Should Nintendo go 3rd party?!

[Goron_3]

You've both proved a point I was going to make. I bought Rayman Origins on the back of the runner game.

 

 

 

Whose gonna carry around two near identical devices one that is a phone and one that isn't?

 

I was just day dreaming lol. That, and I dislike mobile games because it drains battery life...

 

But I do hope Nintendo move that way in the future (mobile games) because unlike when we were kids, kids nowadays grow up playing on touch devices. Nintendo need to get a move on.

[BeerMonkey]

the way things are at mo they should defo continue with the 3ds and future handhelds.

 

with nintendo they gone a mountain of old games and with everyone now owning smartphones perhaps the next step for ninty is to make a phone which has an nintendo e-shop to get nintendo games.

 

as for the wiiu id make that the last console.....stick with it a couple more years and if it continues to struggle and making a loss then end production.

 

make games then for the ps4/x1 but stay in the handheld/phone market. Nintenphone anyone?

[liger05]

the way things are at mo they should defo continue with the 3ds and future handhelds.

 

with nintendo they gone a mountain of old games and with everyone now owning smartphones perhaps the next step for ninty is to make a phone which has an nintendo e-shop to get nintendo games.

 

as for the wiiu id make that the last console.....stick with it a couple more years and if it continues to struggle and making a loss then end production.

 

make games then for the ps4/x1 but stay in the handheld/phone market. Nintenphone anyone?

 

A phone would bleed them dry.

 

Currently Samsung and Apple are dominating on a large scale whole companies like Sony, LG, HTC, Nokia etc are fighting over the remaining scraps. For Nintendo to make a phone would require huge amounts of money firstly, a commitment to make new phones on a yearly basis and a they would have to match other manufactures spec wise.

 

That would be crazy!!

[dazzybee]

How would people feel if Nintendo and Apple teamed up to create and new home console that obviously worked with the App Store and matched the power of the new consoles? Is that a good partnership? Would it work?

[Cube]

A Nintendo/Apple console that matched the power of current consoles would be around £1500.

[liger05]

A Nintendo/Apple console that matched the power of current consoles would be around £1500.

 

ha ha yes thats true.

[dazzybee]

Why would it? Mental thing to say!

[Retro_Link]

Thread reopened

 

The last page (smartphone app/games related conversation) was really interesting discussion to read as I was going through cleaning the thread up.

 

Let's keep it that way and on track.

[Sheikah]

Thanks, but now the internet personality post is gone. Sad times. :p

[Serebii]

Since this is back up, I'll post this

 

http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2014/01/20/nintendos-woes-dont-mean-game-over-for-its-consoles/

“The spread of smart devices does not spell the end of game consoles. It’s not that simple,” President Satoru Iwata said at a news conference Friday. The key is to figure out a way to use smartphones to make people aware of Nintendo’s games, and encourage them to try out the console version of the games, Mr. Iwata said.

 

“It doesn’t mean that we should put Mario on smartphones,” he said.

 

Pretty much says it all.

[Agent Gibbs]

so they may potentially go the Rayman free runner route with some things then, and i'm not too annoyed at that.

But i still stand by my point that as a whole the free to play mobile gaming crazy is a terrible thing for the gaming industry, it favours short exceptionally simple games with worse still monitorised items behind paywalls

 

The only games on iOS etc i've like are the sonic games (origninally console games) and the Simpsons tapped out, everything esle has felt really boring and a waste of money after 5 min

 

Really its obviously a case by case nature on if producing someithing on iOS will mean the death of the main IP, somethings complement others end up stealing from the main IP and damaging the brand....I'd like to think if anyone could strike the perfect balance then it would be nintendo...but then they also are out of touch with so much part of me thinks it would be the worst

 

I think a way to go would be to take mario party mini games and have that sort of thing (and WarioWare) on mobile platforms! allow bluetooth co-op, internet leader boards and off you go instant mobile revenue that doesn't steal a brand.

thinking on it Doctor Mario would be a contender too

[Rummy]

Just reading through the thread now and at some point the thought came to my mind that before Nintendo go 3rd party only/exclusive, they'd end up going Japan exclusive first. Keep all their shizzle, but really downscale to just Japan.

 

There's been some really interesting discussion and ideas in here though(no idea what it was like before lockage); I think the idea of smartphone minis that might lead into a bigger purchase are interesting. Personally my view on the 3rd party'd be to go Sony exclusive/partnership for home consoles but keep handheld console division going. It's not something I WANT to see, though.

[EEVILMURRAY]

With consoles the way they are now I'm saying no. I like having a console which is mainly designed to play games, as opposed to it being a fifth of a social media machine.

[Mr-Paul]

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/20/nintendo-mobile-games-smartphones-tablets?CMP=fb_gu

 

Many of these ideas have been said in this thread, but found this to be a pretty good, well rounded editorial of what Nintendo's options could be with regards to the smartphone/tablet market. I definitely do think there is a problem that low price mobile games may not lead to people picking up full priced software, but in some aspects could compliment Nintendo's main product. I do agree that integration between phones/consoles witha Nintendo app/Miiverse/eShop is probably the first step to take.

 

Another idea for revenue - licensing out characters for films? (As long as they don't end up like the Mario Bros. one!)

[Serebii]

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/20/nintendo-mobile-games-smartphones-tablets?CMP=fb_gu

 

Many of these ideas have been said in this thread, but found this to be a pretty good, well rounded editorial of what Nintendo's options could be with regards to the smartphone/tablet market. I definitely do think there is a problem that low price mobile games may not lead to people picking up full priced software, but in some aspects could compliment Nintendo's main product. I do agree that integration between phones/consoles witha Nintendo app/Miiverse/eShop is probably the first step to take.

 

Another idea for revenue - licensing out characters for films? (As long as they don't end up like the Mario Bros. one!)

A lot of that article is acting like Nintendo are putting their games on smartphones though, which Iwata categorically said wasn't happening.

 

It mentions companion apps, but most of it is about the games.

[Agent Gibbs]

Another idea for revenue - licensing out characters for films? (As long as they don't end up like the Mario Bros. one!)

 

take that back thats a cult classic! who wouldn't love Denis Hopper as bowser it makes perfect sense

[Mr-Paul]

A lot of that article is acting like Nintendo are putting their games on smartphones though, which Iwata categorically said wasn't happening.

 

 

 

It mentions companion apps, but most of it is about the games.

 

 

I didn't get that impression at all. It was very speculative, in my opinion.

 

And he does mention the quote that you've said a million times, that it isn't as simple as just throwing a Mario game onto Android/iOS. It's pretty open minded in discussing how possible smartphone games COULD work, and what the competition is doing in comparison.

 

I don't think in any way the article is saying "Nintendo need to make their games for smartphones", it's exploring what they could do if they did decide to make games for those sort of devices.

[Serebii]

I didn't get that impression at all. It was very speculative, in my opinion.

 

And he does mention the quote that you've said a million times, that it isn't as simple as just throwing a Mario game onto Android/iOS. It's pretty open minded in discussing how possible smartphone games COULD work, and what the competition is doing in comparison.

 

I don't think in any way the article is saying "Nintendo need to make their games for smartphones", it's exploring what they could do if they did decide to make games for those sort of devices.

Reading through it, it's the impression I got from it.

[Zechs Merquise]

Why would it? Mental thing to say!

 

Because Apple grossly overprice everything they sell. Look at their Mac Pro range - a quad core system with 12GB of RAM for £2500, they're taking the piss!

 

For £500 LESS you can get a PC with 8 cores at 4.4GHZ and a 12mb cache. 16GB of RAM at 2400MHZ and a killer NVidia graphics card. Not to mention in with that price I've included TWO 24 inch monitors!

 

It's the same with their phones - the stuff they crow about is tech other phone makers were using years ago, they're just so behind the curve.

 

But they have an incredible marketing department and people will pay over the odds because it's perceived to be 'cool' to own an Apple system. A lot of their appeal lies in the design of the products, it's style over substance.

 

If they did enter the console market, I think it would be a pricey system.

[Mr-Paul]

Well you need with a less defensive/more open mind!

 

Only one paragraph was about mobile games, and that was really just comparing to what games Sony and Microsoft have created for phones and tablets. Another was the possibility of Nintendo creating their own tablet device, and another about second screen functionality (which even acknowledges that Wii U already has one, but phones and tablets could complement it even more.)

[Serebii]

Well you need with a less defensive/more open mind!

 

Only one paragraph was about mobile games, and that was really just comparing to what games Sony and Microsoft have created for phones and tablets. Another was the possibility of Nintendo creating their own tablet device, and another about second screen functionality (which even acknowledges that Wii U already has one, but phones and tablets could complement it even more.)

Nintendo creating its own tablet would be identical to them doing it, so no it's not me being defensive.

[Mr-Paul]

Look, I don't think releasing a tablet is the right answer either. But I don't think you're giving the article/anything that suggests how smartphone stuff could help without damaging Nintendo's home console/handhelds a chance. Because it's not how you want things, you're essentially replying to anything that suggests anything different and going NO NO NO.

 

Where does this article say - this is what Nintendo should do, they're going to do smartphone games? Nowhere. It speculates what they could do based on what other companies in the same market have done.

 

We're looking at ways how Nintendo can increase revenue/gain mindshare, not advocating they should drop what they do best in favour of the smartphone market!

[dazzybee]

Because Apple grossly overprice everything they sell. Look at their Mac Pro range - a quad core system with 12GB of RAM for £2500, they're taking the piss!

 

For £500 LESS you can get a PC with 8 cores at 4.4GHZ and a 12mb cache. 16GB of RAM at 2400MHZ and a killer NVidia graphics card. Not to mention in with that price I've included TWO 24 inch monitors!

 

It's the same with their phones - the stuff they crow about is tech other phone makers were using years ago, they're just so behind the curve.

 

But they have an incredible marketing department and people will pay over the odds because it's perceived to be 'cool' to own an Apple system. A lot of their appeal lies in the design of the products, it's style over substance.

 

If they did enter the console market, I think it would be a pricey system.

 

Haha, they are pricey, but it still wouldn't be 1500. Not close, their apple tv which a lot of games can use is under £100 which aint bad bit of kit.

 

This isn't the place for it but Apple computers are infinitely better (even high specced) windows computers. But we'll fight about that over Skype

 

I do think if Nintendo wanted to partner Apple would be perfect though, they have the best app store by some distance so would have some great software in an instant, apple are amazing marketers, and ultimately I think it could work.

 

Saying that, ultimately I don't think Nintendo should or would go 3rd party.

[Zechs Merquise]

Nintendo have made a major misstep with the Wii U. They learned NOTHING from their successes with the Wii. Let’s look at why the Wii was a success:

 

1) Competitive Price: The Wii was launched at £175 with a must have game. It was clearly within the affordable bracket for anyone. At less than £200, with a game and no online subscription costs or extra cables needed it was a steal.

2) Great Marketing: The Wii was marketed very well. All the important features of the system were explained; classic Nintendo games, family appeal and simplicity of use. The adverts also featured people the target audience respected and liked.

3) Easy to Use: The final point is that the Wii was simple. Anyone could understand the control method. It could be picked up and played by almost anyone and the controller was very versatile indeed. It could be used for NSMB as a classic pad of yesteryear, then as a steering wheel, then as a tennis racket – simple and understandable. The increasing complexity of controllers was stripped back to make it accessible again to many people who had stopped gaming or felt modern machines were intimidating.

 

The Wii U was virtually the opposite to this. Everything Nintendo learned was thrown out of the window and the following problems raised their head:

 

1) Too Expensive: Nintendo was selling a system for £300 with a game no one cared for. It was too expensive coming from a manufacturer who was now known for competitively priced systems for the masses. At a whopping £125 more than the Wii it seemed very expensive and the with the ZombiU pack costing even more, it was pushing double the price of their last system. It was outside the impulse buy range of the target audience.

2) Poorly Marketed: Nintendo forgot everything they had learned. Non-descript adverts with poorly dubbed unknowns were a far cry from Ant and Dec in a large open white living room. What’s more the name of the console was confusing at best.

3) The Controller: Not only did this beast push up prices, it became the focus of the marketing, which made it look as if it was an add-on to the Wii. This was compounded by the name, which suggested it was an addition, not a new console. Also, it flew in the face of all the work they had done with the Wii, it was a controller that was more complex than ever before and highly off putting to the masses that learned they could game with the simplified and intuitive Wii remote.

 

However, despite the Wii U being commercially underwhelming, it is the first Nintendo home console not to be a profitable system – and this could well change in the future. However as it is the first misstep in the home console market, it’s hardly time to call it a day.

 

What Nintendo do need to do, is to learn from their mistakes. They are right to note there isn’t room in the market for three consoles all playing the power game – but where they can cut out a sizeable section of the market is with a cheaper, less powerful piece of hardware that is simple to develop for and appeals to a different market demographic. Going third party is not the answer.

 

The Wii U could have been a huge success. Imagine a Wii U sold for £185, with a Wii Remote plus and nunchuck. A copy of Wii Sports 2 or NSMBU, a pro-controller as an option, Miiverse as the online system (still for free) and full backwards compatibility with the Wii and most of it’s peripherals.

 

It could have been sold as the ‘affordable’ family home console. Classic Nintendo games in HD, play all your old Wii games, download classic Nintendo games and all down with the same far reaching advertising – remember those Wii adverts during X-Factor that helped sell 34 million units of Mario Kart Wii?

 

They were right to do something different to Sony and MS – there’s not space for three super powered consoles playing exactly the same games. But the ‘different’ thing they chose was so wrong on many levels.

 

But cutting the Wii U early would be an even greater error. To let down an install base and shelve a console early is a last resort – look what it did to SEGA with their add-ons and the Saturn. It just puts more people off buying your system as the public lose confidence in you supporting your products as they would expect.

 

Going third party sounds like a simple fix, but as a company Nintendo have historically always profited of hardware sales and made the majority of their operating income from those sales. To ignore that would be corporate suicide. What’s more, Nintendo have always produced the best software in the industry, but that performance is heavily linked with them knowing their own hardware so well. If they did start working with other consoles whether those games would bear the same polish is another thing!

[Daft]

I don't even know if this on topic anymore, either way I'm sure I'll be mauled, but here goes;

 

Imagine all the resources freed up if Nintendo didn't have to worry about developing and maintaining a hardware platform; how much more focused they could be. Not to mention the money they'd save; it would be cheaper to pay licensing fees to other platform holders, or just pay none at all to release on PC (not to mention financially less risky since they wouldn't have to worry about their sole option failing). And the advantage of being able to react to market trends in a much more nimble manner (instead of having to wait for a console cycle to end).

 

And who's to say they don't release their own peripherals (like the Wii Fit Balance Board, or even the Wii U controller; Rock Band and Guitar Hero did it) across every platform available (Xbox/Playstation/PC/Steam/SmartTVs/Tablets)? It would be vastly cheaper and much more accessible. (Maybe they make the successor to the 3DS that peripheral; able to link up to any wireless device like every smart phone and tablet currently does.)

 

Being platform agnostic, there's no reason why Nintendo's games couldn't do similar numbers to the 29 million copies that GTAV sold in six weeks. And if you think it would compromise the quality of Nintendo's games than you're really doing a gross disservice to the quality of Nintendo's designers and programmers.

 

*Braces self*