Wanna make a ton of money, Nintendo? Release an NES with a game store to download all original NES games.
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Nintendo Denies Report of Plans to Release Demo Games on iOS
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Apple does the same thing
Lightning cable, Thunderbolt, Passbook instead of NFC, etc
I disagree. I see Apple and Nintendo as very similar.
People want to use OS X and iLife/iWork FCPX etc etc. And to do that you need Apple hardware. There is no legal way around this.
People want to play Mario and Zelda and Metroid and Starfox and other 1st party Nintendo games. And the only legal way to do this is on Nintendo hardware.
Many people would never use Apple and/or Nintendo hardware if their software was available on other platforms. The big difference here is Apple make a profit on their hardware sales and Nintendo don't. This is because their hardware is on different ends of the spectrum. Apple is premium quality hardware for a premium price. And for the specs Apple offer you can't get a better deal anywhere else. Nintendo on the other hand have always had the cheapest hardware and of recent very few of the least features.
Nintendo hardware need 1st party software (games) to sell. The WiiU took a while to get SMB3W and ZeldaWWHD. The equivalent of this would be purchasing your new Mac but having to wait 10 months to get iLife and iWork for it (ie having none at all, not just an older compatible version). That would be unacceptable if Apple did this. We know it and Apple know it. But Nintendo did this with no good 1st party games on release for the WiiU.
So after all this Nintendo are partially to blame here. But they are slowly rectifying their mistakes and hopefully 2014 will be a good year for them.
Fair points. I see where you get the sense they are the same. At the same time, as you point out, Apple gives quality hardware and gives their software away for free. Nintendo tries to break even on hardware and make their money on their software. Great example. We went to replace Mario Party 8 for the Wii. $50 when it was new. Easily 6 years old, if not 7. Best deal I can find it used? $40. Can't find new anywhere. Their titles hold value until they decide to lower the price. That is what Apple hardware does.
But in the end, the fact does remain, that both are the same in that it is the whole ecosystem you are buying into if you want any part of them.
The company is not making Money but because their home console market is faltering once more. They had a great run with the Wii, as it was priced right, had an interesting interactive control. But all of that is gone, they failed to build up their network gameplay which is what the other two game consoles are doing. A low powered console is not a bad proposition to keep your company in the black, but so far it's been poorly executed as game houses are electing to write for the other consoles, in that market Nintendo should be focused on how to truly bring these 3rd party titles over to Nintendo.
as for handheld, as much lure there is for titles on iOS and Android, I have found that many kids like the true button style of the the traditional portal consoles. on top of that you can always play that device till it's dead without repercussion that the parents don't get upset you killed the battery on your phone again.
it's easy for people to state oh I just hand over my $800 phone to my kid (well on contract that'd be $300) vs $180 handheld plastic console that easily survives multiple drops?
there is an older audience playing iOS / Android, a generation that grew up on gaming that have elected not to keep playing games on Nintendo equipment, but it's Nintendo's own doing by not beefing up it's 3rd Party developer portfolio. Iwata's may still be able to turn these profits around if they figure out how to give developers the proper tools to easily push titles out for the Nintendo, but so far Nintendo itself is delayed with launching key titles for the new WiiU system like MarioKart8 and the rumored new legend of zelda (HD?) if They can't push out a title quickly, how can anyone expect 3rd party devs to do so?
and now MS and Sony have up'ted the ante by moving to an x86 core which allegedly will be easier to develop for (as it's closer to pc). Maybe Nintendo should re-think it's strategy with the WiiU cut it's losses and sell a new Console (compatible with the wiiu tablet maybe?) but bring it more in line to the other consoles horsepower wise but most importantly, 3rd party devs support, Why would parents buy 2 consoles if they can get their kids the nintendo, pull double duty as a bluray player and media box? IF nintendo secured that idea where you can have one console but allow wifi access to a 2nd tv screen in the house via a Nintendo adapter, that might help boost sales too. (even if one was games and the other was blu/ray media.)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/17/us-nintendo-earnings-idUSBREA0G09M20140117
The Wii was the most successful game console when it was at it's prime and that was not too long ago. How is that they don't know what their customers want? They are just taking downward spin right now. Who says that's it's not possible for them to come back. They are not like Microsoft that keeps making product after product, AKA, bomb after bomb. Man, some of you guys are making such knee-jerk reactions over Nintendo's current dismay.
*sigh* The WiiU isn't any harder to develop for than any other console. Just because the new consoles use x86 doesn't make them easier. Consoles have all sorts of tools in place to make cross platform development work so the CPU and rest of the architecture is largely invisible as it should be. The thing with the WiiU (and yes, I own one along with a PS3 and Xbox360) is that the device is small and very quiet. The tablet controller is awesome and the kids love the games. Me, well I mostly use the PS3 these days because it has a great back catalogue of games that suit me but I'm always looking at what is available for the WiiU. I've tried playing games on my iPad or iPhone and for games that suit the platform they're fine (angry birds etc) but for games that came from a console they're lousy (GTAIII for instance.)
What Nintendo has done with the WiiU is produce the console everyone said they wanted - an HD Wii - it has more graphics grunt than the PS3 or 360, plus it has a really interesting controller with a nice big screen and controls that work well. Lastly, it is fully compatible with Wii games and accessories so you have a large back catalogue of fun games that the kids love plus the potential to be better than the PS3 or 360 graphically if the games companies would step up to the plate. That's the fundamental problem with the WiiU - 3rd parties aren't developing games because the market size isn't there but the PS4 and XBone have the same problem although they do get the support because of the potential. Nintendo lost a lot of 3rd party support with the Wii unfortunately and with the WiiU they haven't got enough killer games (trust me, there are some which are great) and the customer base don't see the WiiU as being sufficiently different from their current console. My son loves it. The thing has barely been off since we got it at Christmas. Anyone who tries it loves it but the marketing is B.A.D.
So, what to do? Get some killer games out and sell consoles. Dicking about with phones and tablets isn't going to save their bacon as the games sell for a couple of bucks typically. Sure, they could do some stuff to incorporate phones and tablets like having the ability to buy and play VC games. What they really need to do is get the VC games sorted - a huge back catalogue to play with which you buy once and then run on multiple devices as per Steam would go a long way. I would love that just as I love Steam and plan to ignore the PS4 and Xbone in favour of building myself a custom Steam box once the controller is available.
I don't know- the company this site is devoted to does the same thing, and they're doing just fine.
(although, bringing iTunes to Windows was a big part of the reason they got to where they are today...)
Of course they are not.
The 3DS is a successful system. They have no need to release any ios or android games. You don't cannibalize your successful system by releasing games on a smart phone. They are going to release a successor to the 3DS and will keep on as long as the market dictates it. The Wii U is hurting right now but it's still early in it's life cycle and the games are coming. Zelda and Super Smash Bros and Mario Kart 8 are going to help drive sales up. It definitely won't be number one this generation but it doesn't have to be to be successful. Nintendo will not get out of the game hardware market and develop games for other platforms. They have stated that many of times. All one has to do is look at Sega and how the magic died once they got out of making games for the Dreamcast.
The 3DS is a successful system. They have no need to release any ios or android games. You don't cannibalize your successful system by releasing games on a smart phone. They are going to release a successor to the 3DS and will keep on as long as the market dictates it. The Wii U is hurting right now but it's still early in it's life cycle and the games are coming. Zelda and Super Smash Bros and Mario Kart 8 are going to help drive sales up. It definitely won't be number one this generation but it doesn't have to be to be successful. Nintendo will not get out of the game hardware market and develop games for other platforms. They have stated that many of times. All one has to do is look at Sega and how the magic died once they got out of making games for the Dreamcast.
Nintendo has actually made a prototype gameboy phone back in the day.
The future that everyone forgot
https://medium.com/tech-talk/d823af31f7c
I'll quote the Nintendo relevant parts of the article.
So it seems Nintendo were very close to entering the phone market. But maybe it's fate it never worked out for them, who knows.
The future that everyone forgot
https://medium.com/tech-talk/d823af31f7c
I'll quote the Nintendo relevant parts of the article.
So it seems Nintendo were very close to entering the phone market. But maybe it's fate it never worked out for them, who knows.
So, if I believe people here, Nintendo is doomed (just like Apple supposedly is) because they refuse to sell their game on iOS/Android for like 5-10 bucks while earning only 70% of it (and people would complain they're too expensive) instead of the 40-50 on their own console ?
Sounds right.
Sounds right.
Well this better than them doing stupid demos on phones only trying to get us to walk into stores to buy both hardware and game. That was idiotic. That said, Nintendo needs to realize that their hardware days are OVER if they decide to lag on generation behind. People are very savvy about this these days. They need to cut out the giimmicky controller and put that money into a powerful system that can compete with Sony and Microsoft. Charge more and get the games out that we want to play. 3rd parties do not want to make games for years-old tech. They want to make the game for PC and for it to be easy to port to PS4, XB1 and whatever system Nintendo could compete with.
Nintendo needs to understand this: their biggest customer is one who played their all of their old systems as kids and young adults. They are now Adults themselves and have children too. They still want to play games but can really only invest in a single platform at a time (unless they are really into gaming)... they will buy a PS4 and get KNACK or other kid-friendly games that are good enough. Nintendo needs to compete with TODAY's systems. A touchpad controller is just not enough. At least, they need to get ZELDA out and RIGHT NOW!
Nintendo needs to understand this: their biggest customer is one who played their all of their old systems as kids and young adults. They are now Adults themselves and have children too. They still want to play games but can really only invest in a single platform at a time (unless they are really into gaming)... they will buy a PS4 and get KNACK or other kid-friendly games that are good enough. Nintendo needs to compete with TODAY's systems. A touchpad controller is just not enough. At least, they need to get ZELDA out and RIGHT NOW!
No it's because Nintendo has been losing money and burning cash for three years in a row and the business landscape looks to be getting a lot tougher.
With that fact, I still cannot grasp why many can't accept Nintendo is in a real danger and instead keep insisting to make a comparison to Apple; Apple has been making money hand over fists in the past few years. On the contrary Nintendo keeps losing money and their cash in bank is, while a lot, more than an order of magnitude smaller than Apple's and has gone down a couple of billions in the past few years.
The more concerning part is Nintendo's narrow range of competency. Apple thrived by diversifying their business and still have more upcoming future product categories. Nintendo doesn't have that capability and their only business is getting threatened. Even their vaunted handheld business isn't what it used to be a generation ago.
That's the troubling challenge for Nintendo. Now when I go outside I see a ton of kids with all sorts tablets everywhere. They play games that are "good enough" and often times they will be watching kids' shows on it while sitting on a shopping cart. There are lots of different tablets, expensive and cheap, and with protective cases in some ways they are even more rugged than the Nintendo 3DS since they lack the mechanical parts.
On top of that the demographic of first time smartphone buyers will keep getting younger. One could already get used iPhones and Androids that are perfectly capable of playing popular games at a pretty low price and the trend will continue.
Actually Sega's saga is a lot more complicated than that, it involves getting bought by a gambling/casino/resort company and the decline of the arcade market in general as well as a huge round of layoff. Sega was in a big financial trouble and they were very close go going out of business, meaning what you have now is just a shell of former Sega but that's not because they gave up on hardware. It's because they lost far too much money from all the businesses.
That's what I'm worried about Nintendo too. They might make games on other platforms only when they have gotten truly desperate and no longer the Nintendo that we know and love. It'll be a sad day when Nintendo begins to make quick cash grabs based on their IP.
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Apple to buy Nintendo?
Sure, Apple is one of the few companies with enough in the bank to make an offer. But Nintendo is not in a position where they need to sell.
However, if Apple bought Nintendo as a wholly owned subsidy, similar to Disney's acquisition of Pixar and Marvel Entertainment, it could work.
Trying to integrate the companies technologies wouldn't work. But imagine a Nintendo console that can be air played to? Imagine Apple using their experience with their app store to clean up Nintendo's eShope and online gaming offerings?
It's fun to think about, but in the end the companies are two different animals.
Sure, Apple is one of the few companies with enough in the bank to make an offer. But Nintendo is not in a position where they need to sell.
However, if Apple bought Nintendo as a wholly owned subsidy, similar to Disney's acquisition of Pixar and Marvel Entertainment, it could work.
Trying to integrate the companies technologies wouldn't work. But imagine a Nintendo console that can be air played to? Imagine Apple using their experience with their app store to clean up Nintendo's eShope and online gaming offerings?
It's fun to think about, but in the end the companies are two different animals.
I love my 2DS and playing games on it is way better than anything I've played on my phone despite the obvious graphics boost on the iPhone.
The Wii U however is another beast altogether.
We didn't get the price cut the US got late last year so the premium Wii U is still retailing at A$428 - the PS4 is A$549.
It's totally languishing at that price and lacking the big games. Smash Bros and Mario Kart are so late into the product cycle it's not funny. I haven't seen ANY advertising down here for it, it's always at the very back of the shops, one of our electronics chains did a 50% off all Nintendo stuff last year and isn't selling any of their stuff anymore.
I think the Wii U has had it. Something new is needed and fast.
The Wii U however is another beast altogether.
We didn't get the price cut the US got late last year so the premium Wii U is still retailing at A$428 - the PS4 is A$549.
It's totally languishing at that price and lacking the big games. Smash Bros and Mario Kart are so late into the product cycle it's not funny. I haven't seen ANY advertising down here for it, it's always at the very back of the shops, one of our electronics chains did a 50% off all Nintendo stuff last year and isn't selling any of their stuff anymore.
I think the Wii U has had it. Something new is needed and fast.
Nintendo should stick to their plans and not dilute it by release it on other platforms.
Apple didn't release its Mac OS on other machines and almost went bankrupt! Till the iPod and others came along.
They still have some of the finest games and game music(they are the best!) in the planet.
And what's up with keeping up with other consoles? You mean the gory shooting and pointless textures and graphics? I am glad Nintendo isn't into that!
I still play their "Game and Watch" series games and love it.
Apple didn't release its Mac OS on other machines and almost went bankrupt! Till the iPod and others came along.
They still have some of the finest games and game music(they are the best!) in the planet.
And what's up with keeping up with other consoles? You mean the gory shooting and pointless textures and graphics? I am glad Nintendo isn't into that!
I still play their "Game and Watch" series games and love it.
who said they were going to put 3DS or Wii U games on there?
thats almost as equivalent to putting GTA V or any 360 or ps3 game on iOS.
its classics, they're going to put in, NES, Super NES, N64, hell even old gameboy, gameboy color and gameboy advance games
The amount of ignorance on this thread is baffling. Not only has no one done their research, but this is an APPLE site too, one of the very few companies left today that makes its own hardware AND software, something Nintendo does.
Anyone here that says Nintendo are in financial trouble is uneducated in the matter. Nintendo isn't going ANYWHERE. Why you ask? THEY HAVE $11 BILLION DOLLARS CASH IN THE BANK. They are filthy rich. They could have a $140 million loss EVERY YEAR for 75 YEARS AND STILL HAVE MONEY. SEGA as you have mentioned had A LOT of financial problems way before they had to leave the hardware business.
Nintendo does their own thing. Apple does their own thing. Both companies take risks and sometimes it works great, sometimes it doesn't. Because these 2 companies are some of the VERY FEW who take big risks and doesn't copy and paste from others like Samsung.
And to summarize, can you see Apple putting iOS and OSX on different platforms other than their own? NO!! Because the benefit to hardware/software made together in-house is invaluable. Nintendo isn't going anywhere. Mobile would be a quick bandage that would do more damage in the long run. SEGA is at where they are now because of dumb decisions like Sonic Dash, a quick throw away game that has degraded the Sonic name.
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Thanks for having a brain on this thread and actually making a well thought out, educated comment.
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I have to say I agree on the price. The premium Wii U in NZ is currently NZ$569. Mind you, the XBone is $749 and the PS4 is $650 and unavailable.
I was in the Warehouse and they were doing the Premium Nintendoland bundle plus New Super Mario Bros U all in for NZ$399 (obviously clearing out stock) so I grabbed it. At that price it was a no-brainer and my son has done nothing but play Nintendoland on it ever since. If they can get the key games out (SSB, MK8 and so on) it should pick up but I do think they need to drop the price. I got a PS3 12GB for NZ$247 from JB which was a steal (especially when I had a spare 160GB drive just lying around) so they do need to look to compete with the last generation. On the other hand though, the hardware is beautiful (so quiet!), the controller is comfortable and the screen surprisingly nice and works well for offscreen play - I just tried my PSP and there's no comparison, the Wii U controller wins hands down and you get all the power of the console in your hands.
I have noticed that EB Games and JB Hifi both seem to be sticking with it and their sections have grown a little since Christmas but they do still tend to hide them a bit since MS and Sony are pumping vast amounts of marketing because their consoles are desperately derivative and lack games, especially due to the loss of backwards compatibility. If only Nintendo would get everything prior to the Wii onto the VC. That would shake things up.
It would NOT be wise for Nintendo to release games outside of their own ecosystem, especially since they are also a hardware company. If Nintendo games would open up to the mobile market, most people wouldn't bother buying their consoles because it means they can play games without spending another $200+, for Nintendo the games are what keeps them going.
Some of the comments are silly, I really don't think it's the end of the road for Nintendo, I think the recent console releases have been really stale, not only from a price point perspective, but the overall experience.
Just look at their consoles, Wii U has adopted a tablet like controller, and the main improvement to the Portable console is the addition of 3D and better graphics, 3D frankly speaking is a complete gimmick, it hardly does anything to enhance the experience or gameplay..
Also there is no comparison when you look at games on iOS or Android vs the ones found on Consoles or PC. I have hardly ever completed a game on my iPad, Nexus 7 or iPod Touch, no exaggeration. I still personally find it very difficult to play games for a long period on any tablet, theres no tactile feedback, so it'll never feel the same as a real console or PC.. And the quality of games in the mobile space are complete garbage for the most part..
But there's always someone who just wants to play games casually, and that's where I think the Mobile market has taken a dent out of the console, but that's about it. Most people who enjoy games don't want to play games on a phone, because they simply suck in comparison.
Some of the comments are silly, I really don't think it's the end of the road for Nintendo, I think the recent console releases have been really stale, not only from a price point perspective, but the overall experience.
Just look at their consoles, Wii U has adopted a tablet like controller, and the main improvement to the Portable console is the addition of 3D and better graphics, 3D frankly speaking is a complete gimmick, it hardly does anything to enhance the experience or gameplay..
Also there is no comparison when you look at games on iOS or Android vs the ones found on Consoles or PC. I have hardly ever completed a game on my iPad, Nexus 7 or iPod Touch, no exaggeration. I still personally find it very difficult to play games for a long period on any tablet, theres no tactile feedback, so it'll never feel the same as a real console or PC.. And the quality of games in the mobile space are complete garbage for the most part..
But there's always someone who just wants to play games casually, and that's where I think the Mobile market has taken a dent out of the console, but that's about it. Most people who enjoy games don't want to play games on a phone, because they simply suck in comparison.
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The reality is this..
3DS biggest selling console hardware. Nintendo's problems are not against mobile space.
The problem is home console space..
Wii U - sold 3 million in over a year - casual people think it's an expensive add on to a wii which they bought for wii sports a few years ago and never played after. Hardcore audience got tired of casual experiences and motion controls on wii - and moved to ps3/360 and now they are buying ps4/Xbox one.
Developers are seeing poor sales when they do port and most just can't justify spending money porting a game when sales are so lacklustre after the fact.
Deus Ex Human Revolution Directors Cut was & is a great port - yet despite that, the PS3 &'Xbox 360 versions sold better even though the game had already been out on those formats previously.
Likewise it would be interesting to see how many units of Assassins creed 4 sold on Wii U compared to PS4 & Xbox one.
I fear Ubisoft may be the next to ditch Wii U after Watchdogs is released.
Even Mario 3D World failed to out pace the very average KNACK on PS4 in the software charts. So when an amazing first party title doesn't sell as well as an average launch title on PS4 you have to wonder what's up.... And question if Nintendo's amazing first party titles can keep the system alive..
I love my wii u - but I'm not hopeful over its future and I just don't know how Nintendo can move this forward. They are still making terrible mistakes like its e-store purchases being tied to hardware, online infrastructure is still way behind its competition etc..
Selling mobile games on smartphones might indeed generate some $$$ but will it change the main problem for Nintendo ? and that is it's flagging home console or would it dilute where it's strongest in Mobile gaming space with the 3DS - thereby hurting them more by reducing 3DS sales... I'm not convinced the majority of smartphone gamers are home console users. Selling them a $1 Mario experience is not going to sell a $250 home console and a $50 Mario game....
3DS biggest selling console hardware. Nintendo's problems are not against mobile space.
The problem is home console space..
Wii U - sold 3 million in over a year - casual people think it's an expensive add on to a wii which they bought for wii sports a few years ago and never played after. Hardcore audience got tired of casual experiences and motion controls on wii - and moved to ps3/360 and now they are buying ps4/Xbox one.
Developers are seeing poor sales when they do port and most just can't justify spending money porting a game when sales are so lacklustre after the fact.
Deus Ex Human Revolution Directors Cut was & is a great port - yet despite that, the PS3 &'Xbox 360 versions sold better even though the game had already been out on those formats previously.
Likewise it would be interesting to see how many units of Assassins creed 4 sold on Wii U compared to PS4 & Xbox one.
I fear Ubisoft may be the next to ditch Wii U after Watchdogs is released.
Even Mario 3D World failed to out pace the very average KNACK on PS4 in the software charts. So when an amazing first party title doesn't sell as well as an average launch title on PS4 you have to wonder what's up.... And question if Nintendo's amazing first party titles can keep the system alive..
I love my wii u - but I'm not hopeful over its future and I just don't know how Nintendo can move this forward. They are still making terrible mistakes like its e-store purchases being tied to hardware, online infrastructure is still way behind its competition etc..
Selling mobile games on smartphones might indeed generate some $$$ but will it change the main problem for Nintendo ? and that is it's flagging home console or would it dilute where it's strongest in Mobile gaming space with the 3DS - thereby hurting them more by reducing 3DS sales... I'm not convinced the majority of smartphone gamers are home console users. Selling them a $1 Mario experience is not going to sell a $250 home console and a $50 Mario game....
It seems like you yourself have it only figured out partly. The amount of money that a company might have in the bank is only relevant to a very minor degree. The profit warnings by Nintendo and subsequent announcements of strategic changes show that it has recognized that it needs to act now. Undoubtedly institutional shareholders of Nintendo have increased their pressure on Nintendo to take action. The reason for this is that no shareholder is prepared to wait for a company to become successful on a hypothetical future product in an increasingly more competitive market, while the company eats up its reserves.
Sure a $140 Million loss can be absorbed by the $11 Billion easily, but there is not a shareholder that will stand for that without a coherent, clear and feasible strategy to turn that loss into a profit.
Nintendo approaching MS & Sony & Apple & saying, we'll bow out of competing with you in hardware if you let us sell our games on your platforms (& Apple, we require controller support, get it together).
= max exposure, far greater sales, massive cost cuts in hdw dev, costs per sale drop to nil, can afford to charge less and sell more than requiring every software sale to follow an expensive proprietary hardware sale.
Bigger picture, Nintendos greatest assets going forward into the future are in software, specifically their beloved character IP. They should devote 100% of their time and enormous resources to creating new worlds for games everyone loves that no one else can compete with.