Support NeoGAF

[Tripon]

Mr. Fischer, who had about 4% of his $1 billion fund in Nintendo at the end of June, is one of a growing cadre of foreign activist investors making money by pushing Japan’s sleepy corporate sector to be more shareholder-friendly.

U.S.-style activist campaigns like Mr. Fischer’s, which include critical letters, public presentations of alternative strategies and private prodding of management teams, are still uncommon in Japan, where news that a company is creating an investor-relations department has been known to send its stock soaring.

Nintendo said its push into mobile gaming is part of its own strategy.

“Our decision to tap into the smartphone game [market] was not due to any particular advice from any particular investors,” a Nintendo spokesman told The Wall Street Journal in response to questions about Oasis and the role of outside shareholders.

Mr. Fischer won’t be the only big winner. Los Angeles-based Capital Group Cos. owns 22% of Nintendo’s stock, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Capital Group declined to comment. Other global investors in Nintendo include San Francisco-based “value-oriented” mutual-fund manager Dodge & Cox and BlackRock Inc.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/hong-kong-hedge-fund-manager-wins-big-at-nintendo-1468320199

This thread is less about Pokemon Go than it is about how activist shareholders are potentially changing Japanese companies that are focused on the global area to be more proactive to what shareholders want.

Here is the thread in 2014 where Seth Fischer asks for Nintendo to move into the mobile market, including making a Mario game with micro-transactions.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=775532&highlight=seth+fischer

 

[Chindogg]

But Nintendo's not doing what investors want though. Otherwise they would have gone completely mobile and third party.

 

[Tripon]

But Nintendo's not doing what investors want though. Otherwise they would have gone completely mobile and third party.

Stan Fischer is the guy who sent a letter to Nintendo's offices saying he wanted to see Nintendo make a Mario game where you buy a jump for 99 cents. Each jump.

 

[Trojita]

"Make us fast money!"

 

[Nanashrew]

Stan Fischer is the guy who sent a letter to Nintendo's offices saying he wanted to see Nintendo make a Mario game where you buy a jump for 99 cents. Each jump.

wtf?!

I never heard of this before, but wtf.

 

[Trojita]

Stan Fischer is the guy who sent a letter to Nintendo's offices saying he wanted to see Nintendo make a Mario game where you buy a jump for 99 cents. Each jump.

It's Seth Fischer. Stan Fischer is vice chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve System. He served as governor of the Bank of Israel from 2005 to 2013.

 

[The Argus]

But Nintendo's not doing what investors want though. Otherwise they would have gone completely mobile and third party.

Except this is exactly what investors wanted them to do. And it's making more news and attracting more people than anything on the Wii U did.

 

[Noobcraft]

"Make us fast money!"

Yep. Shareholders tend to be short-sighted in terms of what a company should do. Their chief concern is money.

 

[Tripon]

wtf?!

I never heard of this before, but wtf.

"We believe Nintendo can create very profitable games based on in-game revenue models with the right development team," Mr. Fischer wrote. "Just think of paying 99 cents just to get Mario to jump a little higher."

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304071004579406790303908038

 

[Madness]

Yep. Shareholders tend to be short-sighted in terms of what a company should do. Their chief concern is money.

That is precisely what makes CEO's and Shareholders so successful at times. They don't care about the long term. If their goal is to increase profits by any means necessary, increase marketshare. They are interested in being the hare and not the tortoise. It is a cutthroat business. Invest here, make your money and put it somewhere else when it starts to struggle.

 

[PSqueak]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304071004579406790303908038

Well that quote is different from "99cents per jump", it's 99 cents for a jumping boost, not different from shit already seen in IAPs for games.

 

[Renekton]

Some activists can be bad news (eg Icahn), forcing short-term strategies or greenmail.

 

[udivision]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304071004579406790303908038

Your quote and what he said seem kind of different.

 

[Tripon]

Your quote and what he said seem kind of different.

I remembered it wrong.

 

[Chezzymann]

Not a fan of this. Shareholders will just want them to go mobile and make shit games that generate a bunch of money

 

[Leynos]

Not a fan of this. Shareholders will just want them to go mobile and make shit games that generate a bunch of money

Investors do not think in the long-term. Why should they? They want money now. If the company that they hold stocks in starts to go south, they just sell their stocks, and buy up stocks in another company which is rising. Long-term viability does not interest them.

 

[Terrell]

Not a fan of this. Shareholders will just want them to go mobile and make shit games that generate a bunch of money

So we're going to get another thread where people grossly misrepresent what Nintendo's shareholders want, I guess?