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Nintendo Finally Considers Smartphone Move After Third Straight Annual Loss

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MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Nintendo president Satoru Iwata stated in a press conference that the company is now considering a "new business structure" that involves smart devices, reports Bloomberg.
wii_u_controller.jpg
Wii U GamePad controller​
The news comes as Nintendo reported a third consecutive annual loss, slashing the global sales forecast for its flagship Wii U game console from 9 million units to 2.8 million consoles. The company also scaled back its expectations for its 3DS portable game console from 18 million units to 13.5 million, with Iwata also claiming that there are no short term plans to reshuffle management.
"We are thinking about a new business structure," Iwata said at a press conference yesterday in Osaka, Japan. "Given the expansion of smart devices, we are naturally studying how smart devices can be used to grow the game-player business. It's not as simple as enabling Mario to move on a smartphone."
Click to expand...
Nintendo has faced fierce competition from mobile platforms in recent years, with App Annie recently finding that consumer spending on games for iOS and Android rose to 4x that of dedicated gaming handhelds. In 2010, Iwata reportedly told his senior executives to regard Apple and its devices as "the enemy of the future", and also stated to CVG last August that he would "never think about providing [Nintendo's] precious resources for other platforms at all."

Investors have also called for Nintendo to develop titles for iOS and other platforms in August 2011 after lower-than-expected demand for the 3DS. Alternatively, some also suggested that Nintendo should "buy its way into" the smartphone platforms by acquiring companies and technology or developing their own. Iwata's newest comments reveal that Nintendo is now seriously considering supporting smartphones in some manner.

Article Link: Nintendo Finally Considers Smartphone Move After Third Straight Annual Loss
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/01/18/nintendo-smartphone-move/
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djplaxe2109

macrumors 6502
Feb 4, 2013
437
0
Unfortunately for them, they're too late for a big piece of the pie. Not sure who their target market would be....
 
Z

Z400Racer37

macrumors 6502a
Feb 7, 2011
711
1,664
Its about time, its a good thing they pay those guys so much to figure out what a 5 year old could have told them 5 years ago
 
T

tdiaz

macrumors 6502
Feb 7, 2006
477
73
Answer the phone before the 1st ring and get a Power Up!

Hit people with it and gold coins fly out of it!
 
Sky Blue

Sky Blue

Guest
Jan 8, 2005
6,856
11
I'd like to see a virtual console on mobile with nes, snes and n64 games for $5, $8 and $10.

I think it'd make a killing.
 
furi0usbee

furi0usbee

macrumors 68000
Jul 11, 2008
1,790
1,382
djplaxe2109 said:
Unfortunately for them, they're too late for a big piece of the pie. Not sure who their target market would be....
Click to expand...

You're not sure? One word... Mario. Forget about the hundreds of Mario games already there for Nintendo to tap. Think of all the games out there now, big selling games, with new mascots... Now drop Mario into that equation, with the Mario universe, characters, etc. The possibilities are endless. Then, when Apple finally lets us play iOS games on the Apple TV with a real controller, you now are back in the living room.

Once Nintendo loses the hand-held market, they are over. The hand-held market subsidizes their console ambitions. Nintendo could stay in the hardware business for some time, but they have a goldmine as a software developer, and could be the biggest software house for iOS/Android on day one.

This is getting very interesting...
 
Icaras

Icaras

macrumors 603
Mar 18, 2008
6,344
3,393
MacRumors said:
In 2010, Iwata reportedly told his senior executives to regard Apple and its devices as "the enemy of the future", and also stated to CVG last August that he would "never think about providing [Nintendo's] precious resources for other platforms at all."
Click to expand...

Stubbon as always, Nintendo.

I give Iwata credit for wise forethought but zero credit for not doing anything about it. It's now 2014 and Nintendo is still struggling to comprehend the definition of what online services and a proper eco-system are. There is no way that I am going to purchase the same virtual console titles TWICE for both a console and handheld device developed by the same company. Utter eco-system fail.

I wish Nintendo would get over it's self-destructive arrogance and just leave these specialized type of software developments to more capable hands. I've been a die-hard Nintendo fan since NES and I say just go third party already. At least for console gaming anyway. Just focus on game content and make it available to new audiences.
 
driceman

driceman

macrumors 6502
Mar 13, 2012
313
185
There just isn't as much demand for dedicated game consoles anymore. I want devices that do something besides allow me to kill time. Even Sony and Microsoft's directions with the Xbox and PlayStation are better than Nintendo's-at least you can watch movies and such on their platforms.

I love Mario and Zelda, but if Nintendo is going to survive they NEED to make a new business model. I'd love to see some Zelda on iOS or Mac!
 
G

Gigaman

macrumors regular
Aug 19, 2011
165
38
Not so fast "Nintendo fans", 3DS still did great, being the best sold console of last year and Pokemon X and Y was one of the best selling games of December (or the year, I forget).

The loss is obviously on the Wii U side of things. They have to start delivering with their hardcore games (legend of Zelda, Starfox, F-Zero, Metroid, etc.)
 
iZac

iZac

macrumors 68030
Apr 28, 2003
2,592
2,774
UK
Android powered Nintendo phablet.

Has some sophisticated sandbox mode and specialised Nintendo hardware in the phone to play Nintendo titles (i.e not running on android specifically, reducing the chance of rampant piracy) But also lets it play Android games on the android side of the hardware.

Flips / slides to reveal hidden control scheme.

more like these

less like these
 
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ipedro

ipedro

macrumors 603
Nov 30, 2004
6,224
8,470
Toronto, ON
Iwata's comments have been misrepresented

Iwata's comments have been misrepresented and were totally blown out of proportion by the most of the mainstream media.

If you've been following his history regarding "smart devices", Iwata has in the past stated that Nintendo was looking into smartphones and tablets as an addition to their first party hardware experiences to entice new users to Nintendo consoles and handhelds.

What Iwata has suggested would be mini games made for touch devices using Nintendo characters but that major games would still be exclusive to Nintendo consoles. For example, we might see a Mario Angry Birds style game to introduce a new generation to Super Mario who would then feel compelled to buy a Nintendo console to play the main games. I believe he also made mention of a Zelda puzzle game and a Pokémon "pet" app.
 
G51989

G51989

macrumors 68030
Feb 25, 2012
2,530
10
NYC NY/Pittsburgh PA
Nintendo might consider, but I doubt we will see there games on any phone or tablet.

The DS line has been a runaway success, Nintendo is probably busy building a replacement to the Wii U.

Nintendo is a very good company, they make amazing products, I wouldnt count them out so fast.
 
W

wisty

macrumors regular
Feb 18, 2009
219
0
Nintendo has as large and a rabid a fanbase as Apple did when they launched the iPhoned. They also are really good at making physical devices usable.

I'd say they have a much better change of making a successful iPhone competitor than either Google or Microsoft.
 
R

RoyalElephant

macrumors member
Jul 21, 2013
54
25
Sky Blue said:
I'd like to see a virtual console on mobile with nes, snes and n64 games for $5, $8 and $10.

I think it'd make a killing.
Click to expand...

Imagine if how much they'd make if they released Gameboy/Gameboy Color/Gameoy Advance virtual consoles with Pokemon Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, Crystal, Ruby, Saphire and Emerald all available and able to connect with each other using the iPhone's/iPad's/Android Device's bluetooth in place of the GBA link cable.

These games are already popular on smartphones. In fact, a fake Pokemon Yellow game once came on the app store and went number 1 around the world while scamming everyone.
 
KindredMAC

KindredMAC

macrumors 6502a
Sep 23, 2003
975
218
I have a Wii U and 2DS in my household right now and the biggest issues I see for Nintendo right now are:
  1. The lack of core ORIGINAL titles. (Seriously, how can they repackage Super Mario 64 and Ocarina onto the DS ecosystem and NOT think people are going to yawn?)
  2. Price point. (Nintendo games are not known for their depth of story. I have a hard time even paying $20 for DS/3DS games when they are on sale or in a bin)

If Nintendo did license SOME of their IPs to Apple for a one-two year exclusivity deal, you would see Nintendo bring in A LOT of dough. The key is not to price the stuff as much as a DS/3DS game.
 
springsup

springsup

macrumors 65816
Feb 14, 2013
1,221
1,209
I hope this means actual games and not game accessories (like a companion app for while you're playing the game).

Nintendo need to wake up - they had a huge margin from hardware, but their hardware very significantly lags behind the state-of-the-art and costs the same if not more. On top of that, their devices are poor at anything besides gaming, making the value even harder to see.

If Nintendo's mission is to create great gaming experiences, they'd be better off targeting the more advanced hardware and better online infrastructure of the iPhone.

If Nintendo's mission is to make money, they'd be better off carving a niche for themselves in the premium iOS games market (like Rockstar has done with GTA).

I really fail to see the point in them stubbornly insisting to only develop games for their top franchises on their own hardware. Clearly not enough people are buying the hardware for that to be profitable, and less people are enjoying their excellent games.

Apple aren't competing with Nintendo. If Iwata thinks that, he's sadly mistaken. Apple provide a state-of-the-art platform for Nintendo to create great gaming experiences on. Apple do not develop their own games; unlike Microsoft Game Studios.

----------
ipedro said:
Iwata's comments have been misrepresented and were totally blown out of proportion by the most of the mainstream media.

If you've been following his history regarding "smart devices", Iwata has in the past stated that Nintendo was looking into smartphones and tablets as an addition to their first party hardware experiences to entice new users to Nintendo consoles and handhelds.

What Iwata has suggested would be mini games made for touch devices using Nintendo characters but that major games would still be exclusive to Nintendo consoles. For example, we might see a Mario Angry Birds style game to introduce a new generation to Super Mario who would then feel compelled to buy a Nintendo console to play the main games. I believe he also made mention of a Zelda puzzle game and a Pokémon "pet" app.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's exactly the route I hope they don't take.

The idea behind it is ridiculous. Who's going to play a Zelda puzzle game and then go out and spend hundreds of dollars on another console and games?
 
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