they are just not going to sell many consoles because none of the major developers are making games specifically for Nintendo. Nintendo owners basically have to wait until developers get around to making a port for it, usually months and months after the game has lost steam.
I agree the Wii was probably the most successful console system to date, (even better than the NES or SNES). I know the Nintendo stock prices were good during the Wii console era. Not so much now... But, I am still going to watch their stock closely.
Actually, Nintendo stands to gain back some of the magic and momentum it lost over the past few years. As major flops have occurred on PS4 and Xbox One (poor sales, games with terrible glitches, etc.), Nintendo has released excellent after excellent first-party titles. The Wii U is finally gaining a little popularity compared to when it first started out (even with that head start the console didn't sell well). Nintendo could recover a little, although I wouldn't expect a TON of growth this year.
Yeah, I think long term things are still undecided. I think there is more likely to be a backlash against all developers because of this year. You are absolutely right, the number of big name games that were released broken for the PS4 was amazing and could help Nintendo long term. But I wonder how many people are going to say ´ this game sucks, I am switching from my PS to Nintendo´... they are more likely to just say they are never buying from that developer again.
I don't see much of a future in Wii U. The portables are selling well and will continue to do so unless kids just get a cell phone instead. Now, if the rumors are true that Nintendo is making a new low cost platform to sell in China, that could really boost the company. We'll have to wait and see...
