Nintendo Switch - Happy Switchmas Everyone!

[Hogge]

Im sure F-Zero would sell a boatload more as well, in the absence of WipeOut.

 

Wipeout was shut down because it had disastrous sales figures no matter what format they released it on.

 

We just got Star Fox...

 

A game with controls most people dislike, the game flow ruined by the stupid gyrowing sections, and content that will see you finishing everything in the game, except practice missions after probably something like five hours of gameplay.

[Serebii]

A game with controls most people dislike, the game flow ruined by the stupid gyrowing sections, and content that will see you finishing everything in the game, except practice missions after probably something like five hours of gameplay.

 

Sounds like a Star Fox game to me :p

 

You can also play the game from Corneria to Venom without any Gyrowing sections...

[Ashley]

We just got Star Fox...

 

After the best part of two decades and compared with a series like Mario where we get a new game every ~18 months in the last few years it's pretty much a dead franchise.

[dazzybee]

I'd rather them go Second Party to Sony. That would be sweet!

 

Literally the most horrific out come I could imagine.

 

Luckily never ever going to happen.

[Kav]

Literally the most horrific out come I could imagine.

 

Luckily never ever going to happen.

 

Really? Nintendo games on a Sony console. I could see Sony letting Nintendo put out the games they wanted to, all with features that Nintendo console don't have... awesome!

With Sony's audience I think many Nintendo games would have a larger reach too!

[somme]

Yeah there isn't this big anti-Nintendo conspiracy, at least no from PlayStation fans that I can see.

 

They've love the opportunity to play Nintendo games but aren't willing to invest in an inferior machine to do so. Can't really blame them to be honest.

 

From what I've seen since jumping ship and buying a PS4, Sony seem to support their studios creatively. They'd probably trust Nintendo make great software. Bar the last few years Nintendo have always had a great slew of software, it's the hardware they always seem to mess up with.

[Goron_3]

After the best part of two decades and compared with a series like Mario where we get a new game every ~18 months in the last few years it's pretty much a dead franchise.

 

'but Starfox doesn't sell'

[dazzybee]

Really? Nintendo games on a Sony console. I could see Sony letting Nintendo put out the games they wanted to, all with features that Nintendo console don't have... awesome!

With Sony's audience I think many Nintendo games would have a larger reach too!

 

I think it's an absolute myth that because the audience is bigger it'd get better sales. I also don't think nintendo could do what nintendo do on other peoples hardware. Plus I don't think they'd make as much money from their games giving a cut to Sony. Plus I don't think they need to financially. Plus I think the industry NEEDS nintendo making hardware - that still do things no one else does, for better and worse, and whether ornate you like it, the industry does need it.

 

Aside from all that. Imagine playing the next 3D mario on the worst "analogue" sticks in the industry. No thanks!!

[Eddage]

Aside from all that. Imagine playing the next 3D mario on the worst "analogue" sticks in the industry. No thanks!!

 

That's okay, I already played the last 3D Mario on the worst analogue sticks.

 

(over exaggeration but I really don't think the Wii U sticks are up to much and they PS4 ones are definitely better for me).

[david.dakota]

@kav82 I think Dazzybee means he thinks Nintendo will never consider putting their on other consoles. I think he's wrong there, if Nintendo hardware and software sale slump to such a degree that they can't make profit they'd make the jump, that stands to reason... they will not drive their business into the gound. But Nintendo will do everything in their power to avoid becoming a third or second part developer; this won't be a consideration for Nintendo for a decade or more (two disaterous generations at least).

 

Fact is, Nintendo have been profitable for two financial years on the spin - not huge profits but it's given them breathing space. And prior to that Nintendo's losses have been at the hands of international forces, not necessarily bad business decisions (though, they did make a fair few). I think they could profit from similar hardware base in the future too and they'd need a complete disaster a significant change in direction.

 

Even then, assuming they can't get to a critical mass with a consle install base, Nintendo making efforts to diversify it's business it could quite feasibly take a hit on yet another poor selling console. The key factor in any move to becoming a third party developer is going to be when console sales are so low the value of their IP sinks... that's a long, long way off.

[Retro_Link]

Aside from all that. Imagine playing the next 3D mario on the worst "analogue" sticks in the industry. No thanks!!

When Nintendo babysit you so much with 8-direction movement, it wouldn't really matter what stick you were playing it on.

[killthenet]

Any possibility of Nintendo going third party is at least a decade away - it would take that many years of consistent losses for them to even entertain that option. They're in such a healthy position financially, even after 4 years of poor home console sales, that it would take dramatic errors with a few pieces of hardware to think becoming a software developer exclusively would be the better business decision.

 

It'd be interesting to know what kind of position Sega were in financially when they bowed out of the hardware game. A little research shows that they made 5 consecutive years of massive losses prior to that, and they had obviously made errors in the way the Saturn was handled. They also hadn't had such a runaway success like the Wii or DS to bolster their finances, so must have been in a pretty make or break situation with the Dreamcast before it had even launched after struggling with the Saturn.

[Happenstance]

Any possibility of Nintendo going third party is at least a decade away - it would take that many years of consistent losses for them to even entertain that option. They're in such a healthy position financially, even after 4 years of poor home console sales, that it would take dramatic errors with a few pieces of hardware to think becoming a software developer exclusively would be the better business decision.

 

It'd be interesting to know what kind of position Sega were in financially when they bowed out of the hardware game. A little research shows that they made 5 consecutive years of massive losses prior to that, and they had obviously made errors in the way the Saturn was handled. They also hadn't had such a runaway success like the Wii or DS to bolster their finances, so must have been in a pretty make or break situation with the Dreamcast before it had even launched after struggling with the Saturn.

 

Thats always been the thing when people bring up Nintendo going second or third party. People use Sega as an example of how it would go poorly but Sega did it as their last resort after everything went wrong. If Nintendo did it now in a financially stable place then they would absolutely have enough money to be a Valve or Naughty Dog who can pick and choose what they release and how long they take on it to make it as polished as possible.

 

Who knows how the NX will do for Nintendo though, maybe it really will be a massive success (personally I doubt it). Im always of two minds when it comes to this kind of stuff. On a personal level I would prefer Nintendo to go second or third party as I have no interest in buying their hardware anymore but there are the occasional games I want to play. On a games industry level though competition is always better so even if I dont want Nintendo's hardware, it at least keeps the other companies constantly working towards something better. We dont want complacency.

[Kav]

I'm not suggesting Nintendo going Second Party is what they need to do... just what I'd want.

[somme]

Playing on a decent controller is definitely a reason for them going second/third party. I hate the GamePad and really don't mind the Dualshocks sticks. It's no Gamecube pad but pretty close.

[liger05]

Thats always been the thing when people bring up Nintendo going second or third party. People use Sega as an example of how it would go poorly but Sega did it as their last resort after everything went wrong. If Nintendo did it now in a financially stable place then they would absolutely have enough money to be a Valve or Naughty Dog who can pick and choose what they release and how long they take on it to make it as polished as possible.

 

Who knows how the NX will do for Nintendo though, maybe it really will be a massive success (personally I doubt it). Im always of two minds when it comes to this kind of stuff. On a personal level I would prefer Nintendo to go second or third party as I have no interest in buying their hardware anymore but there are the occasional games I want to play. On a games industry level though competition is always better so even if I dont want Nintendo's hardware, it at least keeps the other companies constantly working towards something better. We dont want complacency.

 

 

Without hardware revenue Nintendo's bank takes a major hit and suddenly Nintendo would need to be a lot more picky and careful on what they release.

 

If people think Nintendo are picky now on releases a pure software company would see Nintendo releasing simply the big hitters. Mario Kart, Mario, smash Bros and that's it.

 

The likes of taking risks with a splatoon, fire emblem, pushmo etc etc a lot less likely.

 

Is Nintendo being like a naughty dog or valve a good thing? One or two releases a year?

 

That to me sounds like a Nintendo being a total shell of the company they are now.

 

Nintendo need to open up there software division and be open to other genres but without Hardware I think it's a lot less likely that would happen.

 

Nintendo exiting the hardware business I think would be the end of Nintendo in the industry.

Edited May 2, 2016 by liger05

[Mr_Master_X2]

The fact is though, the Wii U sold crap...BUT it sold enough for Nintendo to create many first party multi-million selling games which gave profit (no idea if Wii U hardware eventually gave profit). Then you have their portable hardware...which is faaaaar from crashing (isn't it the current best selling console of this gen?) When 3DS games sell as much as they do for ONE console, no way are Nintendo going under.

 

All this gen I've prayed Nintendo wake up and realise what their strength is (portables) and promote more resources to it. IF this new NX is the hybrid (likely not, just compatible OS's) and they don't promote the portable side over the home I dread to think what damage it could do to them. THIS is a scenario what "could" kill Nintendo. It truly is their strength and sometimes it feels like they don't get THAT.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Mr_Master_X2

[Kounan]

I am wondering, couldn't Nintendo make a more powerful machine and sell it at a small loss as they have enough own IPs which make them a lot of money and they shouldn't have any problems recouping the money?

 

For them it is quite easy to make money even if the don't sell to many consoles because their software where they get most of the money (one of the reasons I don't see them going third or second party), so they could use it for making their hardware more accessible to consumers.

[Serebii]

The fact is though, the Wii U sold crap...BUT it sold enough for Nintendo to create many first party multi-million selling games which gave profit (no idea if Wii U hardware eventually gave profit). Then you have their portable hardware...which is faaaaar from crashing (isn't it the current best selling console of this gen?) When 3DS games sell as much as they do for ONE console, no way are Nintendo going under.

 

All this gen I've prayed Nintendo wake up and realise what their strength is (portables) and promote more resources to it. IF this new NX is the hybrid (likely not, just compatible OS's) and they don't promote the portable side over the home I dread to think what damage it could do to them. THIS is a scenario what "could" kill Nintendo. It truly is their strength and sometimes it feels like they don't get THAT.

In Japan, the dominant NX platform advertised would likely be portable. In the US it'd likely be console. In Europe it'd likely be both.

[Fierce_LiNk]

From my own personal viewpoint, this is how I'd see things.

 

Worst possible outcome: Nintendo stop making games AND hardware. That's the worst possible outcome. No Nintendo games on ANY console.

 

Nintendo not making hardware: I do think that there's still a place for Nintendo in this world, but they reeeally need to start moving with the times and start working much faster in order to keep up. Imo, they're slowly becoming irrelevant. That being said, it would be interesting to see how Nintendo would go about putting their games on other systems. I don't suddenly think they'd start bringing back the "oldies" like F Zero. The breadth of their games would probably become more narrower, with a big focus on platformers as that's what they do really well. (or at least, what sells)

 

Nintendo stay as they are: Not a great outcome for me. They do need to adapt. The longer Nintendo take to do this, the further behind they'll slip. Maybe not in terms of sales initially, but in terms of perception and public image, which will eventually impact on sales.

[Kounan]

From my own personal viewpoint, this is how I'd see things.

 

Worst possible outcome: Nintendo stop making games AND hardware. That's the worst possible outcome. No Nintendo games on ANY console.

 

Nintendo not making hardware: I do think that there's still a place for Nintendo in this world, but they reeeally need to start moving with the times and start working much faster in order to keep up. Imo, they're slowly becoming irrelevant. That being said, it would be interesting to see how Nintendo would go about putting their games on other systems. I don't suddenly think they'd start bringing back the "oldies" like F Zero. The breadth of their games would probably become more narrower, with a big focus on platformers as that's what they do really well. (or at least, what sells)

 

Nintendo stay as they are: Not a great outcome for me. They do need to adapt. The longer Nintendo take to do this, the further behind they'll slip. Maybe not in terms of sales initially, but in terms of perception and public image, which will eventually impact on sales.

 

Where is the option where they continue making hardware, but move with the times (and I think they will as they have entered the mobile market, so I think that they will implement a lot of things into their hardware)?

[Fierce_LiNk]

Where is the option where they continue making hardware, but move with the times (and I think they will as they have entered the mobile market, so I think that they will implement a lot of things into their hardware)?

 

Well, it's kinda implied with the last point about them needing to adapt.

 

If Nintendo do adapt and actually move forward, then everything has the potential to turn out good. I was really looking forward to seeing what their plans were at E3, but that's really dealt a blow.

[Ashley]

I think it's an absolute myth that because the audience is bigger it'd get better sales. I also don't think nintendo could do what nintendo do on other peoples hardware. Plus I don't think they'd make as much money from their games giving a cut to Sony. Plus I don't think they need to financially. Plus I think the industry NEEDS nintendo making hardware - that still do things no one else does, for better and worse, and whether ornate you like it, the industry does need it.

 

As I mentioned earlier it would be something that would be great to find out in a purely "what it" scenario.

 

Given that the combined install bass of the PS4 and One is six times greater than the Wii U (excluding the inevitable overlap which is difficult to track) it would be interesting to see what the sales would be like.

 

Without hardware revenue Nintendo's bank takes a major hit and suddenly Nintendo would need to be a lot more picky and careful on what they release.

 

If people think Nintendo are picky now on releases a pure software company would see Nintendo releasing simply the big hitters. Mario Kart, Mario, smash Bros and that's it.

 

 

It would be interesting to know how separate the finances for hardware and software are kept. Obviously they factor in to the overall profit, but if the money made from hardware is largely put into developing hardware it wouldn't have such a huge impact.

 

And you could argue that Nintendo would then be free to move onto other revenues which have been successes for them recently - merchandising and amiibo.

 

And regarding the games, whose to say? Look at a studio like Ubisoft. They release several AAA titles but then also smaller titles and foster upcoming talent. We know Nintendo do somewhat the same at the moment (Splatoon being a product of that) so what's to say that after a period of adjustment they couldn't release more than a few titles a year?

[Serebii]

Well, it's kinda implied with the last point about them needing to adapt.

 

If Nintendo do adapt and actually move forward, then everything has the potential to turn out good. I was really looking forward to seeing what their plans were at E3, but that's really dealt a blow.

It does look like they are. Hell, look at how they're handling Animal Crossing with the mobile/NX integration. It's going to be great.

 

As I mentioned earlier it would be something that would be great to find out in a purely "what it" scenario.

 

Given that the combined install bass of the PS4 and One is six times greater than the Wii U (excluding the inevitable overlap which is difficult to track) it would be interesting to see what the sales would be like.

 

 

 

It would be interesting to know how separate the finances for hardware and software are kept. Obviously they factor in to the overall profit, but if the money made from hardware is largely put into developing hardware it wouldn't have such a huge impact.

 

And you could argue that Nintendo would then be free to move onto other revenues which have been successes for them recently - merchandising and amiibo.

 

And regarding the games, whose to say? Look at a studio like Ubisoft. They release several AAA titles but then also smaller titles and foster upcoming talent. We know Nintendo do somewhat the same at the moment (Splatoon being a product of that) so what's to say that after a period of adjustment they couldn't release more than a few titles a year?

Look at every company that has released hardware then went to release software instead: Atari, Jaguar, Sega. You tell me it works.

[liger05]

As I mentioned earlier it would be something that would be great to find out in a purely "what it" scenario.

 

Given that the combined install bass of the PS4 and One is six times greater than the Wii U (excluding the inevitable overlap which is difficult to track) it would be interesting to see what the sales would be like.

 

 

 

It would be interesting to know how separate the finances for hardware and software are kept. Obviously they factor in to the overall profit, but if the money made from hardware is largely put into developing hardware it wouldn't have such a huge impact.

 

And you could argue that Nintendo would then be free to move onto other revenues which have been successes for them recently - merchandising and amiibo.

 

And regarding the games, whose to say? Look at a studio like Ubisoft. They release several AAA titles but then also smaller titles and foster upcoming talent. We know Nintendo do somewhat the same at the moment (Splatoon being a product of that) so what's to say that after a period of adjustment they couldn't release more than a few titles a year?

 

I'm not convinced a bigger userbase would mean bigger software sales to offset loss of hardware revenue.

 

Is there really millions of people all wanting to play Mario kart or smash but refuse to buy a Nintendo console or handheld to do so?

 

https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2016/160427e.pdf

 

Page 14. Nintendo makes 42.7% of their revenue from video game hardware alone. It's a huge amount which software sales alone would need to recover.

 

It's not a direct comparison with Sega as Nintendo have money in the bank while Sega had none however I remember when people said it will allow Sega to concentrate on games alone and we would continue to get all the great games they made on there own hardware................still waiting

Edited May 2, 2016 by liger05