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Nintendo Making A Smartphone ?

Tig Bitties said:
This actually makes sense. I mean Nintendo makes the GameBoy, just add a network radio, and an OS, like Android, and it could be a real winner for Nintendo ?

Why Nintendo’s Next Major Console Will Be A Smartphone
http://uproxx.com/gammasquad/2015/05/why-nintendos-next-major-console-will-be-a-smartphone/
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Smartphone? No. Simply because it is a known money loser for the majority of phone builders.

Mobile games for smartphones? Yes. High cash flow and low risk. Imagine Mario Kart 8, Super Mario Bros original, Super Smash Bros, etc... on iOS and Android (both of which have full controllers you can buy to play) with multiplayer online. I would pay for that!!!
 
At this point I can't see anyone breaking into the cellphone business with their own OS. Plus Nintendo has a reputation of being a gaming console, I don't think people would ever take them serious enough to buy their phones.
 
These people are dummies, I'm afraid.

Nintendo should have done it years ago.

Sony should have sold a TV with a PlayStation built inside it years ago.

These people are dumb-dummies.
 
Unless they can get the DS down to the thickness of an iPhone 4, then I don't see it happening. Too big and clumpsy.

Maybe 3G capabilities for parents tracking their kids, and getting hold of them.
 
T'hain Esh Kelch said:
Unless they can get the DS down to the thickness of an iPhone 4
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I saw a news article that the DS sales are just falling and the latest iteration isn't selling anywhere near the volume Nintendo hoped for. Consumers have largely moved on from these type of devices. Adding cellular technology won't increase their appeal, partly for the reason you stated. Also partly because people will want a platform that they're used to for the mobile market - that is iOS or Android.
 
Nokia N-Gage
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play

It is has been done before and each time has failed. Nintendo is just as OCD about control than Apple except they are like a decade too late to catch up to an already established ecosystem.

I used to LOVE Nintendo esp during the NES/SNES days. But I never got into their Game Boy or DS even though I've owned them. Now I pretty much grew out of their franchises which they seem to just out a fresh new coat in them every few years. When I heard they were going to release mobile games, I didn't seem to get too excited. Another Mario 2D game that I played for the 10,000th time? Another Mario Kart game which has been pretty much the same since 1992?

I would like to see Nintendo try but I wouldn't be surprised if they failed at it either like Nokia and Sony. They are company catered to children like Disney but even Disney is trying to reinvent themselves with cooler franchises like Star Wars and Marvel Studios movies. Nintendo haven't reinvented themselves and may never will which is where the root of their future failures lies. People stopped caring of the Wii once PS3 and Xbox 360 became affordable. People stopped caring about DS once smartphones became better at gaming. This is why Wii U and 3DS didn’t exactly set the world on fire. This is desperation mode for Nintendo.
 
maflynn said:
At this point I can't see anyone breaking into the cellphone business with their own OS. Plus Nintendo has a reputation of being a gaming console, I don't think people would ever take them serious enough to buy their phones.
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Agreed. This will be a huge flop for Nintendo just like the Fire Phone was for Amazon.
 
ucfgrad93 said:
Agreed. This will be a huge flop for Nintendo just like the Fire Phone was for Amazon.
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The difference is Amazon has the cash reserves to make a fire 2 phone that may be better positioned to succeed in a small niche. Nintendo has no such benefit. Plus Amazon is turning itself into a content services company as well so a phone does fit that.
 
maflynn said:
The difference is Amazon has the cash reserves to make a fire 2 phone that may be better positioned to succeed in a small niche. Nintendo has no such benefit. Plus Amazon is turning itself into a content services company as well so a phone does fit that.
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True, but given how poorly the first Fire phone did I doubt Amazon is going to release a second one.
 
To Nintendo's credit, there is one franchise that still captures my heart more than anything Mario-related. Not Donkey Kong or Metroid. Not the Smash Bros series. It is The Legend of Zelda series. I actually didn't like it at all until Twilight Princess. That game felt more epic and nicer to look at than Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker. To me, that is Nintendo's Final Fantasy series for me. It can feel boring and tedious trying to figure your way out of the dungeon, but the boss fights were amazing like in Sony's God of War series. I wasn't really a believer in Link until Twilight Princess. I grew bored playing the 8-bit and 16-bit classics.

I always felt Mario was better done in 2D. I liked Super Mario 64 but I didn't love it like Super Mario Bros 1-3 and World. I think Link's world is better for 3D while Mario and Sonic should stick to 2D. That is the genre Nintendo is the master at thanks to the brilliance of Miyamoto. Platform games and inspiring the kart racing copycats. And I would love to see Nintendo release Mike Tyson's PunchOut!! to us. No ROM. Just an official release of that 80's classic with no retouches. That was one of the most perfect games that doesn't need a graphical remake. Epic music with epic gameplay. Mr. Sandman is the one that always gave me hell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfEOHcGFchY
 
I wouldnt be excited at all, they are horrible at user interfaces. Also it would probably have severely gimped online features
 
ucfgrad93 said:
Agreed. This will be a huge flop for Nintendo just like the Fire Phone was for Amazon.
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You mean that joke of a phone that Amazon is hilariously still trying to sell for $449?

But hey, at least it includes a full year of Prime.
 
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The challenge is the phone market model is very different than the console/gaming market.

Does Nintendo have the software/GUI/UX skills needed to be competitive in this sphere?

Is Nintendo willing to update hardware often enough to stay relevant?

Lots of questions and unknowns, but Nintendo needs to proceed with caution to keep from falling into N-Gage and Xperia Play territory.
 
maflynn said:
At this point I can't see anyone breaking into the cellphone business with their own OS. Plus Nintendo has a reputation of being a gaming console, I don't think people would ever take them serious enough to buy their phones.
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That is the best point made so far.....I like them for gaming devices. Would never take them seriously enough to buy a phone from them.
 
jamezr said:
That is the best point made so far.....I like them for gaming devices. Would never take them seriously enough to buy a phone from them.
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How quickly would you change your mind if their phone shipped with Kid Icarus, Metroid, Legend of Zelda, Excitebike and Super Mario Bros :)
 
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