Nintendo Confirms No Games Coming to iOS, But Service App in the Works

[Plutonius]

You're right, but that's only because the Wii U is performing way below expectations. The 3ds is doing very well. IMO, releasing mobile games would do more to undermine their success in the handheld market than address their issues in the home console market. They need to rethink their strategy for sure, but mobile games aren't the solution.

Most adults / older people will not be carrying a DS around and will just use a console at home (no reason to get a DS) so some part of mobile gaming needs to be a part of the solution to the Nintendo finances. Nintendo should port some old titles to IOS / Android. This would not hurt DS sales, would make Nintendo some money, and would be the best form of advertising they could do (get more older people looking at the consoles).

I would agree with you though that Nintendo has to put most of it's effort into R&D on it's console.

 

[Elbon]

the iPhone isn't a direct competitor to their core business.

Of course it is. The iPhone is direct competition for the 3DS. If you have an iPhone (or even an iPod Touch), why would you need a 3DS?

Also, the rumored Apple TV update, if it materializes, would be direct competition for the Wii. If an updated Apple TV plays all the games that are currently available for the iPhone and iPad, Nintendo is screwed.

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iOS has shown itself to have potential. It has yet to truly match the consoles and handhelds when it comes to quality of games

Are you kidding? The 3DS looks like a Leapster compared to current iPhone models. My nephew got one for Christmas and I couldn't believe how primitive it was.

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The 3ds is doing very well.

Perhaps, but not quite as well as they had hoped:

"The company...cut its estimates for the 3DS from 18 million to 13.5 million units."

(see https://www.macrumors.com/2014/01/28/nintendo-denies-ios-demos/).

 

[nbnbxdnb]

Nothing personal. But I think it is not the time yetl.

 

[haravikk]

Personally I think this is a mistake; they could at least be making older games available for iOS, while keeping only their latest ones on WiiU/DS.

It also seems to me like they could provide an app for using an iOS or Android device as a touch-screen for use with a WiiU. Personally I don't think the WiiU is a bad idea, I just hate the tablets that go with them, especially when they're not that affordable for what you get either (battery life is horrible for a games console). If you could just use devices you already have then it would be more accessible, and if Apple TV is finally getting games then I fully expect Apple to do just this, so people don't have to buy multiple controllers to enjoy multiplayer games.

I dunno, I just think Nintendo are being very pig-headed about mobile devices, and while it might eat a little into sales of 3DS, it also opens up the games to a much wider audience, and gives them some protection as dedicated gaming handheld become less popular thanks to improving smart phone gaming.

 

[theydonotmove]

Ok seriously, why the Nintendo hate?

It's pretty ironic that a bunch of people on an Apple forum seem to lack any idea of why Nintendo would resist abandoning their hardware.

Sales of classic and/or current or new games on iPhones would destroy the 3DS sales. The games would not be nearly as good as if they were on Nintendo hardware, games developed for multiple platforms are never as good as a game for one specific device.

Phone games are like crack, cheap, quick, and un-fulfilling.

Nintendo games on Nintendo hardware (and consoles in general) are like pure Heroin.

Go to your local game store or a friends house and try Super Mario 3D World. I'd love to see you try to make a compelling argument that the game could work on a phone. That game was the best engineered game of 2013, the FPS doesn't waver away from 60 one bit, no matter how much is happening on the screen, even with four players at once.

Nintendo are master developers and their work is best experienced on their own hardware.

Nintendo phone games would suck, most phone games suck compared to consoles.

If console games were dying then we'd see a decline in all console sales, we know that is not the case.

Nintendo's job is not to go where the players are, it's to make a product that brings them back.

Apple was doomed until they stopped making mac clones, made the first iMac, brought jobs back, etc. They made serious changes to the company from the ground up and now they are one of america's top companies.

Side note, Nintendo's top brass are taking pay cuts to keep jobs for the employees on the bottom rung.

You think your savior jobs would do that? Or Tim Cook?

Nintendo has deep pockets and has only reported a loss one year out of their entire operating history, don't count them out yet.

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Of course it is. The iPhone is direct competition for the 3DS. If you have an iPhone (or even an iPod Touch), why would you need a 3DS?

Because Phones are devices stat do many other things other than play games. They will never be able to run games of the sophistication of a 3DS or a Playstation vita.

 

[Chouster]

As someone who loves Apple and also loves Nintendo, I firmly believe that Nintendo getting into the iOS space is a terrible idea. There are a lot of off the cuff comments here, clearly from people who don't own or regularly play Nintendo games.

I highly recommend everyone read this piece by Chris Kohler:
http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2014/01/nintendo-mobile/

As a gamer, as much as I play games on my iOS, the successful games aren't the engrossing 3D platformers or action-adventure games. The more successful games are the F2P or 0.99-2.99 dollar games that are focused on quick bursts. I'll take my Nintendo games without IAP's please.

 

[JGRE]

Time will tell, just wait a little while..............

 

[theydonotmove]

As someone who loves Apple and also loves Nintendo, I firmly believe that Nintendo getting into the iOS space is a terrible idea. There are a lot of off the cuff comments here, clearly from people who don't own or regularly play Nintendo games.

I highly recommend everyone read this piece by Chris Kohler:
http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2014/01/nintendo-mobile/

As a gamer, as much as I play games on my iOS, the successful games aren't the engrossing 3D platformers or action-adventure games. The more successful games are the F2P or 0.99-2.99 dollar games that are focused on quick bursts. I'll take my Nintendo games without IAP's please.

Great article!

It's like a professional writer went and said everything i have been trying to say!

Nintendo has one or two more generations to earn a spot in our living room. I'm optimistic.

 

[Renzatic]

Of course it is. The iPhone is direct competition for the 3DS. If you have an iPhone (or even an iPod Touch), why would you need a 3DS?

For the simple reason that no one buys an iPhone just for the games. Yeah, you can play games on them, and there are a handful of good ones. But for the moment, the quality of games isn't up there with a 3DS. It has the potential to be a direct competitor, and it certainly has the hardware to do so, but right now, it's not.

Angry Birds isn't Pokemon. And Oceanhorn, as fun as it was, isn't Zelda.

Also, the rumored Apple TV update, if it materializes, would be direct competition for the Wii. If an updated Apple TV plays all the games that are currently available for the iPhone and iPad, Nintendo is screwed.

A $99 console capable of playing Apple's vast selection of touch based mobile games on a large TV? No. It's mere release won't be a direct threat to Nintendo, and certainly won't even put a dent into the PS4 and Xbox One. Why? Games. The lack of games, by the way, is the reason why the considerably more powerful WiiU is failing so badly at the moment. Unless Apple has a ton of awesome titles lined up for the new AppleTV, it won't do a thing for anyone.

If all it took was a cheap $99 device you can hook up to your TV to beat the big consoles, the Ouya would've already been blazing trails through the scene.

Are you kidding? The 3DS looks like a Leapster compared to current iPhone models. My nephew got one for Christmas and I couldn't believe how primitive it was

Yeah, and if all it took was an awesome spec sheet to sell, then the old DS would've failed miserably under the onslaught of the far superior PSP back in the day. But like I've already said, when it comes to game systems, it's about the games first and foremost. Specs can only take you so far.

Though I should once again add that iOS becoming a direct competitor to Nintendo, Sony, and MS could very easily happen. The iPhone and iPad far outstrip a 3DS in pure power, and at least match the PS Vita. If Apple were to get solidly behind it, push for a good controller, and get publishers to make console quality games for the iPhone/iPad rather than IAP heavy cash-ins that only serve to draw attention to their bigger titles, it could very easily take on the 3DS. Maybe even the consoles, if you take an iPad/AppleTV combo into account.

But right now, it's not there. Indie and AAA publishers make more money off their games on PCs, consoles, and handhelds than they do the mobile platforms, and the touchscreen only controls only work for a select few genre of games. Right now, tablets and smartphones just aren't direct competitors.

Perhaps, but not quite as well as they had hoped:

"The company...cut its estimates for the 3DS from 18 million to 13.5 million units."

Yeah, but it's not doing so terribly, Nintendo will have to shutter their business and move on to greener fields. Not yet.

 

[69Mustang]

Of course it is. The iPhone is direct competition for the 3DS. If you have an iPhone (or even an iPod Touch), why would you need a 3DS?

I disagree. iOS is a tangential competitor for the casual market. The iPhone is a tangential competitor for mobile gaming. The 3DS has no direct competitor outside of other Nintendo hardware. If something is available on multiple platforms then you have direct competition. You can play CoD on XBox or Playstation. There's a choice to be made. When you have only one platform for a specific game (or game catalog in this case) then there is no competition.

To answer your question above:
If you want to play Nintendo games you buy Nintendo hardware.

 

[PracticalMac]

They're already mobile, and making a ton of money off of it. Why would they want to port their games to the smartphones?

Unlike RIM, the iPhone isn't a direct competitor to their core business. Their business is games. They don't need to go 3rd party to become a success. What they need to do is make the WiiU more of a draw than it currently is.

Theirs is a one-trick-mule.
There is also 100 times more games for iOS and Android than Nintendo's handhelds (granted vast majority are not as good).
Also, the iPhone/iPod/Andorid is being updated at least yearly or less, while Nintendo does its about every 4.

The landscape has changed, the business model needs to change too.


Instead of making direct ports of its flagship handhelds titles, make new titles, or simplified titles of its flagship for smartphones. Gain casual but keep its hardcore.

 

[theydonotmove]

The Wii U has a great lineup for 2014;

Smash Bros 4

Mario Kart 8

Bayonetta 2

X

Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze

If these games can blow us away then the Wii U will fly off shelves.

 

[shalegac]

They're already mobile, and making a ton of money off of it. Why would they want to port their games to the smartphones?

Unlike RIM, the iPhone isn't a direct competitor to their core business. Their business is games. They don't need to go 3rd party to become a success. What they need to do is make the WiiU more of a draw than it currently is.

Honest question, but how could they make the Wii U a bigger draw? While the 2600 is what I started playing as a lad, Nintendo meant everything in shaping the gaming experience for me. I have interest in reliving those games but no interest in purchasing their hardware any longer. The Wii U just doesn't offer anything to me in a home experience like the X1 or PS4 can.

One could only imagine being able to play The Legend of Zelda on their iPhone/iPad or even an AppleTV. It would be a huge cash cow that would require little development.

 

[cmvsm]

At this rate, Nintendo is equal to RIM

 

[Elbon]

If you want to play Nintendo games you buy Nintendo hardware.

This is just my opinion, but I don't care who makes the games. If a game doesn't run on a device I own, I'll just buy a different game. I'm certainly not going to purchase a dedicated device just to play a handful of games that only run on that device.

 

[theydonotmove]

Honest question, but how could they make the Wii U a bigger draw? While the 2600 is what I started playing as a lad, Nintendo meant everything in shaping the gaming experience for me. I have interest in reliving those games but no interest in purchasing their hardware any longer. The Wii U just doesn't offer anything to me in a home experience like the X1 or PS4 can.

One could only imagine being able to play The Legend of Zelda on their iPhone/iPad or even an AppleTV. It would be a huge cash cow that would require little development.

The Wii U is still the only place to play 1st party Nintendo titles.

If Nintendo made a device that could play ports from sony and microsoft would you buy it?

 

[uknowimright]

Nintendo's only problem is it's home console, which may just need some games to get it going, the 3DS has been printing them money

 

[Elbon]

A $99 console capable of playing Apple's vast selection of touch based mobile games on a large TV?

We don't know what the price point of a future Apple TV will be yet. Also, with the addition of MFi support, I imagine that a lot of those titles would be playable on a TV via Bluetooth controllers.

 

[Renzatic]

Honest question, but how could they make the Wii U a bigger draw? While the 2600 is what I started playing as a lad, Nintendo meant everything in shaping the gaming experience for me. I have interest in reliving those games but no interest in purchasing their hardware any longer. The Wii U just doesn't offer anything to me in a home experience like the X1 or PS4 can.

That last sentence is one of the two reasons why the WiiU isn't doing so well.

Nintendo makes game consoles, and everything else beyond that is secondary. MS and Sony make entertainment devices that have a major focus on games, but can handle just about everything else you'd want to do on a TV. Add in multiplatform support, with the Xbox working with all Windows 8 tablets and phones, and the PS having apps that sync seamlessly with just about any tablet out there, and you have a much more flexible, seamless home networking setup.

These days, the big push is towards consolidation. Instead of having a bunch of devices that all do one thing stuffed underneath your TV, it's about having one device that can do a bunch of things. The Xbox One does a particularly good job of this, since TV, other consoles, and everything can be routed directly through it. You don't have to switch through multiple input channels to do this or that. It's all available right from one platform.

The WiiU is just a game machine. It's always meant to be paired alongside something else. Some people don't want to do with that anymore.

The other reason is games. Even though they just came out, the PS4 and Xbox One already have a better selection of games than the year old WiiU. Games make or break a system, and right now, it's breaking the WiiU.

So what could Nintendo do? Basically what I said above. Make it so their consoles work as entertainment centers, rather than the thing you use to play games, then get some damn games for it.

One could only imagine being able to play The Legend of Zelda on their iPhone/iPad or even an AppleTV. It would be a huge cash cow that would require little development.

Hell, I'd love it too. I played Zelda 3 on my iPad back when I had it jailbroken using a Wiimote, and it was awesome.

Thing is, is the short term gains of offering their stable of games across multiple platforms worth the potential long term losses that a lack of exclusiveness would bring about? That's the big question.

 

[theydonotmove]

Nintendo's only problem is it's home console, which may just need some games to get it going, the 3DS has been printing them money

Yes, software sells hardware. OSX sells the Macintosh, and iOS sells the iPhone.

But while a round of great 1st party titles can make the Wii U break even or profitable, they can't propel the Wii U to the same numbers as the original Wii.

Nintendo needs to figure out what console buyers want, and make a device that delivers on that and deserves a spot in our living room.

 

[Renzatic]

We don't know what the price point of a future Apple TV will be yet. Also, with the addition of MFi support, I imagine that a lot of those titles would be playable on a TV via Bluetooth controllers.

If it's expensive, it'll need more of a draw than just being an Apple TV with MFi support. Like I've said before, it'll need the games first and foremost. And not just mobile games blown on on a big screen TV. We're talking proper, console/PC quality games, which are few and far between in iOS land.

Also, an actually good MFi controller wouldn't hurt.

 

[uknowimright]

Yes, software sells hardware. OSX sells the Macintosh, and iOS sells the iPhone.

But while a round of great 1st party titles can make the Wii U break even or profitable, they can't propel the Wii U to the same numbers as the original Wii.

Nintendo needs to figure out what console buyers want, and make a device that delivers on that and deserves a spot in our living room.

Nintendo definitely needs to incorporate other stuff into their console so it's more of an entertainment hub, it doesn't help that the Wii U is definitely less capable than the other next-gen so it's going to start missing out on blockbuster games that could help it sell, it's really quite the uphill battle

 

[Lennholm]

One could only imagine being able to play The Legend of Zelda on their iPhone/iPad or even an AppleTV. It would be a huge cash cow that would require little development.

Yes, I can imagine how much it would suck to play Nintendo's quality games with crappy touch screen controls.

 

[69Mustang]

This is just my opinion, but I don't care who makes the games. If a game doesn't run on a device I own, I'll just buy a different game. I'm certainly not going to purchase a dedicated device just to play a handful of games that only run on that device.

I know it's your opinion and you're most certainly entitled to it. How does the opinion expressed above relate to the topic of Nintendo games? This entire thread is specifically about Nintendo games. Blanket logic doesn't forward the discussion in any positive way. If you don't care who makes the games you're posting in the wrong thread.

 

[spjonez]

Of course it is. The iPhone is direct competition for the 3DS. If you have an iPhone (or even an iPod Touch), why would you need a 3DS?

No it's not. You can't play DS/3DS games on your phone and the DS can't make phone calls. Two completely different devices.

Also, the rumored Apple TV update, if it materializes, would be direct competition for the Wii. If an updated Apple TV plays all the games that are currently available for the iPhone and iPad, Nintendo is screwed.

Nope, still can't play Nintendo games on it.

Are you kidding? The 3DS looks like a Leapster compared to current iPhone models. My nephew got one for Christmas and I couldn't believe how primitive it was.

Your iPhone has a 3D screen, surround sound, an SD card slot, a stylus, and around 15 physical buttons? Guess I bought the wrong one.