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

[lk400]

I'm not sure if Nintendo will "go the way of Apple" as you put it, as Apple posted another record breaking profits earlier this week. My original post said that Nintendo is doomed to follow Sega's fate.

Im sorry - I misread. The words look similar.

 

[KdParker]

... Nintendo has more cash reserves on hand then they've ever had in their history having sold more Wiis than they sold NES and N64 consoles combined. This is also only the second time in their history that they've ever reported an operating loss.

I agree that the Wii U has been a failure on their part but this is hardly the continuation of some decline, nor are they in any real danger. Even if the Wii U 2 were to flop they'd still be afloat as a business.

I am not sure how long that can continue. The Wii is just outdated, and I don't see a future where there numbers don't increase with out them bringing a now new product.

 

[SoAnyway]

I think it's worth pointing out that Apple got to the position they're in now after refusing to give up their hardware business even when they were close to bankruptcy.

Do keep in mind that a lot of what drove Apple close to bankruptcy was the poor leadership at the helm in between Steve Jobs. Apple had no direction, was all over the place, and was bleeding cash during those times.

Unlike Apple in between Jobs, Nintendo still has money in the bank and still has time to steer the ship in the right direction. They can't come out with a gimmicky/fad product like the Wii and lack third party support if they are to stay in the hardware business. At this point, they either need to be more open to third parties or become a third party developer themselves.

 

[elvisimprsntr]

This just in...

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2014/01/nintendo-quality-life/#disqus_thread

Good thing Mario is a plumber. Maybe he can figure out where the sound of flushing water is coming from.

 

[Lennholm]

Do keep in mind that a lot of what drove Apple close to bankruptcy was the poor leadership at the helm in between Steve Jobs. Apple had no direction, was all over the place, and was bleeding cash during those times.

Unlike Apple in between Jobs, Nintendo still has money in the bank and still has time to steer the ship in the right direction. They can't come out with a gimmicky/fad product like the Wii and lack third party support if they are to stay in the hardware business. At this point, they either need to be more open to third parties or become a third party developer themselves.

I agree with most of your points, my point was that getting rid of the hardware business is not the obvious solution that many people here make it out to be.
I don't see how Nintendo isn't open to third parties, it's the third party developers who have shunned Nintendo. Game developers these days are lazy, they only want to develop for standardized x86 hardware and only if the hardware is overpowered enough to run their messy code without noticeable performance issues. They're simply not interested in making the effort to optimize the code.
They never want to try anything new or unique and that's why most games these days are rehashes with prettier graphics (graphical artists outnumber programmers 3 to 1). Seems like almost every game that comes out nowadays is an FPS and really, not that much has happened gameplay wise since Quake was released in 1996 or story telling wise since Half-life was released in 1998.

 

[ezekielrage_99]

2 years and we will see Nintendo do what Sega did over 10 years ago.. A few more years of trending negative profits I think they'll get the picture.

 

[KindredMAC]

They do have a brand new Mario game on the Wii U, a really good one. They're working on a new Zelda game but there's always ~4 years between console Zelda games and the last one was released just little over 2 years ago. It was really unfortunate that Skyward Sword was released so late in the Wii's lifetime and so close to the Wii U launch. They really should've made it forward compatible with the Wii U, HD graphics would've done wonders for it.
I don't know what the hell they're thinking not making a Metroid game, I guess Metroid isn't that big in Japan and Nintendo has always been and still are very focused on the Japanese market, which is their no. 1 mistake.

Super Mario 3D Worlds

Super Mario 3D World was first available on the 3DS in Nov 2011 as 3D Land.

As I said... Nintendo is rehashing old ideas.

 

[Lennholm]

Super Mario 3D World was first available on the 3DS in Nov 2011 as 3D Land.

As I said... Nintendo is rehashing old ideas.

They aren't the same game any more than Super Mario Land and Super Mario World were the same game. Maybe you should actually try out the games instead of mindlessly jumping on the Nintendo hate-train, or just go back to play Call of Duty map pack no. 43.

 

[Jilibk]

I still think that both smartphone "games" and their own consoles could co-exist, with apps being more an introduction the the Nintendo universe and bringing people back to the consoles. But how to do that? Maybe small side adventures of favourite games that could be played on a smartphone? Or some kind of minigames? Imagine a "Link smashing pots for high score" kinda mini game

Nintendo games were always awesome and they created some of the best characters and stories (Ocarina of Time is still of my absolute favourites, no game could ever reach that). It would be sad to see them being put out of business.

 

[LordVic]

I can think of only 2 titles from Nintendo i want to play recently.

But i'm not willing to buy a new console (handheld or otherwise) just to play them.

Nintendo doesn't have nearly enough compelling hardware and features. The games aren't console sellers for them. And losing major deals with companies like EA means they will have an even harder time selling consoles.

the Wii U sold less hardware in 2013 than the Xbox One or the PS4 did. And those were only out for 2 months.

If Nintendo doesn't pull a rabbit out of their sleeves soon, They will go the route of Sega.

 

[KindredMAC]

They aren't the same game any more than Super Mario Land and Super Mario World were the same game. Maybe you should actually try out the games instead of mindlessly jumping on the Nintendo hate-train, or just go back to play Call of Duty map pack no. 43.

I have the games in question so you can stop assuming that I don't. They are similar enough for me to consider them the same game. Sprucing graphics up and adding a few new features a new game this does not make.

 

[tigress666]

I agree with most of your points, my point was that getting rid of the hardware business is not the obvious solution that many people here make it out to be.
I don't see how Nintendo isn't open to third parties, it's the third party developers who have shunned Nintendo. Game developers these days are lazy, they only want to develop for standardized x86 hardware and only if the hardware is overpowered enough to run their messy code without noticeable performance issues. They're simply not interested in making the effort to optimize the code.
They never want to try anything new or unique and that's why most games these days are rehashes with prettier graphics (graphical artists outnumber programmers 3 to 1). Seems like almost every game that comes out nowadays is an FPS and really, not that much has happened gameplay wise since Quake was released in 1996 or story telling wise since Half-life was released in 1998.

Ah, the lazy developer argument. It's not Nintendo's business to make their console appealing to developers, not at all. It's not in Nintendo's best interest to do so, the developers have all the onus to do the work. It's not like they want to get their games out to the most people as possible. It's not like they have to figure out if it is worth taking the time to work on a platform that is very different for the amount of payoff they will get. No, they don't have to consider that at all. It's not like it didn't come out how unhelpful Nintendo was to developers with questions when they were coming out with the Wii U.

Sorry, Nintendo has the most interest in getting third parties on their platform, it is their responsibility to make it easy to develop for or enticing enough that it is worth the extra effort to develop for. After all they are the ones that need the third parties on the console the most. Third parties gotta do what is best for them. Taking extra time to develop for a platform that doesn't want to help third parties that does not have much market to sell the game to is not something that will entice them.

 

[neoelectronaut]

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one that doesn't want Nintendo on iOS. I can't imagine playing any Nintendo-developed game without buttons. It'd be at best, miserable, and at worst, downright unplayable.

 

[Liquorpuki]

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one that doesn't want Nintendo on iOS. I can't imagine playing any Nintendo-developed game without buttons. It'd be at best, miserable, and at worst, downright unplayable.

You're not the only one

People with a 3DS are playing Bravely Default
People with an iPhone are playing Flappy Bird

Bravely Default > Flappy Bird

 

[Renzatic]

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one that doesn't want Nintendo on iOS. I can't imagine playing any Nintendo-developed game without buttons. It'd be at best, miserable, and at worst, downright unplayable.

Some games would be alright, depending on the genre. I played Zelda 3 on my jailbroken iPad back when, and I thought it was pretty alright. Super Mario World was all kinds of suck, though. Doing the infinite cape flip thing was nigh on impossible with touch controls.

 

[neoelectronaut]

I can't even enjoy stuff like Sonic the Hedgehog with its simplistic touch screen controls. My left thumb keeps sliding off the d-pad since there's no tactile feedback as to where it ends.

 

[LordVic]

I can't even enjoy stuff like Sonic the Hedgehog with its simplistic touch screen controls. My left thumb keeps sliding off the d-pad since there's no tactile feedback as to where it ends.

Gaming on touch devices just doesn't work well IMHO for twitch gaming.

but slower paced gaming that doesn't require traditional controllers work excellently.

A game like Mario might not work great. But Pokemon, Or other turn based games would be excellent.

 

[cyberslammer]

Yeah, being directly responsible for releasing the two most successful consoles of the previous generation was the first sign of their slow, downward spiral.

I swear, some of you here lose anything approaching objectivity if doesn't have an Apple logo on the back. Their recent losses are a wake up call that they need to get off their asses and do something to turn the ship around, not an indication of a terminal decline.

I own a Wii, a 360, and a PS4.

Care to rephrase that?