Sorry but no, Mario Kart could easily demand $20 on iOS. Just because cheap F2P crap exists doesn't mean that quality software can't still be sold on the app store.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Nintendo Unveils New Web-Based Service for Smartphones
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Sorry but no, Mario Kart could easily demand $20 on iOS. Just because cheap F2P crap exists doesn't mean that quality software can't still be sold on the app store.
But AppleTV isn't anywhere near the processing power of Wii or PSx or XBox anything. Perhaps the next one will be, perhaps Apple has been quietly developing a game machine with the pixel-pushing grunt required but I'm a bit skeptical of that.
It makes so much sense. You almost have to think that someone at Nintendo has proposed this line of thinking, just sad that management is so stuck in the past.
On the contrary. If the management was still stuck in the past, they wouldn't be in the mess that they're in. Recall that the winning console for the last generation was the Wii, and that the Wii console had lackluster market penetration until NSMB Wii, and then sales exploded. That's because the "hardcore" developers disregarded the market appetite for the arcarde-style gaming experience. You can see that in the general decline of Nintendo as it embraced gimmicks, tried to fill niches, or worse of all tried to play the game on Microsoft and Sony's terms. They returned to their arcade roots with the Wii. It's also why the Nintendo's obsession with 3d, on the part of Miyamoto and Iwata, has destroyed the business discipline of the company. In the beginning, the company was run by engineers and not shills worshipping at the altar of self-declared creativity.
I can understand not wanting to bring recent games to mobile but there's no reason they can't rake in the money with a Virtual Console for iOS or something by selling old NES and Gameboy games. Having a reliable app would probably kill off some of the emulators too.
I hope this is a gateway to Nintendo smartphone apps. The money I'd pay for those classic games... Nintendo's stubbornness is making them miss out on a great income source.
I respectfully disagree on that price point. I don't think Mario Kart would make the most money at 20 bucks a pop. Perhaps 2 is too low, somewhere in-between might be the maximal revenue. What I do agree with is that if Nintendo just put the games out there, they would find a whole new market.
And with mirroring, it would mean no more clunky solutions for retrogaming on HDTVs. Engineer a mode that makes the iPad or iPhone function as a gaming hub; for retro games especially there's more than enough power in either to pull off excellent hardware emulation.
Remember, there are CURRENTLY more Wii U's in people's homes than Xbox One's. Yes I'm aware of the launch time differences but I can't see Xbox One selling much in Japan either.
According to today's earlier Fiscal Performance meeting, Nintendo are still putting growth in the Wii U and the company is still concentrating on the Wii U for the fore coming future.
Make it a $1.00 premium over the eShop cost. That way Apple gets their slice, your dedicated platformers with large eShop libraries don't get instantly irate, and you still make your profit.
I grew up with Nintendo, and there weren't a lot of viable alternatives around at the time.
A problem that Nintendo has now, is that in their main segment (casual gaming, kids gaming) there is now a lot of high quality competition that are able to put high quality games on the market at competitive prices. Examples are Angry Birds, Plants vs Zombies, Real Racing 3 etc. They might have in-app purchases, but it is possible and easy to play for free.
But there is a lot of nostalgic value in the Nintendo brand. I would gladly pay $20 to play the first metroid on an iPad mini or the same amount for Metroid Prime.
A problem that Nintendo has now, is that in their main segment (casual gaming, kids gaming) there is now a lot of high quality competition that are able to put high quality games on the market at competitive prices. Examples are Angry Birds, Plants vs Zombies, Real Racing 3 etc. They might have in-app purchases, but it is possible and easy to play for free.
But there is a lot of nostalgic value in the Nintendo brand. I would gladly pay $20 to play the first metroid on an iPad mini or the same amount for Metroid Prime.
Nintendo will never release games on iOS. There is no money there compared to their consoles/handhelds. I know that sounds crazy to some people here, but I'm pretty sure Nintendo would rather sell 12 million copies of Pokemon at ~$35 a pop and 45 million 3DS's at ~$150 a pop and make all of that profit rather than sell 100 million copies of Pokemon at $2 a piece while barely making any profit because a lot of it will go to Apple. Nintendo would have to completely downsize their development teams to make a $2 game even worth it for them. $20 would have to be the minimum to make up for lost hardware revenue and maintained quality.
In the end, we would just receive a lower quality Nintendo game, which I would personally hate. Their games wouldn't have anywhere close to the same polish and presentation levels if they were to stop making games for consoles and handhelds. If you want quality Nintendo titles, buy their hardware.
I know you were talking about Mario Kart, but I think even Nintendo would rather sell 2-3 million copies of Mario Kart at $60 than 100 million copies at $2 with only $1.40 in profit per game (your example).
Last edited:
With respect, the future of the Wii U is pretty grim. Disregard its already tarnished year-one reputation, which generally sets the tone for a console's life time. Disregard the lackluster third-party support and generally poor-quality proliferation of its internal IP. The macroeconomic climate for this generation is a galaxy apart from the last, and what little YoY percentage increases that will occur in this generation will come primarily from pure red-ocean cannibalization.
it's not a matter of balls, it's a question of focus. apple is focused on doing what they do well -- high quality consumer electronics. buying a lagging gaming company and managing it is not what they do.
why is it smart? i bet youve never had to distribute a product before. i have. we pay distributors for the *exposure* they offer; from software distributors to grocers. their reach is indeed a service which holds value, and which we pay for. here's an article from the good ole days of mac publishing, when you only got to keep 30% *of the retail price* (meaning, the distrib and retailer took 70%!)
http://thecodist.com/article/what_writing_and_selling_software_was_like_in_the_80_39_s
...so if by avoiding the 30% you lose a major source of sales, congratualtions -- youve cut your nose off to spite your face.
this is why MS is selling Office subscriptions on iOS.
Seems the vast majority believe that it's in Nintendos best interest to develop their titles for iOS and Android. I think that's very short term thinking and that would be an awful decision and direction for the company. In fact, Nintendo needs to do the exact opposite of what most of you want. They need to keep control and not diminish the value of their franchises. This 4 step process would fix all the issues that plague Nintendo. The best part about it is that even if it doesn't work they could still go the very unambitious route of simply making their games for iOS and Android. So how do they do it?
1. Scrap any game or crap that isn't necessary to support the Wii U until they get to step 2.
2. They need to create a legitimate console that will appeal to the hardcore gamer. What is a console that appeals to the everyday gamer need to consist of?
- Up to date specs that are comparable to their competition.
- A worthwhile input method that doesn't work on a gimmick. No more wii motes, giant touchscreen controllers, and no Kinect like motion sensing. Think xbox controller.
- A good online interface that allows gamers to easily get online and play with friends. The UI should be simple and allow players to easily get in groups, chat, play, and bounce from game to game.
3. Simply transition their titles to this current generation of gaming an include robust online compatibility. Examples of this:
- Turn Metroid into a top notch FPS.
- Turn Pokemon into a console MMORPG.
- Turn Pikmin into a good online RTS.
- Turn Mario Kart, F-Zero, Smash Bros, and Mario Sports (golf, soccer, tennis) into competitive online games.
They will need to similarly bring Star Fox, Donkey Kong, Mario, Zelda, etc all into the future. As a side point I'd like to note that the fact that Nintendo fell so far behind in online play is astonishing. Back in the day all my good memories of playing with friends are on Nintendo consoles. Nintendo just embraced multiplayer sooner than everyone else. Sony had a lot of a great single player games on the Playstation but Nintendo owned multiplayer because they put 4 controller ports on the console and made games that supported it. As a result so many of their games could be incredible if properly brought into the online world. Anyway, back to the point...
4. Support these games beyond launch and release DLC to pad the bottom line. Also create low cost iOS and Android apps that accompany these games. This could be anything from a pokedex, to leaderboards, to minigames. These apps are not entire games. They are just there to help Nintendos bottom line and extend the reach of the title.
And Voila! Seriously though this kinda reminds me of people telling Apple to lower prices and work on cheap stuff. Wanting them to make a netbook or a cheap iPhone when in reality the need to be making a great product.
1. Scrap any game or crap that isn't necessary to support the Wii U until they get to step 2.
2. They need to create a legitimate console that will appeal to the hardcore gamer. What is a console that appeals to the everyday gamer need to consist of?
- Up to date specs that are comparable to their competition.
- A worthwhile input method that doesn't work on a gimmick. No more wii motes, giant touchscreen controllers, and no Kinect like motion sensing. Think xbox controller.
- A good online interface that allows gamers to easily get online and play with friends. The UI should be simple and allow players to easily get in groups, chat, play, and bounce from game to game.
3. Simply transition their titles to this current generation of gaming an include robust online compatibility. Examples of this:
- Turn Metroid into a top notch FPS.
- Turn Pokemon into a console MMORPG.
- Turn Pikmin into a good online RTS.
- Turn Mario Kart, F-Zero, Smash Bros, and Mario Sports (golf, soccer, tennis) into competitive online games.
They will need to similarly bring Star Fox, Donkey Kong, Mario, Zelda, etc all into the future. As a side point I'd like to note that the fact that Nintendo fell so far behind in online play is astonishing. Back in the day all my good memories of playing with friends are on Nintendo consoles. Nintendo just embraced multiplayer sooner than everyone else. Sony had a lot of a great single player games on the Playstation but Nintendo owned multiplayer because they put 4 controller ports on the console and made games that supported it. As a result so many of their games could be incredible if properly brought into the online world. Anyway, back to the point...
4. Support these games beyond launch and release DLC to pad the bottom line. Also create low cost iOS and Android apps that accompany these games. This could be anything from a pokedex, to leaderboards, to minigames. These apps are not entire games. They are just there to help Nintendos bottom line and extend the reach of the title.
And Voila! Seriously though this kinda reminds me of people telling Apple to lower prices and work on cheap stuff. Wanting them to make a netbook or a cheap iPhone when in reality the need to be making a great product.
Last edited:
Nintendo is too scared to make a move. Probably, Apple buyout is the only way out, which will benefit both companies.
It´s "Voila" not "Vuala!".
And calling people "goons" will not help establishing credibility here, no matter how sound some of your advice may be. In addition it violates forum rules.
Last edited:
Worst part is that I googled that too, to make sure it was correct. Should have actually clicked that Urban Dictionary link that was calling me an idiot
I edited it so that it's not insulting and grammatically correct.
Last edited:
How does dropping essentially the same game, every year or every couple of years, not diminish the value of a franchise? The problem is poor mechanics and extraneous content. There is far too much unnecessary crap in games today, most of which is merely masturbatory noise meant to make games "immersive", "cinematic" or "creatively groundbreaking". Look at the most successful games of a generation, even across platform. The biggest and most consistent sellers are the mindless games with almost no plot or any "creative" nonsense. Why? The average gamer wants to play a game, not press buttons in an interactive Dostoevsky novel.
Enough with the hardcore rubbish. The only thing this kind of thinking accomplishes is to impoverish the industry to the point of implosion. Think of the "hardcore" consoles of this and last generation. The margin on hardware is ridiculously small and getting smaller, if not actually negative as has often been the base with XBox. Worse still, the "hardcore specs" force developers to justify the hardware by making AAA games with budgets that rival the GDP of nations, and which require sales figures that are unlikely, if not impossible, just to recoup cost. Look at BioShock Infinite. You couldn't go to a gaming website without seeing that game being lauded as a landmark. The game bankrupted the studio.
Worst part is that I googled that too make sure it was correct. Should have actually clicked that Urban Dictionary link that was calling me an idiot
We all make mistakes
I do like your ideas about creating focus. But it does not adress the problem that many new younger consumers do not have the association with Nintendo that many of us might have.
Nintendo also needs to address its brand and how that caters to other demographics besides children and older adults. I´m sceptical that Metroid as a FPS would generate enough attraction to the pre-adolescent, adolescent and young adult demographics.
It's amazing that so many people want Nintendo games on iOS and think it's a solution to Nintendo's current woes. Playing Nintendo games on iOS would be a terrible experience due to the clumsy virtual keyboard and your fingers taking up half the screen.
Buying a 3rd party controller? No one will do this expect a few and wouldn't be worth their time.
Nintendo is not doomed, not even close. They have billions in the bank and their 3DS is selling quite well. They have enough cash to make through at least two more console generations before having to resort to selling their games on 3rd party hardware. Making apps that integrate with their games and allows you to track leader boards and time trials etc is a good start and makes sense.
If you want play Nintendo games, buy Nintendo hardware. That's the way it has, and always will be.
Buying a 3rd party controller? No one will do this expect a few and wouldn't be worth their time.
Nintendo is not doomed, not even close. They have billions in the bank and their 3DS is selling quite well. They have enough cash to make through at least two more console generations before having to resort to selling their games on 3rd party hardware. Making apps that integrate with their games and allows you to track leader boards and time trials etc is a good start and makes sense.
If you want play Nintendo games, buy Nintendo hardware. That's the way it has, and always will be.
Yeah, can't wait for Jony Ive to redesign Mario.
Mario is a bit pudgy. Jony would make him thin and flat.