Nintendo Faces Investor Pressure to Bring Games to iPhone

[Icy1007]

I wasn't planning on getting the 3DS when it was $249.99, but now that it is $169.99 I will probably be getting one.

Lowering the price to $170 will help immensely for Nintendo.

 

[likemyorbs]

If they ported Mario to the iPhone i would be the happiest person on earth. It would be a dream come true.

I wasn't planning on getting the 3DS when it was $249.99, but now that it is $169.99 I will probably be getting one.

Lowering the price to $170 will help immensely for Nintendo.

Yeah, they should go ahead and lower it another $170 because that thing is a POS.

 

[pezasied182]

I'd love for it to happen, but unfortunately it never will. I don't think there would be anything that would make my girlfriend happier than playing Mario Kart 64 over wifi with her friends, honestly.

 

[Mr. Gates]

I wasn't planning on getting the 3DS when it was $249.99, but now that it is $169.99 I will probably be getting one.

Lowering the price to $170 will help immensely for Nintendo.

Not at this point. The moment of interest has passed. Price of the unit is the least of their problems. Are they going to lower the price of all games as well?

 

[akira2501]

dumbest move ever

they do the same thing that apple does. they use the titles to push the hardware. Imagine if osx or iOS was available like that. Apple would be a small company struggling to pay the bills and not the most valuable company period. WOW. The only way that would be smart is if they release smaller titles like pilot wings or other obscure downloadable titles on the iOS platform. Or make them commercials for their hardware.

 

[splashnader]

I have fond memories of playing classic Nintendo games. I, lilke many others, would be intersted in playing those classic games on a portable device, but my complaint has always been the way that the games are ported. Often time the user interface, for games like Mega Man for example, is absolutely horrendous. The controls on the game UI are so bad, for me at least, that it takes all enjoyment out of the game. In fact I have always thought that without physical buttons to manipulate, the games lose a lot of their enjoyment.

If Nintendo does enter that IOS App Store, then I really hope their virtual controls and UI are much better than some of the other games I have tried.

 

[tayloralmond]

I could be wrong, but I think forcing the classic Mario and Zelda experience down the throat of the iOS user would be bad news. Games like Angry Birds are popular because they make best use of the touch screen instead of trying to simulate the d-pad gaming experience. Because of this, Nintendo would need to focus on making games for the "on the go" gamers. I know this doesn't apply to everyone, but my favorite iOS games aren't really that in-depth. A good iOS game should still be fun, even if only played for a couple minutes. I'm willing to save the hardcore gaming for my PS3 or 360.

 

[marksman]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_4 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8K2 Safari/6533.18.5)

The portable console time has passed, they need to move to the new market (phones/tablets) otherwise they will fail.

This is true because phones are at end of life in terms of tech. Nobody is going to carry around a portable hand held that is not a phone much longer.

These devices will only grow as computing and gaming platforms. Any handheld that does not provide phone functionality will find it almost impossible to gain traction.

 

[jayenh]

it could be a good way of making money from old games again, like super mario kart etc. similar to what sega has done with sonic and other old 16bit titles. i wouldn't expect much more though. personally i doubt they would even do that.

 

[goobot]

Thats what happens when you invest in 3D technology. The consumer market has already showed there disliking towards it yet companies like Nintendo keep pushing it and stating how amazing it is. I'm glad it was a failure. I hope it shows other companies to just stop with this 3D bs.

 

[JesterJJZ]

I never thought I'd say this, but I really wish Nintendo would give up making hardware and just make games. I want a bad ass Metroid and Zelda that not only plays great but has amazing HD visuals, something Ninty is too stubborn to ever give us. I also hate the "kiddie" and "family" gaming aspects Nintendo seems to want to force as of late. Evident in the direction they took with Wii.

 

[ernestc]

Personally I would love to see Apple buy Nintendo and port/make all the Nintendo catalogue work on the iPhone. Zelda and Super Mario on iPhone and iPad would rule my face!

 

[motulist]

They can have their cake and eat it too. They can release older ported games and newer mini-games to iOS, while keeping all their new iterations of the big hitters exclusive to their hardware. That way they'll still be able to draw in the vast majority of people who were going to buy their hardware in the first place, but yet also rake in the massive piles of cash that would flow into their pockets by selling the mini-games on iOS.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Yeah, I know loads of people that have spent thousands of dollars on those amazing iOS titles... oh wait... no, no I don't.

"You buy one 3DS game, and I'll buy 40 games for my phone... we'll see who has more fun"

 

[teme]

Nintendo develops games, so they can sell their own hardware with it. Apple develops OS X, so they can sell their own hardware with it. Neither is probably going to change their practices.

 

[elpardo]

And porting games to iOS is NOT a cash cow. The price model just plain sucks for big studios. Google a little about L.A. Noire (which btw sucked in my mind) - how many copies were sold and how Team Bondi still made a big loss. It's all over the games news.

And I rather take dedicated games over casual 1$-Angry Bird stuff any day.

So because a console game with an extended development life cycle & a massively bloated budget made a loss, porting games to ios isn't a cash cow?
Can't say I can see your logic there, besides porting (not developing) games is a textbook example of a cash cow, minimal work compared to developing a new game, because of there brand identity can charge a comparitive premium compared to the likes of angry birds. Although you prefer dedicated games instead of the casual stuff(as do I but I still enjoy playing on my iPhone/iPad), it was casual gamers who drove the wii sales numbers up so high and these are the same people who now all play angry birds on the train to work every day. If nintendo ported a hybrid of mario kart wii/ds (wii controls and online capabilities with ds graphics) to ios they could charge £5-10 and easily beat any sales/units records for any other ios premium software.

The sticking point in all this is there stubbornness to port to another manufacturers device especially when it involves handing over 30% of revenue

If you wanted to purchase one of these type of devices...


What would you choose ?

This Awesome well made full screen beast


Image


Or this rinky dinky plastic joke with a tiny screen ....2 tiny screens

Image

I'd rather use my iPhone and have one less thing to carry.
Apart from that the 3ds feels pretty well made, and the ps vita I cnat comment on as (i'm sure like you) I havn't seen or touched yet, apart from it will be too pricey for a protable gaming machine. But as I've owned both of there predecessors I wouldn't go for either, the only device I've used for gaming for years has been my mobile and my iPhone is the only one that surpassed my original gameboy or gba!

 

[tayloralmond]

Not going to happen. They create their own software to sell more of their own hardware, in a similar way than Apple created OSX to sell their own hardware.

True, although Apple allows you to use all iOS devices and iTunes, Quicktime, etc. on Windows and that's worked quite well for Apple. But I agree, jumping onto iOS could cannibalize Nintendo's hardware sales.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Not going to happen.

I caught your comment before you edited it.

You said "They create their own software to sell more of their own hardware, in a similar way than Apple created OSX to sell their own hardware."

But Nintendo just cut the price of their latest hardware device 40% because no one was buying it.

People are having all sorts of fun on their cell phones these days... the device that's in their pocket all the time.

Is anyone really excited for the next Nintendo DS?

 

[skinned66]

Ah, investors. The brains of any business operation.

 

[baryon]

I want the ORIGINAL Super Mario Bros on iPhone. Thanks.

 

[na1577]

I could be wrong, but I think forcing the classic Mario and Zelda experience down the throat of the iOS user would be bad news. Games like Angry Birds are popular because they make best use of the touch screen instead of trying to simulate the d-pad gaming experience. Because of this, Nintendo would need to focus on making games for the "on the go" gamers. I know this doesn't apply to everyone, but my favorite iOS games aren't really that in-depth. A good iOS game should still be fun, even if only played for a couple minutes. I'm willing to save the hardcore gaming for my PS3 or 360.

Although I believe DS or Wii ports would be very successful regardless, they would be undermining their own systems by making similar games for iOS. The same thing would occur even if they built iOS versions from the ground up, if they based it on those types of gameplay. And I agree, I tend to limit my iOS gaming to simple games that I can pick up and put down after a few minutes.

Nintendo itself is a strong brand. They have three major options: develop new IP (expensive and risky), port their existing series (nail in the coffin), or they can develop new experiences using existing characters. They don't need Mario Kart on the iPhone to be successful and satisfy investors; a Mario themed puzzle would be a good enough starting point. Or if they don't want to risk using their flagship characters, they can revitalize forgotten or unpopular characters.

 

[CrackedButter]

Maybe if they focused on design and hardware a little more they wouldn't be in this situation.

I like Nintendo but you have to admit that they have UGLY hardware. They can't even compete with Sony much less a device that is also a Phone.
Even their consoles suck. They just aren't the company they used to be and a lot of it is their own fault.

I can't understand why anyone would choose them over the PS Vita .

Do they think Super Mario is so great that its still relevant ? Kids wand to play Call of Duty ...not a stupid ass cartoon.

WAKE UP NINTENDO ,...Your committing suicide !

Correction: They are the company they use to be, it's we that have changed. They need to change along with.

Nilay Patel from this is my next suggested Nintendo should make games for Platforms, stressing they are an entertainment company. So make entertainment, who cares what the platform is?

However, I would like to see Nintendo make games for phone platforms AND develop and retain its own phone/app store ecosystem.

I wouldn't want them to go the way SEGA did and I want to see more than 2 players in the console market. Though technically Apple is in their now.

 

[Skika]

They should do it. Lite versions of their games, get people hooked so they want the real thing.

 

[MacAddict1978]

The portable console time has passed, they need to move to the new market (phones/tablets) otherwise they will fail.

Nintendo is still hugely successful for hand held gaming devices, or what you called the portable console.

The 3DS' was an extremely expensive handheld priced $50 below a PS3 or decent Xbox bundle, and its only real differentiating factor from the DS was a gimmicky glassless 3D. EVERY company is struggling with 3D because of lack of consumer interest and the extra cost at the check out.

Nintendo hardly needs to move to a new market, but they need to tidy up a lot of the mess they've made.

Their biggest problem is "too much kid factor" as the majority of their games on all platforms aren't appealing to adults.

The Wii may not be selling like hotcakes anymore, but its still outsold the other 2 consoles in the market. The problem with the Wii is also games. Nintendo did not make it easy for third party developers to create games that took full advantage of the Wii's motion controls (so lots of bad game play, and lots of crap titles or games that suffered from bad ports). Lots of game studios abandoned the Wii.

Then there's Nintendo who put out great games for the Wii, but very few of them. Nintendo hit a home run with innovation, but struck out with hardware limitations.

Their new console looks interesting, works with the Wii remotes, but still not many details as to what will be under the hood of that thing either.

But a dead market? Not in the slightest. No one has been able to compete against Nintendo with handhelds. Really, why would anyone buy a $250 hand held that doesn't do any more than the $99 or $149 flavors in the DS line? 3D? Yeah, not a selling point for double the price and then some.
-----------
As for Nintendo porting games or making games for any other platform, hell will freeze over. Nintendo views Apple as their only competitor in hand held gaming. They see Apple as Apple sees Microsoft. Nintendo has an echo system to protect.

Not that I wouldn't love some super mario bros on my iphone without jailbreaking.

 

[macman312]

If you wanted to purchase one of these type of devices...


What would you choose ?

This Awesome well made full screen beast


Image


Or this rinky dinky plastic joke with a tiny screen ....2 tiny screens

Image

Iphone/ipad/ipod touch. If I really had to choose i'd be the 3DS because it has all the classic nintendo games and that is why I am gonna buy one (I do have an ipod touch as well btw)