When Nintendo announced the Switch 2, the reception to it seems to have been mixed to say the least. It’s one thing, of course, for the gamers to have chimed in. And we’ve seen gamers debating if the console seems too boring, or if doubling down on what worked on the Switch is the right path forward.
But that announcement was for more than gamers to hype themselves up. As we reported, Nintendo’s stock price went up in the US, and down in Japan, a day after the announcement video. And gamers may ultimately decide the Switch 2’s success or failure with their purchasing power, but in the short term, that announcement had an immediate effect on how the financial world saw Nintendo.
We argued at the time that the markets did not reach a consensus if they liked the announcement or not, but one could argue that reaction was ‘corrected’ in a matter of days. A week later, Nintendo’s stock value in Japan reached its highest peak since the company joined the Tokyo stock exchange. And then it went up to a new peak the week after that.
A Nintendo shareholder took the opportunity to ask the company’s president, Shuntaro Furukawa, what he thought about the reaction to their announcement video, in the Q&A in their latest earnings call. Here’s what Furukawa had to say:
“We are happy that many people all over the world watched the trailer. But because we only revealed the name and form factor, we will need to wait until more detailed information is released on April 2 to get a good sense of their reaction.
There is currently a lot of interest, so we will first focus on the preparation for the April 2 announcement, and then offer opportunities for many people to get their hands on the hardware, so we can convey its appeal.”
Some fans theorized that Nintendo did not really intend to make the Switch 2 announcement video like that, and they may have also wanted to wait longer before releasing it. But they ended up making the announcement in reaction to leaks leading to game peripheral maker Genki going to CES with a 3D printed mockup of the Switch 2.
We don’t think this confirms that theory, but it’s a persuasive argument for sure. Nintendo seems to consider the upcoming Switch 2 Direct to be the real test if they’re able to capture the cultural zeitgeist yet again. And that suggests we will finally get all, if not most, of our questions about the console and its unannounced features and qualities answered on that presentation.
We’re all certainly looking forward to it, and you’re kidding yourself if you don’t think the whole industry right now, even Sony and Microsoft, is not hoping for the Switch 2 to be a huge success.
