Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros. Wii U and Mario Kart 8 have definitely helped breath fresh life into Nintendo’s Wii U sales, but it’s no secret that the company is still way behind where it was in the 2007/2008 Wii era. Two major announcements were made this morning that help give gamers and investors an idea of how the company plans to move forward in the next year and attempt to create the same kind of hype it did in 2007. According to Nintendo’s stock at the end business today, investors are clearly very happy about the plan.
In case you missed the news, Nintendo announced that it is working on a new console(codenamed NX) and confirmed rumors that the company is finally moving into the mobile gaming market. Some fans may be hesitant about their favorite Nintendo IPs being on the app store in addition to on the Wii U and the 3DS, but investors have been begging the company to capitalize on the mobile market for a long time.
After today’s announcement of the deal with DeNAto make mobile games, the company is seeing a major spike in share value. Currently, the stock value is up more than 30 percent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. That brings the Nintendo stock value to a record high for 2015, but still not nearly as high as it was during the Nintendo craze that surrounded the launch of the original Wii.
The first Nintendo mobile games are estimated to launch in the fall. The company plans to develop brand new games with characters from its most popular IPs, rather than rerelease mobile versions of classic games. Nintendo’s value will likely balance out over the next day or two, but if the company makes a few more specific announcements about its plans for a new console or its fall lineup for the mobile market, we could see another spike.
Although it is exciting to see the Nintendo partnership with DeNA take off, it’s also important to keep in mind that Nintendo is years behind the pack on the mobile market. Hopefully, the company will be able to catch on quick and deliver quality products at affordable prices, but there is bound to be a learning curve in the transition from console to mobile game development and marketing. We look forward to this fall, when we’ll find out if Nintendo is up to the challenge.
Do you expect Nintendo’s stock to continue to climb or do you think the excitement will be short-lived? Let us know in the comments.