We've compiled a special series that puts Mom first! Discover more stocks you can bring home to Mom.
I know what you're thinking: Recommending a video game stock for Mom? That's like Dad giving his 4-year-old golf clubs for Christmas, or handing some classy bling-bling to your spouse -- with your initials engraved.
Not so fast. Nintendo (OTC BB: NTDOY.PK) is different. This is the one gaming stock your mother could love, too.
Look over here, Ma!
The Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT ) Xbox 360 and Sony (NYSE: SNE ) PlayStation 3 video game consoles are fine and dandy for hardcore gamers, with tons of shoot-'em-up hits like Halo 3, God of War, and Take-Two InterActive's (Nasdaq: TTWO ) Grand Theft Auto franchise.
You can probably figure that Mama and Grandma won't want to pick up the controller for a quick round of Killzone 2 very often. And the media hub aspiration of the PS3 and Xbox are also more likely to appeal to little Johnny than to his dear parents.
That's where the Nintendo Wii comes in. Armed with an innovative controller and a much more family-friendly software slate, the least expensive console of the current generation outsells its rivals almost every month, and it's nearly impossible to get your hands on one. According to Nintendo North America, the average system sits on a store shelf for less than an hour, even 17 months after the original launch.
The secret sauce
The graphics aren't great, the Wii doesn't have high-definition TV outputs, and the system is essentially a GameCube on steroids with a new controller. But there's an immersive, interactive quality in the gameplay that comes from actually swinging an imaginary racket or waving an invisible sword rather than mashing buttons. Even Cooking Mama: Cook Off is surprisingly addictive as you're chopping onions and stirring pots with that remote, and if you can make a cooking game fun to play, then you're really on to something.
The Wii forces you to get up from the couch and move, making for a welcome moment of fun-tinged exercise in the middle of a busy day. And those lazy kids could use a bit of movement too, right? Maybe they'll have so much fun playing tennis on the Wii that they take up the sport for real!
The console ships with a pack of sports games to get the blood pumping, and Nintendo is making a conscious effort to "integrate health in entertainment" with titles like Wii Fit.
What's not to love?
Nintendo has changed the gaming world with this innovative thinking. It's pulling nongamers into gaming and expanding the total console market considerably. Mighty Microsoft is scrambling to come up with an answer to the Wii controller, and the handheld Nintendo DS has almost as strong a headlock on the portable gaming market.
It all adds up to a family-oriented company with mostly cuddly heroes, and a stock that has more than tripled in price in the past two years. Talk about fun for the whole family!
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