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Apple Poaching Gaming PR Execs from Activision and Nintendo
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No, it's over for YOU, Kool Aid Drinking Fool.
It will NEVER happen. Go back to college and get an edumacation on the business world.
It's so over for Nintendo.
From 2011_02_11:
Report: Nintendo Wii Sales Down 31.5 Percent from Januar
And before that, from 2009_06_30:
Nintendo Sales Down 40 Percent
Anyone who doesn't see that Nintendo is sadly losing the game system battle needs to get an education.
I like Nintendo. Their game system is more entertaining than the competitors. But the "power gamers" (LOL) want something different. If Apple buys them in 5 years that will be a good thing to keep Nintendo alive as a subsidiary.
Perhaps we'll see a Wii/AppleTV combo?
I remember some fool telling me American companies cannot buy Japanese companies. LOL How can people say such things without a little research? I mean what about Ford's purchase of Mazda? At one point through stock purchase they had the majority ownership? They sold off some of it in 2008.
From 2011_02_11:
Report: Nintendo Wii Sales Down 31.5 Percent from Januar
And before that, from 2009_06_30:
Nintendo Sales Down 40 Percent
Anyone who doesn't see that Nintendo is sadly losing the game system battle needs to get an education.
I like Nintendo. Their game system is more entertaining than the competitors. But the "power gamers" (LOL) want something different. If Apple buys them in 5 years that will be a good thing to keep Nintendo alive as a subsidiary.
Perhaps we'll see a Wii/AppleTV combo?
I remember some fool telling me American companies cannot buy Japanese companies. LOL How can people say such things without a little research? I mean what about Ford's purchase of Mazda? At one point through stock purchase they had the majority ownership? They sold off some of it in 2008.
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So it's pretty much even.
Add to that all the extra functionality plus App Store for the iPod . . .
I have respect for Nintendo because of their focus on gaming and making their consoles dedicated to that purpose rather than adding 'feature creep'. They're human and they did make mistakes and learned from it. The Nintendo Wii gave them a good headstart and changed the industry's view on how to interact with the hardware using motion control.
Something new and fresh.
Secondly, the car industry is'nt comparable to the games industry. I can tell you that there is NO way Apple will buy Nintendo because they're from two different countries.
Again, Microsoft tried to buy Nintendo. The latter told Ballmer off and said "No. We're not for sale".
The reason their sales are down is because everybody that was going to buy a Wii has bought one. Look at the sales numbers on vgcharts.com
The Wii this week still sold more world wide than the Xbox 360. Not to mention the 3DS just came out and is raking in the cash.
Nintendo isn't out of the game at all. If there was ever a time they may have gone under, it would have been the late 90's.
The Wii this week still sold more world wide than the Xbox 360. Not to mention the 3DS just came out and is raking in the cash.
Nintendo isn't out of the game at all. If there was ever a time they may have gone under, it would have been the late 90's.
Speculation.
Tell you what Epic has also sung praises for? The Dreamcast. And Tegra. You know Activision and EA were also supporting the Nokia N-GAGE? Epic made a wise choice to put their engine on iOS.. It's up to other people to actually leverage it. Support is nothing if the games don't come out. High profile games tend to get a lot of promotion during production.. The fact that there's absolute silence on the "massive" iOS title front seems a likely indicator that big budget iOS games just aren't anyone's priority. Most AAA games take longer than a year to produce, and a hardware platform that doesn’t drastically improve on a yearly cycle is a lot easier to commit resources to.
Not really, not if you propose the "multiple iOS users sitting around a TV" option. It really is completely preposterous that anyone could think that could ever challenge console or even PC gaming.
Much more likely is the idea of a streaming console like OnLive, but even that's a way off being truly viable. You know the most replaced part of a console setup is the controllers? Eventually they break, get something spilled on them, get thrown at TVs... They cost little to replace.. Imagine inviting your friends round to a gaming night.. There's beer, music, four $300 slippery motion controllers made of glass, with no tactile feedback.. You have to explain every single game to the players because there is no standardised control scheme. Everyone likely has to buy a copy to unlock all features. You also need an AppleTV...
Or alternatively people will still buy a dedicated console/PC that is much simpler and just works. Apple aim for that themselves, don't they? Mobile tech is not getting so powerful to have parity with home consoles or PCs, people will always want nicer looking, bigger, potentially more immersive games. Otherwise the NGP would be the killer hardware platform as its approaching PS3/360 performance and DOES have wide industry support..
I'm not belitteling iOS' progress, Apple have done a great job. I can see where they're going with it. You can't. You seem to be totally oblivious to the realities of gaming as a whole. Party games.. Rock band, Dance games.. Consoles are flexible and easy. A family iOS device nest with unpleasant controls is NEVER going to compete unless Apple deviates from their current path and releases something more compatible with everyone's lives.
Oh, and the trappings of gaming have evolved over time. They aren't comparable to keyboards, which stuck at qwerty, azerty etc. they're refined every generation. If touch only was truly a viable option for gaming do you think they'd have bothered with all the usual controls on the 3DS and NGP? Many standard genres rely on certain hallmark hardware features. Your suggestion that they could be wiped out to replace with touch only - it would kill half of the games ever made. They could NOT be adapted in a way that didn't make them much much worse.
Are you saying the decades of game design have all been *wrong* up to the point where Apple came along and took away all the buttons? Right.
I know exactly what Apple's capable of but I also realise they're very clever about picking their battles. A lot of people seem to think they're doing something that they (seemingly) aren't. Please.. Bookmark this. I'll be here in a few years and we can compare notes about how this all Apple "iOS devices as controllers" gaming future has not happened on a large scale. I'd wager key titles from my game collection on it. Maybe then if it did somehow come to pass you'd get a chance to see why that future is a horrible alternative to what we've already had for many years.
Apple ARE doing brilliantly in the mobile gaming space though. I'm not denying that. I play a lot more on iOS than my PSP.
SORRY.. Wall of text..
Yeah because a product that has been out for 5 years with little revision or change will really require people to buy them at a constant rate.
Some of you got your heads so far up your ass you don't seem to see reason. Do you really think that Apple is the only successful company and they will one day own everything. Apple is a successful company but not the only one.
Out of the three companies releasing consoles right now. Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, Nintendo currently selling the most units. Apple has no place in video games.
Of course the Wii outsells the xbox. Without Windows subsidizing it, xbox would fold. It has an absolutely horrible user experience.
I give Nintendo about 5 years before they are bought up though. Of course no Android company would be able to afford it. They'll be too busy trying to keep viruses off of their platform.
Apple will be able to afford it and run it properly.
I give Nintendo about 5 years before they are bought up though. Of course no Android company would be able to afford it. They'll be too busy trying to keep viruses off of their platform.
Apple will be able to afford it and run it properly.
If Apple is going to make everyone insignificant, why would they buy Nintendo?
What makes anyone think Nintendo will want to be brought out? I love how, ever since Sony got into the gaming business Nintendo has been said to have one foot in the grave. All they do is video games, they have been making money. Maybe not as much as they used to make, but they aren't even close to broke.
In fairness, they could always go the Sega route and become a Software only shop.
I'd be shocked if Apple doesn't follow MS footsteps into the gaming...who would have thought MS could pull it off - Apple with their hardware mojo would kill it.
They'd just need to get behind it and buy up good developers like MS did with Halo (Jobs is prob still hiring over that)...based on the iOS carryover (relationships with Epic...etc), they've already got their feett wet.
The whole "own the Livingroom" business motivator is a strong one and consoles can pull that off better than the media PC attempts IMO.
@_@ Why would anyone think Nintendo is failing when they're so profitable?
360's horrible user experience? Other than the early (and significant) hardware issues, that's one of the things people consider *great* on the 360. Where do you get the idea of a horrible user experience from?
Nintendo will be here and independent in five years, they've weathered much worse than the current climate.
If a day came when Apple was poised to purchase Nintendo or Sony, it would have to be Nintendo. I just realized it couldn't be Sony because Apple would have to embrace blu-ray. LOL
I can't stand the xbox. The menus are crap. Its a cluttered mess. It reminds me of a poorly designed web site that's too cluttered. It is a horrible user experience. Nintendo's Wii is much nicer and Sony's PS3 isn't bad. The PS3 looks a little cumbersome but the navigation is so fast, that it makes up for it.
You're right about buying good developers. I think without Halo, the xbox would go the way of the zune.
For the most part we the gamers do not want a Apple game console. If it is any thing like its computers it would greatly over charge you for hardware on the guise that you are getting Quality hardware. It would not want to use many of the standards that everyone else embraces. The next gen of Systems will all have Blu-ray drives. Apple...is on the blu-ray committee and still doesn't use it. Because of this many gamers will not trust it.
But I do want google to release a gaming console. It will be awesome it will be open sourced. Its biggest plus will be how cheap it is. Why? Because every thing will have an advertising in it. Get ready for GTA with real adds on the cars and stuff.(thats not a bad idea come to think about it.) The console manufactures are good as they are. Apple will not work out.
Wow, you're probably the most severe kool-aid drinker I've seen, ever. Apple is a godsend to humanity, perfect in everything and everyone else is incompetent and evil, right?
Nintendo will never sell themselves. They survived in the late 90s / early 00s and they're doing alot better now.
I don't have an Xbox myself but I haven't heard any complaints about the user experience from owners and the online system gets praised.
Speculation.
Tell you what Epic has also sung praises for? The Dreamcast. And Tegra. You know Activision and EA were also supporting the Nokia N-GAGE? Epic made a wise choice to put their engine on iOS.. It's up to other people to actually leverage it. Support is nothing if the games don't come out. High profile games tend to get a lot of promotion during production.. The fact that there's absolute silence on the "massive" iOS title front seems a likely indicator that big budget iOS games just aren't anyone's priority. Most AAA games take longer than a year to produce, and a hardware platform that doesn’t drastically improve on a yearly cycle is a lot easier to commit resources to.
Not really, not if you propose the "multiple iOS users sitting around a TV" option. It really is completely preposterous that anyone could think that could ever challenge console or even PC gaming.
Much more likely is the idea of a streaming console like OnLive, but even that's a way off being truly viable. You know the most replaced part of a console setup is the controllers? Eventually they break, get something spilled on them, get thrown at TVs... They cost little to replace.. Imagine inviting your friends round to a gaming night.. There's beer, music, four $300 slippery motion controllers made of glass, with no tactile feedback.. You have to explain every single game to the players because there is no standardised control scheme. Everyone likely has to buy a copy to unlock all features. You also need an AppleTV...
Or alternatively people will still buy a dedicated console/PC that is much simpler and just works. Apple aim for that themselves, don't they? Mobile tech is not getting so powerful to have parity with home consoles or PCs, people will always want nicer looking, bigger, potentially more immersive games. Otherwise the NGP would be the killer hardware platform as its approaching PS3/360 performance and DOES have wide industry support..
I'm not belitteling iOS' progress, Apple have done a great job. I can see where they're going with it. You can't. You seem to be totally oblivious to the realities of gaming as a whole. Party games.. Rock band, Dance games.. Consoles are flexible and easy. A family iOS device nest with unpleasant controls is NEVER going to compete unless Apple deviates from their current path and releases something more compatible with everyone's lives.
Oh, and the trappings of gaming have evolved over time. They aren't comparable to keyboards, which stuck at qwerty, azerty etc. they're refined every generation. If touch only was truly a viable option for gaming do you think they'd have bothered with all the usual controls on the 3DS and NGP? Many standard genres rely on certain hallmark hardware features. Your suggestion that they could be wiped out to replace with touch only - it would kill half of the games ever made. They could NOT be adapted in a way that didn't make them much much worse.
Are you saying the decades of game design have all been *wrong* up to the point where Apple came along and took away all the buttons? Right.
I know exactly what Apple's capable of but I also realise they're very clever about picking their battles. A lot of people seem to think they're doing something that they (seemingly) aren't. Please.. Bookmark this. I'll be here in a few years and we can compare notes about how this all Apple "iOS devices as controllers" gaming future has not happened on a large scale. I'd wager key titles from my game collection on it. Maybe then if it did somehow come to pass you'd get a chance to see why that future is a horrible alternative to what we've already had for many years.
Apple ARE doing brilliantly in the mobile gaming space though. I'm not denying that. I play a lot more on iOS than my PSP.
SORRY.. Wall of text..
I like walls of text that make sense. So no worries.
You're right, a lot of what I say is speculation. I'm going to have to stand by it, though. I just think the changes will be a lot more drastic than we can imagine. I'll concede that we can split 50/50 on this at the moment, though, due to the continued popularity if mainstream consoles. Consoles, too, will evolve. I'm not sure where and to what degree. I'm open to suggestions.
However, I'm very, very certain that in due course consumers will be choosing not simply between console brands, but between mobile vs. console devices. And the consumers that will be driving this one vs. the other consideration won't be "hardcore gamers" (initially, at least), but average non-gamers who got turned on to the *other* things their mobile devices can do. Accessibility and a very welcoming interface will drive this.
We care about things the competition doesn't. So figure out what Apple *is* doing and what everyone else isn't. Then you'll have some idea.
It's something that's quite difficult to articulate in words, because the answer will beg a deeper elaboration. Easiest thing is to pick up an iOS device (or a Mac) and use it. There's your answer. It's in the first-hand experiencing.
If you can discern no difference or very little difference, then I submit you won't know the difference between a Breitling and a Casio with Mickey on it.
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Sadly this sort of argument is a product of political talk radio. It has "trickled down". Slapping a label on someone does not score a couple of points in the argument. I imagine you think I'm a "kool-aid" drinker because you disagree with me and do not like Apple so it all goes hand in hand. Right.
1. You are presupposing I'm an Apple kool-aid drinker
2. If I am, then that does not negate my opinion.
3. My opinion on Nintendo's status has nothing to do with the degree to which I enjoy Apple products or relate to Apple as a company. If I think Apple is a "godsend to humanity" how does that define my opinion of Nintendo?
A Nintendo executive stated Apple was the biggest threat to Nintendo. He said Apple. Nintendo thinks Apple is their competition now. That doesn't sound good. That sounds like a message to the share holders to me: sell!
I have a wii, an xbox and a PS3. The PS3 is just a blu-ray player for me now. It was also my Netflix device until I go the Apple TV. Not it is hardly used. Someday I'll get some games for it. Maybe. I have a bunch of PS2 games but Sony won't open up the PS3 for me to play them on it and I don't want to unpack the PS2. The I have two xbox games but I don't have time to play now. I use the xbox for netflix in the other room. It is a horrible interface. sure once the game starts its just a game. But the menus are cluttered and this gold club thing is ridiculous. I'm probably going to get another device for netflix and turn off the gold membership. The only problem is that TV is older and doesn't have HDMI.
Actually I think many people feel this way about life.
"The first 90 years go by pretty fast."
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Windows subsidized the development of the Xbox. The Xbox started generating more than enough profit to sustain itself a while back and since then profits have been increasing. There's no way it would fold, but if you have current numbers that show otherwise, that would be interesting to see.
It's known for having a good user experience. Your personal preferences are irrelevant.
The UI on the Xbox only displays ~3 menu items at a time and they only utilize 1/3rd of the screen. It is not cluttered by any means. In contrast, Apple's UIs such as Apple TV contain far more clutter: up to 21 items that take up the entire screen.
I don't see the correlation between Nintendo recognizing who their competition is, and your conclusion. How does this sound bad? If anything it shows that they are well informed.
Gotta agree. This is an interesting thread for me to read (especially since in the past few months I've really started appreciating my iphone as a game player as some of the type of games I really like have been put on it) but I wish people would try to keep insults out of it. Your argument is much better and sounds much stronger if you don't have to rely on calling each other names.
I think you're over reading that statement there. That's not saying Nintendo is in trouble, that is saying that Nintendo is acknowleding that Apple has become a bigger threat than their other threats. Just because they are a threat does not mean that Nintendo is out of business or even that Nintendo is worried that Apple will put them out of business. It means they are the ones most likely to pull business away that Nintendo wants (remember, they can be worried about making less money and not about going out of business).
If anything, that statement should be far more worrying to Sony and Microsoft since Nintendo has just said they view Apple as more of a threat than them (and very insulting since the iphone/ipod isn't even designed specifically at gaming). Which is too bad that Sony and MS are apparently doing so bad that now Apple has become Nintendo's competitor (did I just say that about MS?!! *boggle*) in my opinion cause Nintendo has never been my favorite video game system (seriously, I preferred Sega when Sega was around, I prefer Sony, and even the Xbox gets far more games I'm interested in than Nintendo. I only didn't get an Xbox cause at the time the first came out I was refusing to help MS get a monopoly on yet another market).
Nintendo in general gets a lot of cheesy, kiddy crap that I'm totally not into. I could care less about all the Mario this and that, the fact that Mario is in it and it's going to be cutesy graphics completely turns me off. And a lot of their other games still fall into the cutesy graphics stuff. Sorry, but that in itself is a huge turnoff to me. Sure, they might get some more serious games, but Sony and MS seem to have more of the actual serious games and less of the cutesy crap. They seem far more aimed at "hardcore" gamers.
But then again, look who is winning? So maybe there is the answer right there. As much as hard core gamers are turning their noses up at the iphone, they are not the ones that are the market that makes a company profitable as it seems the companies more aimed at casual gamers and kiddies are the ones that are making the money.
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Cluttered as in messy. It is horrible. Its like those awful webpages that get made and the author thinks its great because he stuck in all sorts of things when simplicity would be so much better.
Microsoft should hire a design team to come in and fix that. It is a really horrible user experience.
Go scroll through your netflix queue on Apple TV and on xbox. But first make sure there are 100 titles in it. Then get back to me.
And then of course you have to scroll up and down through these hideously large icons and find netflix going off to the right of one. And then to top it off, not everything is in that scrolling mess. You have to push the center button on the controller to get to account settings,etc.
Look, if you like the platform fine, but don't deny it is hideous and cumbersome.
Actually my preferences are very relevant. I stated my opinion and look at all the people, including you, who are determined to state I'm wrong Some are down right emotional about it.
So yes, some people really are upset that I don't like it.
Perhaps MS will fix their awful user interface and I can give a new review? Then everyone can settle down.
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Heh, here is a good article on Nintendo vs. Apple (or really rather dedicated handheld gaming systems vs. the iphone).
http://gamerscastnews.blogspot.com/2011/03/editorial-nintendo-vs-apple-great.html
He makes some excellent points though I still hope to see single player games with more depth that take more time make it to the iphone. I'm willing to take the compromises (everything he points out is wrong with the iphone for more in depth games is very true) so I can have one device that goes with me everywhere.
The most annoying thing I think of the problems he listed is the fact that yes, since it is also my phone I do feel the need to not use up all my battery at once. But you can buy extra battery packs for the iphone. I'm actually thinking of picking one up for my trip cross country to visit my mom.
And I have found that it can be annoying to all the sudden have your game pause as your phone is about to ring (right in the middle of a jump or trying to hit some bad guy or what not). I've had times playing Prince of Persia where I get annoyed cause I though my iphone froze up only to have it pop over to the phone app as some one is calling and go, "Oh yeah, it's my phone too." Or have random pop ups that come up to bother me (yes, you can turn those off but it's pretty clunky to have to keep going back and forth to settings to turn off notifications just to play a game).
Touch controls? I agree but I think the compromise is worth it. I've found most of my games with virtual sticks are still enjoyable. Certainly enjoyable enough it wouldn't be worth paying another 100-200 for a system that had buttons.
Of course, I think people would be foolish to say that the iphone is a better gaming experience. I think the reason why Apple has become a contender is more the fact that they are becoming so common now and even some big names are starting to get interested in iOS (Squaresoft just released FFIII on the iphone, EA's had plenty of games on the iphone since at least the 3G, I have a few Capcom games on my iphone as well), at least enough to port older games in, Nintendo/Sony/MS have to convince people to *also* buy their handhelds rather than buy their handhelds instead of.
http://gamerscastnews.blogspot.com/2011/03/editorial-nintendo-vs-apple-great.html
He makes some excellent points though I still hope to see single player games with more depth that take more time make it to the iphone. I'm willing to take the compromises (everything he points out is wrong with the iphone for more in depth games is very true) so I can have one device that goes with me everywhere.
The most annoying thing I think of the problems he listed is the fact that yes, since it is also my phone I do feel the need to not use up all my battery at once. But you can buy extra battery packs for the iphone. I'm actually thinking of picking one up for my trip cross country to visit my mom.
And I have found that it can be annoying to all the sudden have your game pause as your phone is about to ring (right in the middle of a jump or trying to hit some bad guy or what not). I've had times playing Prince of Persia where I get annoyed cause I though my iphone froze up only to have it pop over to the phone app as some one is calling and go, "Oh yeah, it's my phone too." Or have random pop ups that come up to bother me (yes, you can turn those off but it's pretty clunky to have to keep going back and forth to settings to turn off notifications just to play a game).
Touch controls? I agree but I think the compromise is worth it. I've found most of my games with virtual sticks are still enjoyable. Certainly enjoyable enough it wouldn't be worth paying another 100-200 for a system that had buttons.
Of course, I think people would be foolish to say that the iphone is a better gaming experience. I think the reason why Apple has become a contender is more the fact that they are becoming so common now and even some big names are starting to get interested in iOS (Squaresoft just released FFIII on the iphone, EA's had plenty of games on the iphone since at least the 3G, I have a few Capcom games on my iphone as well), at least enough to port older games in, Nintendo/Sony/MS have to convince people to *also* buy their handhelds rather than buy their handhelds instead of.
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