It would be interesting to see how much money Nintendo make on their classic titles. Surely in this day and age Nintendo could release their stunning back catalogue within a virtual console ios app that syncs save states to Wii u and 3ds versions of the same app. The sales numbers would be way greater, and would push hardware sales further. I would buy a Wii U purely for that reason. They could keep exclusivity for the current gen Nintendo games on Nintendo hardware and make more money to further this business model off app sales for the old games. Nintendo could loosen the reigns and benefit everyone, including themselves.
Nintendo should slowly realize that this "traditional" behaviour is obsolete in our fast, modern world. Nintendo should slowly realize that selling consoles doesn't bring much money in. It's the games which make the most profit. Nintendo should slowly realize that they could earn a shipload of money if they bring 1-2 of their brands to smartphones (and keep the rest exclusively for their consoles). A Zelda port for 15-20 bucks could easily sell (several?) hundredthousand times. Nintendo should take a look at this: iPhone 5 Sales Statistics Total number of iPhone 5 units sold: 89,000,000 Total number of iPhone 5s units sold: 6,500,000 Total number of iPhone 5c units sold: 2,600,000 The point is that one of their console generations equals 3-4 smartphone generations today. They will be always behind in terms of technology. Moreover, not everyone takes his handheld everywhere. Yet nearly everyone will not leave the house without his smartphone. I could easily continue with a dozen more reasons, but why? Nintendo won't listen anyway. Here's an interesting article about their latest losses: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/30/nintendo-2-million-3ds-sold-q2-2014/
Look, I'm not saying you are wrong. I'm not saying any one is wrong. All I'm saying is that if you are over the age of thirty, you'll have been through this before. There were articles by experts just like the one above, there were charts and graphs and stock figures like what's being posted here back in 1999 about how Nintendo will never release another console and how their business model has ruined them forever. We have since seen them for every Nintendo product except the Wii. Maybe, one day, one of these predictions will come true. I'm just numb to it now and have accepted that if I want to play my classic Nintendo games, I will have to play the originals or emulate.
It'll be a sad day when / if Nintendo make so much of a loss that they decide to bow out if the console game. Nintendo are a very proud company though, I just hope they realise the potential of the smartphone generation and get on board willingly rather than as a last resort to stay afloat. I must say I do hope that doesn't happen. I have always been a Nintendo kid and part of me always will be.
I love Nintendo but they need to get up to date with the modern market. If they do they'll be bigger than ever
The old GB, GBA, & GBC games pretty much exist simply to be stolen through EMU/ROMS. They could easily sell even just 1 game on the AppStore and see what happens. They are not making money with them otherwise anyway ...everyone on iOS has pretty much illegally downloaded them by jb or gba4ios. I'm one of the rare ones who hasn't, and would still love to play Nintendo on my device..but I think of need a controller...an official Nintendo controller would be cool, and another way for them to make hardware profit. However, a bug part of me doesn't want Nintendo on iOS.. The way apple takes 30% cut is not right ..Nintendo would be doing apple a favour, not the other way around. I don't think the 30% fee is justifyable. So in that sense. I'm kinda happy Nintendo is holding out and refusing to comply with apple, ho probably so desperately want the Nintendo franchise on the AppStore. Would be a HUGE marketing advantage. But to me, it'd be better suited to android.
Android i think would be a bad move, its so easy to get emulators on Android so any retro fan would have all these old gb/gbc games already. A lot of younger fans might not be so bothered and would probably moan about the 'rubbish graphics/sound' of these early games. Yeah Apple takes a 30% cut but Nintendo would still make a ton of money. I like to support old companies so even though i have a fair few games on emulators i always buy the original, eg R-Type by Dotemu, i dont play that on Gridlee anymore , quite happy to play their version etc. Its a difficult one. Again i want Nintendo to do well and if they increase profits then they dont need this anyway. But when you check their share price out at some point some new CEO will come in and change their old way of thinking. This Xmas/New Year is a huge moment for Nintendo as this 'could' be when they sell tons of consoles or if its not its back to the drawing board.
With their back catalogue just sitting idly there is no reason to not use mobile as an adevertisment for their brand/current products. Why not: Beef up Nintendo Network. A lot Release a few of the classics and but tie them into the Nintendo Network. Kick off a Nintendo MFi controller that comes in the form of a bright SNES controller. Create a strong gaming service over a few years that ties the Nintendo brand to the user's Nintendo ID. The mindset should be "the player logs into his/her phone to access Nintendo". Continue to provide a gaming alternative. One that is distinctively different to the others but is now also linked strongly to a cohesive network of platforms and players. Enjoy stable short term growth and long term above average returns.
Totally makes sense, Nintendo's back catalogue is what made them great. They should celebrate it instead of locking it away in a cupboard, Apple like Nintendo are a very proud unique company, they could be a match made in heaven. Love the idea of a SNES MFI controller ... I would take that over a duel thumbstick battery powered beast anyday!
So all this talk about how big Nintendo would be if they did this, show me one company who has as proof that it works. It didn't work for Atari. Sega isn't bigger than ever before. Why doesn't any one say Sony should put God of War on the Xbox One to increase sales?! Why would Nintendo do so much better than Sega at going third party? Would they make so much in .99 sales that it would be worth losing the potential hardware sales that lead to more game sales? Show me those numbers along with these others to save Nintendo. Show me how much more profitable Sega is now, how much bigger than Nintendo they've become without the anchor of being first party. Going third party is a last resort measure. Nintendo is still fine and will actually get better before they get worse. Let's fire this discussion up again after holiday earnings reports hit.
That's why you would use the Nintendo back catalogue to advertise the new generation. Sega cannot compare as they don't have hardware to move. Business strategy doesn't have to be last measure. Its a low risk proposition. Test the water and see what bites, and also what the bites look like
If Nintendo released some old official gameboy games that won't affect hardware sales. I'm not buying any new hardware. I just want some old 25 year old games. Do people honestly think the 'exclusivity' of these old games makes people want to buy Nintendo hardware? Everyone's playing them on emulators anyway it's a joke
But Sega did have hardware to move at one point. It is a direct comparison. Sega was in the place people seem to think Nintendo is at now. If you think Nintendo and Sega are different in this regard, then you agree with me: Nintendo has no reason to put their software on other companies' hardware. And Sega had/has a very solid back catalog as well. Many of those titles were great for the GBA. Again, it is almost an identical situation IF Nintendo is failing as badly as people think they are. The fact is, they aren't. They are getting better. The 3DS is gaining traction and the WiiU will be profitable too. It sucks for me as I have no reason to buy either and really want Metroid games on my iPad, but it is the way Nintendo will do business. And they will continue to be successful at it too.
The difference is Sega becoming 3rd party was a result of them coming to the end if the road as hardware manufacturers, it was a case of them staying afloat and they still exist as 3rd party so something is working. Nintendo however have the choice to do it while the going is still good. We're not talking about replacing Nintendo hardware to play new releases we are taking about utilising the massive install base of Ios to play host to Nintendo's back catalogue to accompany Nintendo's existing business model. Sony is utilising Ios via an app to accompany ps4 with second screen gaming. Smart. Microsoft is utilising Ios via an app to accompany Xbox one with smart glass. Again smart. Both seem a bit gimmiky however but Nintendo have something big to offer that they are doin jack with! THIER OLD GAMES. They could follow suite of the rivals by releasing an app but actually make some big money off it. They could charge way more than .99 for Zelda, Metroid, Mario. Would you pay £5 for Link to the past on your iphone? I would.
I can't say Nintendo is crazy. The only thing better than owning golden fruit is owning the golden tree it grows on and the whole got damn garden around it. Nintendo's franchises consistently dominate the top 10 game sells every month (for like a ####ing DECADE), and almost all of their big stars are household names (Mario, Zelda, Kirby, etc). To say that the plan to keep their big hits walled off by Nintendo hardware is bound to fail is more than a little foolish. I mean, how do we think they've lasted this long? It's always been like this, and it's always worked. The Wii U is a bad speed bump, but for this industry giant, that is ALL that this is. A speed bump. But that's not to say I don't personally share any sympathies with this stance. I'd love to play Metroid on my iphone or even see some original games created for this platform. It might even be possible, too, a while down the line. Although I think Nintendo CAN keep all their games behind the Wii and DS and still do well for themselves, I don't think they always will. I honestly think that once the generation that has owned and made Nintendo what it is today has passed, the people that move into these positions will be more flexible. I think that the awkwardness we've seen in this company over the past decade -- the motion gimmick of the Wii, the dual screens, the 3D gimmicks, the stupid Wii U tablet -- are the result of seeing a new mindset from a younger generation at Nintendo and Western ideas clashing with the more traditional minds that have controlled the company and its dedication to traditions. Our time will come. We just gotta wait for the new era. Blahblahbwah.
What's better than a good point? A beautifully crafted poetic counter point! That's what. Nicely said. I don't think hardware wise that Nintendo will fail. The DS series have surely bought them a little wiggle room for experimentation which they have done. I just think that Nintendo captured the family/gramdma audience with the Wii and that audience still has all they need from the Wii leaving the new generation of hardware focused on the young and hardcore Nintendo fans. I think the generation that grew up with Nintendo software may well have outgrown the hardware. So why not take a recapture them where the install base is highest, which surely is Ios. I thinks it's defienely a case, like you said of waiting for this new era of thinking. I just hope the wait isn't too long.
