Nintendo Shares Gain After Good Switch Debut

Nintendo shares rose on Friday to their highest in a month after a smooth debut of Switch, a hybrid console that aims to bring together the worlds of mobile and home gaming, according to Bloomberg.

Retailers in Tokyo and Sydney began selling a limited number of units early, while fans in New York and Toronto waited in the cold to buy the new devices at midnight sale events. Demand easily outstripped supply, with most retailers exhausting both pre-order and same-day inventory within minutes or hours, signaling Nintendo is on track to reach its goal of shipping 2 million units by the end of the month.

Shares rose as much as 4.1 percent, also the biggest gain in a month, as analysts expressed optimism the launch was going well. Prior to Friday, Nintendo’s stock had declined for four-straight days as some early negative reviews and concerns about potential defects unnerved investors.

Switch, which sells for $300, is the company’s biggest bet in years. Nintendo’s late foray into making mobile games for smartphones has only just started, and the Wii U console was a flop, making it even more important that the new console succeeds. The new gadget is essentially a tablet sporting wireless controllers that can be used anywhere, on its own in the park or plugged into the living room TV.

So far, reviews are almost evenly split between positive and negative appraisals. Gamespot called it a “technical marvel,“ while the Verge sang praises of its launch title, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. IGN bemoaned compromises in the hardware to merge home and portable gaming, while Arstechnica said the machine’s battery life is too short for long trips.

The attention now turns to the weekend to gauge fan reaction and the device’s durability. Several gaming reviewers who tested the system had reported connectivity problems with its Joy Con controllers, raising questions about hardware quality. Nintendo declined to comment on the issue.