Disappointed in New Wii Product, Investors Slam Nintendo Shares in Japan

Shares of Nintendo Co. NTDOY fell a five-year low in Japan Wednesday, as investors slammed the company's release of its new Wii product. Nintendo announced a new console called the Wii U Tuesday, but it appears that gamers and investors are disappointed that the company didn't sufficiently address the transition to social gaming. Shares are down more than 5% in Toyko. Competing directly with Sony's SNE PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's MSFT Xbox 360, gaming has increasingly gone online so users can compete with friends and strangers. According to a Reuters report, "Investors said they were worried Nintendo remained too centered on hardware as the market increasingly shifts to a battleground over software, with games played over Internet networks linking millions of players." Nintendo is engaged in the development, manufacturing and sale of portable and console game machines as well as game software. The company is also facing gaming competition from Apple's AAPL iPhone, iPad and iPod. Especially with the proliferation of Facebook and Twitter, connecting with users through games has been a natural progression.