Nintendo unveils the WiiU

Success or failure? – Only Time Will Tell 

Written by Khristopher Reardon, Staff Writer

Image obtained via (Pop Culture Geek) on Flickr Creative Commons

Nintendo’s newest video game console, the WiiU, has a lot to live up to. It comes after the astronomical success of the Wii, the sales of which arched high in its early to mid-life cycle but have been steadily slumping for the last few years.

And its investors are not pleased. Irked at a drop in stock prices, Nintendo’s shareholders believe that Nintendo should be expanding its software for the iPhone instead of its current gaming platform, the 3DS.

In attempt to stir up some excitement surrounding the WiiU, Nintendo unveiled the new console to a crowd of developers and gaming press at the Electronic Gaming Expo. Unfortunately though, this reveal was little more than trailer bait. Instead of wowing the audience on the amazing applications of WiiU, the unveiling simply teased the audience with the WiiU’s iPad like controller with touch screen and analog controls and an extended montage of people smiling with the device.

[pullquote]Will WiiU be Nintendo’s next riches to rags story?[/pullquote]What should have been Nintendo’s moment to steal back the spotlight feels more like an abrupt curtain call on the hysteria building up about the WiiU.

Even the gaming press, with all their eagerness to see the WiiU grew forlorn because after a year of waiting its game lineup is anemic. WiiU’s innovations are hardly different than the lightning in a bottle that Nintendo’s biggest competitors, Sony and Microsoft, have been trying to capitalize on for the last couple of years.

You would think that Nintendo would’ve been better prepared for the launch of a new console. After the conference was finished, Nintendo’s stock dipped two percent on the Osaka Stock Exchange, something that probably sent a few giggles Sony and Microsoft’s way considering their conferences actually raised stock prices.

Post-conference, Nintendo’s North American spokesman says consumers will be pleasantly surprised by the WiiU price point but neglected to explain how. Meanwhile, current reports point to next generation software being cranked out by development houses, a sign that new Microsoft and Sony systems are well on their way.


Nintendo already had a disastrous fall with the launch of 3DS. Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata even felt compelled to apologize for the price drop of the 3DS and offered early buyers free software to compensate.

But will WiiU be Nintendo’s next riches to rags story? It’s still too early to tell.

Until then, weary eyed gamers worldwide will keep on waiting.

Sources:

– CNET
– Gamepolitics
– Bloomberg
– Gamesindustry.biz (Nintendo Shares)
– Gamesindustry.biz (Critical Consensus on the WiiU)

ARB Team
Arbitrage Magazine
Business News with BITE.

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