A new era is upon us! Geeks, nerds, gamers – whatever you want to call us, we’re now influencing the investment capability and reputation of some of the worlds largest and most notable companies. This year’s E3 fallout is a perfect example of how a new generation of investors are shaping the future worldwide.
Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony are just a few of the many organizations impacted by investors’ response to E3. Within 48 hours of Nintendo’s press conference on June 4th, the company’s Japanese stock dropped 2.68%. Whereas Sony’s rose 2.14%. For those unfamiliar with how the stock market works, investment decision (buy or sell) are 95% of the time made on future earnings projections. For Nintendo, investors likely weren’t discouraged by the Wii U, but more likely our (gamers) response to the console’s future. And I don’t mean the claps/silence inside the showroom during Nintendo’s press conference. While investors rely on historical figures and official projected earnings, they also scour the Internet reading what we all have to say. Needless to say, the aggregate response to the Wii U is not favorable.
Following E3, we all ask each other who we believe “won” the show. Just look at our June poll – in fact, tell us what you think. Perhaps the real measure of who won the show is to ask the smarty pants on Wall Street. That certainly lines up with my feelings on the matter as I believe Sony won the show. Keep in mind, of these companies, only Nintendo operates as a standalone gaming company. Sony and Microsoft’s shares are also dependent on their other business units. While E3 may be enough to make a 2-3% impact on Nintendo’s stock, it cannot effect Sony and Microsoft equitably. Other organizations such as Ubisoft and Vivendi are also up against investor opinion during E3 week. Fortunately for Ubisoft they saw a 5% gain. That makes sense considering how much positive response they’ve had. Far Cry 3 and Assassin’s Creed 3 both look spectacular.
This is all good news for us as it becomes increasingly important for these organizations to produce quality work to please gamers and ultimately their shareholders. The more pronounced our feelings, the more the likes of Sony and Nintendo will be delighted to appeal to us. So if you don’t like the Wii U, say something. If you’re pissed about the lack of Vita announcements, go on message boards. And if you want Microsoft to talk about games during their press conference and not Smart Glass, create a blog and get as much traffic as possible.
If you want something, get connected. There’s nothing to stop us nerds, geeks, gamers or intelligent investors from influencing the future of gaming.
As always, you can email me with your input or leave a post below.