By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Sales Discussion - Is Wii demand waning? Stock market says "yes"

NJ5 on 20 November 2008
BengaBenga said:
FishyJoe said:

Pay no attention that the Japanese stock market is down 4%. Sony is down 4%. Just about every Japanese company is down 4%.

But yeah, some guy said it so that must be the reason it's down 4%.

 

This.

All panic for nothing. Investors usually follow market trends. There are not a lot of investors that actually know whether demand for Nintendo product is low, they just follow the trend for consumer electronics.

The Dow-Jones slummed on lower consumer demand, which could affect Nintendo. Japanese investors just followed the US. This doesn't mean it actually will affect Nintendo. If it will it will mean a lower demand for videogames across the board. Pachter btw thinks that in a recession more people will buy videogames, because value for money is bigger than say a day in Disneyland.


Not all the panic is for nothing, although some of it is. There are two problems for Japanese companies in general:

- reduced demand for products (doesn't seem to hurt Nintendo so far)

- unfavorable exchange rates for exporters (greatly hurts Nintendo)

I'm not going into details here as those are all in the article about the economic crisis.

 



My Mario Kart Wii friend code: 2707-1866-0957

Around the Network
greenmedic88 on 20 November 2008
BengaBenga said:
FishyJoe said:

Pay no attention that the Japanese stock market is down 4%. Sony is down 4%. Just about every Japanese company is down 4%.

But yeah, some guy said it so that must be the reason it's down 4%.

 

This.

All panic for nothing. Investors usually follow market trends. There are not a lot of investors that actually know whether demand for Nintendo product is low, they just follow the trend for consumer electronics.

The Dow-Jones slummed on lower consumer demand, which could affect Nintendo. Japanese investors just followed the US. This doesn't mean it actually will affect Nintendo. If it will it will mean a lower demand for videogames across the board. Pachter btw thinks that in a recession more people will buy videogames, because value for money is bigger than say a day in Disneyland.

And yet the stock is unlikely to reflect the "recession-proof" tendency of the video game industry due to lack of investor confidence as well as underlying factors like the current exchange rate.

I agree; video games, much like movies, tend to do better as a form of inexpensive entertainment during economic downturns. The only problem is that the gaming industry has expanded (along with individual project budgets) to the point that few big budget games stand the chance to recover costs, much less profit comfortably.

So what does that mean? Budget priced games and only the most hyped games have the best chances of selling well under such economic conditions. Budget priced hardware stands to benefit most as well (not good for Sony).

We'll see how well theory matches actual results come December...

 



Spankey on 20 November 2008
greenmedic88 said:
BengaBenga said:
FishyJoe said:

Pay no attention that the Japanese stock market is down 4%. Sony is down 4%. Just about every Japanese company is down 4%.

But yeah, some guy said it so that must be the reason it's down 4%.

 

This.

All panic for nothing. Investors usually follow market trends. There are not a lot of investors that actually know whether demand for Nintendo product is low, they just follow the trend for consumer electronics.

The Dow-Jones slummed on lower consumer demand, which could affect Nintendo. Japanese investors just followed the US. This doesn't mean it actually will affect Nintendo. If it will it will mean a lower demand for videogames across the board. Pachter btw thinks that in a recession more people will buy videogames, because value for money is bigger than say a day in Disneyland.

And yet the stock is unlikely to reflect the "recession-proof" tendency of the video game industry due to lack of investor confidence as well as underlying factors like the current exchange rate.

I agree; video games, much like movies, tend to do better as a form of inexpensive entertainment during economic downturns. The only problem is that the gaming industry has expanded (along with individual project budgets) to the point that few big budget games stand the chance to recover costs, much less profit comfortably.

So what does that mean? Budget priced games and only the most hyped games have the best chances of selling well under such economic conditions. Budget priced hardware stands to benefit most as well (not good for Sony).

We'll see how well theory matches actual results come December...

 

As recession-proof as the video gaming industry might be, the HDTV industry might not be. the adoption of HDTVs or lack thereof will be critical for two of the big three as they generally look better in HD.

Thats one of the reasons why I think the Wii is in the best possibe place at the best possible time right now as it's not affected  by people needing a HDTV to get the best enjoyment from their games.

 



Proud Sony Rear Admiral

Kasz216 on 20 November 2008
Spankey said:
greenmedic88 said:
BengaBenga said:
FishyJoe said:

Pay no attention that the Japanese stock market is down 4%. Sony is down 4%. Just about every Japanese company is down 4%.

But yeah, some guy said it so that must be the reason it's down 4%.

 

This.

All panic for nothing. Investors usually follow market trends. There are not a lot of investors that actually know whether demand for Nintendo product is low, they just follow the trend for consumer electronics.

The Dow-Jones slummed on lower consumer demand, which could affect Nintendo. Japanese investors just followed the US. This doesn't mean it actually will affect Nintendo. If it will it will mean a lower demand for videogames across the board. Pachter btw thinks that in a recession more people will buy videogames, because value for money is bigger than say a day in Disneyland.

And yet the stock is unlikely to reflect the "recession-proof" tendency of the video game industry due to lack of investor confidence as well as underlying factors like the current exchange rate.

I agree; video games, much like movies, tend to do better as a form of inexpensive entertainment during economic downturns. The only problem is that the gaming industry has expanded (along with individual project budgets) to the point that few big budget games stand the chance to recover costs, much less profit comfortably.

So what does that mean? Budget priced games and only the most hyped games have the best chances of selling well under such economic conditions. Budget priced hardware stands to benefit most as well (not good for Sony).

We'll see how well theory matches actual results come December...

 

As recession-proof as the video gaming industry might be, the HDTV industry might not be. the adoption of HDTVs or lack thereof will be critical for two of the big three as they generally look better in HD.

Thats one of the reasons why I think the Wii is in the best possibe place at the best possible time right now as it's not affected  by people needing a HDTV to get the best enjoyment from their games.

 

I think almost everyone who actually cares about HD graphics probably already has an HD TV and a system.

The majority of the people who want the HD systems really probably don't care about HD graphicsand only want the games.

 



greenmedic88 on 20 November 2008

^ exactly.

Although I still think with the number of flat screen fire sales going on over the holidays, the entry price for an inexpensive HDTV is no longer a premium.

My guess would be many could/would just use their high res computer monitors, assuming they bought them within the last couple years.

If any system's fortune seems closely tethered to HDTV adoption rates, I'd say it was the PS3 due to Blu-Ray alone. If you're not using the PS3 with an HDTV, you're really not getting the most out of the system for $400.



Around the Network
WiiBox3 on 20 November 2008

Everyone will know when Wii Demand is down. How you may ask? Nintendo will do 3 things when demand goes down:

1. Multiple colored Wiis.
2. Multiple colored Wii Motes.
3. Bundles: Additional games packed in with Wii (Wii Sports Resort)



triplebph on 20 November 2008

The difference in demand is last year and the year before when people were wanting to buy them for Christmas presents, they were sold out so demand was high. But I've heard that some stores have them in stock this year I believe, so that would make demand lower.



Viper1 on 20 November 2008
triplebph said:
The difference in demand is last year and the year before when people were wanting to buy them for Christmas presents, they were sold out so demand was high. But I've heard that some stores have them in stock this year I believe, so that would make demand lower.

No, that just means supoply is higher.

 

 

 



The rEVOLution is not being televised

mike_intellivision on 20 November 2008

A couple of thoughts.

The article is about stock prices falling because of demand drop fears because of the pending economic recession in the US.

It has nothing to do with sales -- and little to do with reality.

Also, considering that when I clicked on the article link, it not only said Nintendo and Sony but said 6 percent drop, it is quite probably that Bloomberg's article is dynamic and getting updated during the day. Unfortunately, circumstances do make it look like flamebait where it was just posting news.

Mike from Morgantown



      


I am Mario.


I like to jump around, and would lead a fairly serene and aimless existence if it weren't for my friends always getting into trouble. I love to help out, even when it puts me at risk. I seem to make friends with people who just can't stay out of trouble.

Wii Friend Code: 1624 6601 1126 1492

NNID: Mike_INTV
Acevil on 20 November 2008

Declining stocks are attributed to what investors think is happening or is going to happen, not what is actually happening or what actually is going to happen. Many times investors are wrong and pay for it.