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Who will be the next hardware maker to exit the market?


Rick Dangerous

Who will be the next hardware manufacturer to exit?  

100 members have voted

  1. 1. Who will be the next hardware maker to exit the business?

    • Microsoft
      43
    • Nintendo
      44
    • Sony
      13

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How is a company with a boatloat of cash, no debt to speak of and a surprisingly small staff relative to revenue "dying" exactly?

 

Except their cash reserves have been declining for years and they do carry a sizable amount of debt.

 

Traditionally, Nintendo expends a significant amount of their resources at the start of each generation and then rebuilds that after settling in and growing their install base. For instance, they drained two billion in a year from reserves to launch the Wii and then rebuilt that 5 billion total that they were left with to 10 billion before the 3DS and Wii U drained it back down to 5 in just a few short months.

 

They haven't grown their bank account since and while I haven't seen 2015 figures yet, it has consistently been drawn down several hundred million each year since then. And they're facing a significant investment yet again in order to launch next-gen hardware, with depleted cash reserves that were never rebuilt this generation.

 

It could get uncomfortably low before it starts to recover again.

Edited by Atariboy
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Except their cash reserves have been declining for years and they do carry a sizable amount of debt.

 

Traditionally, Nintendo expends a significant amount of their resources at the start of each generation and then rebuilds that after settling in and growing their install base. For instance, they drained two billion in a year from reserves to launch the Wii and then rebuilt that 5 billion total that they were left with to 10 billion before the 3DS and Wii U drained it back down to 5 in just a few short months.

 

They haven't grown their bank account since and while I haven't seen 2015 figures yet, it has consistently been drawn down several hundred million each year since then. And they're facing a significant investment yet again in order to launch next-gen hardware, with depleted cash reserves that were never rebuilt this generation.

 

It could get uncomfortably low before it starts to recover again.

So you think the Wii-U is Nintendo's Saturn and the NX will be their Dreamcast? I'm not expecting them to last forever. I've got enough retro games to keep me occupied for years if Nintendo goes under. And I'm getting the NX, whether it's a dud, swansong, or blockbuster hit like the Wii/DS.

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Nope, I expect the NX to save the day and help lead Nintendo back into prosperous times as a hardware manufacturer.

 

That said, I do recognize the difficulty that they're facing and the risk, so I sadly voted for Nintendo. But I don't expect it to happen even though I view it as the most likely of the three.

Edited by Atariboy
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I wouldn't blame CODs developer for Nintendo's online service. The much older 360 and PS3 have a much better online service. Also, Nintendo releasing a console with only 8gb (or 32gb) of onboard storage isn't exactly DLC friendly, especially when the COD DLC packs are 6-8gb each.

 

Um, 12-player matches on MarioKart 8 with no percieved lag? Splatoon? Smash Bros? If Nintendo's 1st party games had awesome online, there's no reason third parties couldn't do it.

 

Call of Duty could have had online coop. Gamepad has a built in microphone and speakers/headphone jack that could sub in place of a headset. They just didn't try hard enough. No excuse for lazy ports...

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I think they'd have gotten to 20M if they actually had some of the Nintendo franchises at launch instead of delayed. We still don't have an original Zelda. We still don't have a Metroid. Super Mario 3D World came year after it was out. Mario Kart a year and a half out. Wii Fit came a year later. Smash Bros came out almost two years later.

 

That and - unlike the first Wii - they didn't actually have good original showcases for the differentiator. Wii U shipped with Wii Sports and showed the world what a Motion Control could do. And it sold Wii's by the tens of millions. What did the Wii U have that compared?

 

Nintendo could have spent money advertising, but what would the marketing team there actually promote? A tablet controller without much use (unlike the Wii remote)? A console that was only a teeny bit more powerful than current consoles? A lack of third party support? All those system selling franchises completely absent the first year on market?

 

I love my Wii U (now) but Nintendo really pooched the launch of that product in a giant way. And the sales results speak for themselves

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Except their cash reserves have been declining for years and they do carry a sizable amount of debt.

 

My mistake on the debt, seems they do take it on, but then clear it out quickly. The cash seems to have grown and the debt seems very small

 

http://markets.ft.com/research/Markets/Tearsheets/Financials?s=7974:TYO

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Um, 12-player matches on MarioKart 8 with no percieved lag? Splatoon? Smash Bros? If Nintendo's 1st party games had awesome online, there's no reason third parties couldn't do it.

 

 

I don't find their online awesome. I find there isn't lag, but I find it disconnects a ton and fails to connect often as well.

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The point is, Nintendo games = fun. Maybe I don't want blood and guts all over my TV screen. FPS games suck. If Microsoft and Sony want me to get excited about their consoles, maybe they should showcase something besides FPS, sports, and racers in their ads. [...]

Alright, i think you seem to forget that the absolute majority of new games these days that the masses actually buy are FPS-games, sports titles and racing games. Heck, i myself got NHL 16 for my PS4 despite me not being anything but the most basic casual hockey fan there is because the game is so much fun, and i can play with all the teams in the Swedish league too! The basic reason i got a PS3 was Gran Turismo 6, And now what i'm really looking forward to for PS4 is Gran Turismo 7 and Dirt Rally, then i will get a really expensive wheel with stick, pedals and everything.

The Wii U has got nothing even remotely close to those games, even EA ditched everything past "Need for Speed: Most wanted" for the Wii U 4 years ago and that was in itself an abhorrently downgraded version compared to what you could get on PC or PS3.

They even pulled all development for NHL and FIFA Beyond their 14 and 13 editions respectively for the U because the hardware limitations almost made them make a new game for it and the low sales figures didnt even remotely justify it.

 

Oh, and those games all happen to be big sellers on PS4, and PS3 in the versiona that apply to it. Go figure.

 

Sure, i am a bit disappointed that noone has made any historical racing games (that doesn't suck) set in the 30's to 50's for consoles in many years. Sure, i find the over-bloated market of FPS-games dull and boring but still, that's the titles that bring in the dollars and dollars is what bring in the developers, and i realize that my taste is just offset to the main customer base and i either have to live with it or look for indie titles on PC or the odd Playstation Store indie.

 

In my opinion Nintendo failed to appeal to the broad masses because people (me included) intitially percieved the Wii U as an upgraded Wii, and the launch titles did nothing to persuade me it wasn't, coupled with the fact that they stuck to the types of games that made the Wii a success, namely casual family oriented games and not straying much afar from that recipe. Yes, i like Mario kart and the occasional platformer but i won't buy a whole system just to play those odd fun games. Maybe in a few years when i can grab a used U for pennies.

 

Point is: Big developers flock where the big money is to push big titles, and the Wii U isn't in that territory. Big AAA-developers couldn't care less for what a couple of thousand of us oddballs want when there is millions of people craving the latest COD, Need for Speed or FIFA out there.

Edited by Raticon
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Point is: Big developers flock where the big money is to push big titles, and the Wii U isn't in that territory. Big AAA-developers couldn't care less for what a couple of thousand of us oddballs want when there is millions of people craving the latest COD, Need for Speed or FIFA out there.

Yeah I'm probably a minority of the populace. My favorite PS3 games are LBP anything and 3D Dot heroes, which is really just a throwback to 16-bit Zelda with gorgeous HD voxels.

 

Let's face it: I love platformers (2D or 3D), cartoon racers loaded with items, and space SHMUPs. Nintendo delivers on that front. What's more, although the Wii-U doesn't have as large a selection of downloadable indie titles compared to say Steam, Sony, and MS, what they do have caters more towards my old school aesthetic and play style.

 

I downloaded Shovel Knight a while back and never got around to playing it. This fall I bought the disc version from best Buy (if I buy a downloadable title that later comes out on disc, I'll get the disc version for the collection anyway but keep it sealed - so far I've done this with Luigi U, Duck Tales HD, and Shovel Knight) and I just got the SK Amiibo yesterday. Apparently feats are incompatible with Amiibo assist so I'm currently playing without it until I get stuck somewhere. I played through the first stage last night and it's awesome. Yeah I've got tons of backloggery. I'm currently playing through Paper Mario TTYD again for the first time in ten years...

 

The FPS games, realistic racers that focus purely on driving skill rather than item use, and sports titles that really don't appeal to me are ironically absent altogether from the Wii-U. So while the Wii-U may just be my dream platform, for other people it is not and I have to accept that Nintendo is not on top anymore. EA completely abandoned Wii-U which is sad, but I remembered their library consists primarily of sports, sims, and shovelware, and I don't remember ever playing a Wii EA release that I actually enjoyed, so I kind of wrote them off.

 

Part of it is likely my refusal to buy the PS4 because it's expensive and I'm satisfied with the systems I own already (and Little Big Planet 3 also came out on PS3 so I got that version), so I rationalize my Nintendo fanboyism by saying I've got all I could possibly want on my current systems. Between retro gaming and current gen, my plate is full atm, so a new HD console is not on the radar for me at this time.

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The Wii U has got nothing even remotely close to those games, even EA ditched everything past "Need for Speed: Most wanted" for the Wii U 4 years ago and that was in itself an abhorrently downgraded version compared to what you could get on PC or PS3.

 

Actually, this one is pretty much considered the definitive console edition of that game. For instance I believe it utilized the full HD textures of the PC title rather than the more toned down 360/PS3 assets.

 

About all it did wrong from a gamer perspective (EA didn't spend anything to market it), was launching it months after the other versions. And instead of taking it into account where the MSRP was concerned at a time when the 360/PS3 versions could be easily had new for under $40, it still launched as a $60 title. And the final DLC pack wasn't included with the rest of the unlocked on-disc DLC, which was the one thing EA did to make up for the later launch and to justify the price tag.

 

Edit: Looks like I have it basically correct, although it only included the first DLC pack out of the box. And while typically technically superior to the 360/PS3 versions, the online multiplayer did see a drop from 8 players to 6 for the sole downgrade of significance. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-need-for-speed-most-wanted-wii-u-face-off

Edited by Atariboy
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I don't find their online awesome. I find there isn't lag, but I find it disconnects a ton and fails to connect often as well.

 

I found the Wireless capability less than awesome on the Wii U. Luckily I have kept boxes of various computer crap over the years and had a USB <-> wired Ethernet adapter that was compatible. After that things were great. Nintendo's online platform is still practically non-existent compared to the the real state of the art, though.

 

I think The Wii U is great because it's practically designed for me. Years of PC online gaming left me really tired of toxic communities. I don't even want to engage any anymore. I never really use voice chat because 98% of the time it's just used to transport hate and discontent into my living room. Half my life ago I probably would have had fun with it but it's just old now. If I see that little mic icon next to a player on Xbox Live I usually just mute it. Nothing is added to my experience. (I periodically test this, I'm yet to be proven wrong). I have lots of little streaming boxes I used for media applications making the Wii U awkward use of the Gamepad there a non-thing. I have yet to take strongly to a lot of modern incarnations of genres I like and open world games I often feel nothing for (before Xenoblade). I buy around 15 games a generation so the volume is fine. I have 13 or 14 and I like them all.

 

I'm not at all the target audience, though. My view on the Wii U's value or success isn't very useful. If the NX doesn't address some broader appeal I see them losing some relevancy and at least not existing the way we are used to. As mentioned previously Nintendo seems pretty lean and somewhat self-sufficient. I don't see some sudden exit of the market myself but I could see a world where they aren't on my entertainment center anymore.

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I don't find their online awesome. I find there isn't lag, but I find it disconnects a ton and fails to connect often as well.

 

Gonna disagree with you there. I live in a house and my wireless N DSL router, laptop, game consoles, and blue tooth game controllers are the only 2.4Ghz devices in my house (I also have a wireless printer and BluRay player that stay turned off and disconnected when I'm not using them; same for the laptop). I have had zero issues with the Wii-U ever disconnecting or dropping connection in the years I've had it. The Wii-U is in the next room over from the router, about 25 feet away through walls. My 3DS can go all the way to the sidewalk outside before it drops signal.

 

I strongly suspect that either network congestion from the neighbors, a device emitting interference, or something else is obstructing the wireless signal, or you have a poor internet connection to your ISP. Check to see that a device on your network is not hogging bandwidth from your ISP. Next boot your computer and search for other networks. If you live in an apartment complex and there is 20 networks available, at least half of them with strong signal, that would be the source of your problem. You can also run a speed test from your PC. If you get wildly different results from one test to the next, then something or someone is diverting bandwidth. It could be your network or congestion from the neighbors. It could also be downstream on your ISP and out of your control.

 

The only time I ever had trouble getting online with Wii-U was when I first set it up Christmas morning in December 2012, because a billion other people were trying to download updates from Nintendo's servers. I simply waited a couple days to download the updates without a hitch. PSN and XBox Live both crashed Christmas the following year after those consoles launched.

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Im quite surprised that most people think Nintendo will be the first to drop out considering they are the only company dedicated solely to video games. Microsoft is a computer company and Sony is an electronics company. Based on that alone, I'd say Nintendo isn't going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, I could see the NX being the only true 9th gen console that competes with the streaming boxes that Sony and Microsoft will probably put out.(I really hope this isn't the case)

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Im quite surprised that most people think Nintendo will be the first to drop out considering they are the only company dedicated solely to video games. Microsoft is a computer company and Sony is an electronics company. Based on that alone, I'd say Nintendo isn't going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, I could see the NX being the only true 9th gen console that competes with the streaming boxes that Sony and Microsoft will probably put out.(I really hope this isn't the case)

 

That's been the point throughout this discussion thread, though. Microsoft and Sony have other businesses to fall back on/pull resources from when their videogame business goes through a lull. Nintendo is all-in on videogames, so as the videogame business goes, so does Nintendo. That's also why Nintendo is starting to diversify in ways that they haven't done in a long, long time, branching out with mobile offerings, amiibo, QOL, etc. Also, unlike Microsoft and Sony, who, if they ever did pull out of videogames for whatever reason, it would probably be almost completely, Nintendo could almost certainly make a massively successful shift to software-only (which is why investors and some fans always seem to call for that).

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That's been the point throughout this discussion thread, though. Microsoft and Sony have other businesses to fall back on/pull resources from when their videogame business goes through a lull. Nintendo is all-in on videogames, so as the videogame business goes, so does Nintendo. That's also why Nintendo is starting to diversify in ways that they haven't done in a long, long time, branching out with mobile offerings, amiibo, QOL, etc. Also, unlike Microsoft and Sony, who, if they ever did pull out of videogames for whatever reason, it would probably be almost completely, Nintendo could almost certainly make a massively successful shift to software-only (which is why investors and some fans always seem to call for that).

Indeed, and that is precisely how it went for Sega which is all about videogames. They had a large presence in the arcades, they had a sizeable market share for home consoles but economically it started going downhill from the Saturn through the Dreamcast and after jumping ship on the console-side they are now all about software on console, mobile and PC, with some presence left in the arcades as i gather it, albeit vastly downsized from earlier years.

 

If you told gamers in the early 90's that in 20 years that they would be playing Sonic and other SEGA-games on Nintendo consoles they'd punch you in the face or you'd be the laughing stock of the schoolyard.

Maybe in a few years we will be playing Nintendo games on Playstation and Xbox only? Or play games released by Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft on a machine from some other company?

 

Nothing is certain in the world of consoles and software. History has taught us that and we as retro gamers would be the best to know such things.

Edited by Raticon
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Two to three questions that maybe someone knows the answer to better than I would...

 

1. How much is their IP worth and what is the market value? Is there someone out there that can buy them (not that I really want to see that happen.....).

 

2. Is NX a platform only or is it going to turn out to be a strategy? Sure... there will be some sort of hardware, be it a dedicated console or a hybrid, but I wonder if the other efforts fall under "NX" as well?

 

3. Is Nintendo hurting themselves by being secretive? If the new hardware is coming out late this year, when does one start to build up some hype?

 

The reference to what happened to Sega... hope it doesn't go in that direction.

 

Actually the first console to leave the market is the Colec... wait, one has to enter the market first. Never mind. <Cybercylon runs away....>

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Two to three questions that maybe someone knows the answer to better than I would...

 

1. How much is their IP worth and what is the market value? Is there someone out there that can buy them (not that I really want to see that happen.....).

 

2. Is NX a platform only or is it going to turn out to be a strategy? Sure... there will be some sort of hardware, be it a dedicated console or a hybrid, but I wonder if the other efforts fall under "NX" as well?

 

3. Is Nintendo hurting themselves by being secretive? If the new hardware is coming out late this year, when does one start to build up some hype?

 

The reference to what happened to Sega... hope it doesn't go in that direction.

 

Actually the first console to leave the market is the Colec... wait, one has to enter the market first. Never mind. <Cybercylon runs away....>

I'm not an expert, but this is what i know mixed with educated guesswork:

 

1. Nintendo IP is worth a lot. I have seen websites claiming everything from 5 billion to 25 billion, but i guess that depends on what one bundles with the meaning of "IP", from brand and titles or up to hardware and patents?

Nintendos share in Pokémon alone is worth a few billions, i'm sure.

Most of Nintendo IP is very old and established since years or decades ago and while this might be good in marketing, i.e everyone know what you mean when you are saying "A new Mario game is on the way!"

that also means that every new installment in any of their game series have to carry a very heavy burden from literally decades of often very good games, and 1 or 2 new "bad" games has the possibility of ruining a good legacy and having not only to repair the damage done by the bad ones, but also have to carry the extra burden of the old "good" games. IP is only worth something while the owners do good stuff with it, and Nintendo tend to not disappoint in this regard.

 

2. The NX is going to be both a console and a strategy, as it seems by rumours and the limited hard facts we have that they are consolidating all their home and handheld consoles into a single unit and architecture, potentially saving costs and streamlining development and much more. Personally i see more good than bad in this. We haven't seen anything really "new" on the handheld side except the 3DS XL etc. which is in my opinion improvements upon the existing line more than a new system, keeping it relevant until what i can only assume a hybrid NX taking over the roles of both the 3DS-line of handhelds and the Wii U as home console.

 

3. I don't think Nintendo is hurting themselves by being secretive in the same manner as certain Coleco-wannabes do. The point here is that Nintendo are professional and know what they are doing compared to said certain newbies. They have been doing this for decades. They know what to say and when to say it and spill just enough paltry beans from time to time to fuel a literal hellfire of speculation and hype all over the internet these days, and all over the printed gaming press in the days of yonder that ultimately lead up to a massive reveal that always happens to be anticipated and surprising at the same time...

 

...all without saying too much at random times and having to retract or rectify stuff, or blaming past or present members of the devcrew for statements proven false or making bold statements like "games presented throughout a month then a big reveal the month after" and then nothing of the sorts show up. Yes, i am looking at you RVGS!

 

On the Sega-note, in my eyes Nintendo is at about the exact same spot now as Sega was at the end of the Saturn:

They have a current system failing in both economics and anticipation (Saturn/Wii U), with the legacy of a massively successful device with a huge market share before it (Mega Drive-Genesis/Wii), and are now looking forwards and laying up plans for a system that will either revolutionize the market and take the company to new heights, or spell the end of the console-era for them (Dreamcast/NX). While the Dreamcast was a fine system it didn't hold up in the end either technologically or economically, and made Sega exit through the back door.

Let's all hope that Nintendo will do better.

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At this point, isn't Nintendo worth more than Sony or pretty much on par? Even if Nintendo just blundered everything for a couple decades, I think they could still be around. At least Nintendo isn't utterly stupid like Sega was, at worst we're still gonna get 4 years out of the Wii U, which isn't exactly great, but it's not a system a year like Sega, plus the thing is while the Wii U didn't set the world on fire, the Nintendo fans that have one I believe still really enjoy it. Ultimately the Nintendo console buyer wants the Nintendo IPs. Sure, GTA and all that good stuff would be great, but it's not like the Nintendo fan isn't getting what he wanted in his system. As much as the Wii U underachieved, people still got their Smash Bros. and Mario Karts and all that jazz. If Metroid and Zelda didn't make an appearance on the console, I'd be a bit disappointed for sure, but it's not like the systems are necessarily sitting around gathering dust. It's easy to look at console sales and say they're getting destroyed, but I would assume they make double per game what others would simply because of them not having to be involved with a Sony or Microsoft console and using their own. Factor in their portable side and that cashola just absolutely skyrockets.

 

If the NX can do what everyone hopes it can and blends the portable and home side, then the system is going to have as strong of a library as any. The ultimate detriment to the Wii U is all the great games that are coming out for the 3DS. To be able to combine the two would be absolutely epic. I want to play dozens of 3DS games, but I'm not gonna sit there on a little machine to do it and they have to spend time spreading their IPs out along both sides of the coin, which often leads to less software on the less successful home side of things. The negative of this is if it doesn't sell and we don't get the plethora of titles we theoretically would have gotten in the Wii/DS and current Wii U/3DS era, it's moot. People are gonna have to pony up a fair amount of dough for this hybrid, I'm assuming, and that could hurt the portable side regardless. It's hard to say, but I'm sure they have it figured out. I'm hoping their console design makes it so you can either buy a portable system ala 3DS to keep those consumers happy and those costs down or buy the home version which is compatible with portable style games and home style ones. Basically they just need to do the Super Game Boy all over again to boost the home side of their company. With the amount of money they make, I really don't blame them for doing what they do and not taking too many ridiculous make or break risks. Hell, I'd be afraid to not just get beat on in regards to the home side of things to keep making that portable money.

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[...] at worst we're still gonna get 4 years out of the Wii U, which isn't exactly great, but it's not a system a year like Sega, plus the thing is while the Wii U didn't set the world on fire, the Nintendo fans that have one I believe still really enjoy it. Ultimately the Nintendo console buyer wants the Nintendo IPs. Sure, GTA and all that good stuff would be great, but it's not like the Nintendo fan isn't getting what he wanted in his system. As much as the Wii U underachieved, people still got their Smash Bros. and Mario Karts and all that jazz. If Metroid and Zelda didn't make an appearance on the console, I'd be a bit disappointed for sure,[...]

I agree, but with Nintendo losing such a big market share in home consoles as they did they need more than to just satisfy the people that crave the Nintendo IPs. They need the expansion and growth if they want to avoid fading into being a "niche" marketeer and stay mass-market (if that is what they want in the future, of course). They need to reach out to more people to sell more consoles as we are acutely aware that it's the software that sell the console and not the other way around.

 

Nintendos worth right now is in their immensely strong IPs and as such they should be valued equally or more to Sony as you pointed out, as Sony has a strong brand for the console itself but hardly any software IP of their own. Right now for Nintendo the table is turned somewhat with their software IP being strong, but the hardware image being a bit soured with the mass market, and to keep 3rd party developers interested and manage to keep prices low you need that mass market.

 

For me i'd love to see EA coming back to Nintendo and making sports titles, as those always draw new casual players and are popular with the masses. As i said earlier here i am only the most basic casual of hockey enthusiasts but still i manage to have a ton of fun with NHL16.

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Nintendo could strengthen it's position if they created a separate division for PC and Andriod/iOS games.
Using a different label gives them more freedom to move away from some of their kid safe image.
They could probably buy up a few companies that already produce desirable titles to build a portfolio.
Traditional Nintendo titles could stay on Nintendo specific hardware.
Nintendo would have some protection offered by diversification without reducing the value of Mario to sell consoles.

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Nintendo could strengthen it's position if they created a separate division for PC and Andriod/iOS games.

Using a different label gives them more freedom to move away from some of their kid safe image.

They could probably buy up a few companies that already produce desirable titles to build a portfolio.

Traditional Nintendo titles could stay on Nintendo specific hardware.

Nintendo would have some protection offered by diversification without reducing the value of Mario to sell consoles.

That's the Sega strategy. It's a loser. There's not enough money in mobile, and they would lose the benefit of controlling the hardware.
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That's the Sega strategy. It's a loser. There's not enough money in mobile, and they would lose the benefit of controlling the hardware.

 

Nintendo could strengthen it's position if they created a separate division for PC and Andriod/iOS games.

Using a different label gives them more freedom to move away from some of their kid safe image.

They could probably buy up a few companies that already produce desirable titles to build a portfolio.

Traditional Nintendo titles could stay on Nintendo specific hardware.

Nintendo would have some protection offered by diversification without reducing the value of Mario to sell consoles.

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I'm all for Nintendo keeping on riding this stuff out. They're not releasing consoles at losses, they're playing it safe. Branching into different mobile games is great for them (from what I understand, they're not gonna be your normal games at all), but they're still in a great position to not just whore themselves out. I don't think they can compete with the way Microsoft and Sony do business, so they have to do what they have to do to survive. Plus, you can't wrap it around the average gamer's head that Nintendo is worth more than Sony, so how are you gonna reason with them that Nintendo is still, even in this tough time, doing great business overall? I don't think they understand that Nintendo profits EVERYWHERE. Hardware, full game sales where they aren't splitting money with the hardware people because they are that too, accessories, toys, candy, lunchboxes, etc.

 

It's funny that a rumor hit IGN today that the NX was basically going to be exactly what I predicted it should be a few posts back with the portable console linking to the home one. The portable would be released later this year and the home version in 2017. That even allows the Wii U a good enough run (it's reasonable a company who releases older hardware at less cost and actually turn a profit would release hardware more frequently) and makes it so your portable is $200 and your home may be $350 and hopefully with good engineering and the ability to use your portable as a controller/mic/etc, that console is PS4 powerful and you can easily get their ports for the next 5-7 years that it is at the top of their game and the ability to play portable and home libraries together should be a pretty strong package. In theory, at least. Your home audience is gonna support your portable games and vice versa, which at the very least couldn't hurt the home console side of things and with any luck makes it so the EAs and whatnot port to the system. I'm no expert, but the home side of things still needs a draw to pull in the portable side, though. I am not sure what they could offer there because somehow the portable side needs to make the home side's investment. I just know in this day and age, it'd be ludicrous for them to make 2 systems that don't interact with one another and can't piggy back costs off one another. IE: the portable's card slot runs the home system's games, saving costs, etc.

 

The real BS'er is the touch screen is what's making Nintendo the bucks, and it's the one thing that just doesn't carry over to the home. How they can make the touch experience work at home while not compromising the portable without making programmers program two different control schemes is the hard part. These guys are geniuses, though, they have to be able to figure something out. Especially if it's with their first party titles interacting so I can play a touch 3DS game with regular controls. That'd be fine by me to be able to play lots of these games. Irony is $20 says the same people who whine about motion controls/touch/etc and want regular gamepad play will then ride their ass for dumbing down their controls. Trollolololol.

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