Nintendo stock is taking a beating after unveiling its newest console
Nintendo
When the Switch was first teased back in December, Nintendo took a similar beating on the markets - analysts were concerned that the Switch's central gimmick, a TV console that you can disconnect and use as a portable gaming device, wasn't enough to differentiate it from the more powerful Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One consoles.
Traders are already skeptical of Nintendo: The Wii U, Nintendo's previous console was a notorious flop, selling only 13 million units in its five-year lifespan. For comparison, the original Wii sold 101 million units in its lifetime.
And "Super Mario Run," the debut of Nintendo's most famous franchise on the iPhone, is a smash hit in terms of downloads, but that hasn't translated into long-term revenue, and the stock has suffered.
So while gamers may be excited for the Nintendo Switch, it seems that the markets have passed judgment and found the company's strategy lacking. If Nintendo can't prove them wrong, the gaming legend will be facing new shareholder pressure to change its course, and potentially even take its focus away from building hardware at all.
Here's the chart of Nintendo's share price on Friday in Tokyo, when it held the Switch event at 1 p.m. local time, as shown:
Screenshot/Google Finance
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