Nintendo shares tumbled more than seven percent on Friday after the Japanese games giant failed to impress with a brief video preview of its highly anticipated new Switch 2 console.In late morning trade in Tokyo, Nintendo shares were down 7.04 percent after the company released a slick two-minute trailer on Thursday.The new gadget is bigger but broadly similar in design to the original hybrid Switch, which can be handheld or connected to a television screen.Nintendo stopped short of giving other details, including pricing, saying more would be revealed at an April 2 live-streamed event.The stakes were high for the announcement: the first Switch has sold more than 146 million units since its launch in 2017, making it the third-best-selling console ever after Sony’s PlayStation 2 and Nintendo’s DS.Krysta Yang of the Kit & Krysta Podcast said in a YouTube reaction video that a flood of unofficial previews and rumours in recent months may have spoiled the surprise for fans.”Basically every single leak, if we had a checklist… a bingo card of leaks, I think we got bingo, guys,” she said.”I guess because of all the information that was already out there, maybe people were just like, ‘this is what I expected’,” Yang added.”I’m sure there’s going to be more details that are fun and exciting, hopefully, and more games obviously, that we’ll see in the coming months.”Nintendo’s share price had risen strongly in recent months, gaining more than 12 percent in the last half-year.- Investor concerns -The Switch 2’s screen is larger, as are the overhauled “joy-con” controllers that appear to snap into place with magnets rather than sliding into position.Nintendo’s trailer also showed off a new version of the long-running Mario Kart series both on the new console’s built-in screen and on a TV.The previous instalment of the game, “Mario Kart 8”, has sold more than 64 million copies.The company said the new machine “plays Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive games, as well as both physical and digital Nintendo Switch games” — which would fulfil a November promise on backwards compatibility with the old console.But it added that “certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2”, adding that further details would come “at a later date”.Bloomberg Intelligence technology analyst Nathan Naidu said while the new Mario Kart game was a “bright spot”, investors may be concerned about the release timeline for the new console.”As Switch 2’s release will be at least three months behind its predecessor, it might fail to top the 15 million units the Switch achieved in its first full year,” he said.Nintendo said Thursday that several “Nintendo Switch 2 Experience” events would be held around the world starting in early April to give gamers an opportunity to test the new console.With sales of the original Switch falling, Nintendo had promised to unveil the new console by the end of March.At the same time, the Kyoto-based company has been diversifying into theme parks and funding films based on its characters like 2023’s global second-place box office performer “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”.”However, Nintendo still generates approximately 91 percent of its revenue from its Nintendo Switch business, which shows the importance of the Switch 2,” said Darang Candra, an analyst with games market research firm Niko Partners.
Fri, 17 Jan 2025 02:15:03 GMT
