Sony had to sell a building to stay afloat and many of Microsoft's executives want rid of the gaming division. They're not really in a better place despite having better console sales
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Nintendo shares plunge 6% by Monday close after trading as low as -18%
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Sony had to sell a building to stay afloat and many of Microsoft's executives want rid of the gaming division. They're not really in a better place despite having better console sales
You think last gen would have been shorter if the economy didn't crash and people really did buy more console games?
ecosse_011172
Junior Member
The bulk of that R&D cash could just be the new building.
lifeexpectancy
Member
I think a lot of people are tying way too much into the stock price and trying to apply it to the company as a whole.
I'm not saying Nintendo doesn't need a course correction, because they do. Hell, they need a whole new compass let alone a new course.
However, the stock price is a very emotionally-charged aspect of a company. Look at Apple when they dipped down into the 300s in share price not long ago. Everyone was calling doom and gloom, the end of the Apple reign, etc. Not me. And I fucking HATE Apple products. But I saw a company sitting on mounds of cash reserves and not going anywhere anytime soon.
I see the same thing with Nintendo, to a lesser extent. They don't have the cash reserves that Apple does, but they have IP reserves, and in the videogame biz tried and tested IPs are as good as cash.
Nintendo isn't going anywhere. They need to change, and desperately, but they aren't going anywhere.
I wouldn't mind at all if they go the route of Sega and become a 3rd party publisher, but at the same time I would be ecstatic if they release a REAL console that isn't a generation or more behind in tech, that supports the latest media both gaming and not, and that has an online infrastructure that isn't completely laughable, although the 3rd point isn't a must because TBH the games that Nintendo really does great are much more suited for couch co-op and group gatherings (Mario, Mario Kart) than they are for online play, or else they're mostly single-player affairs like Zelda.
But people prophesying doom just because the stock price dropped massively are forgetting one thing: shareholders are emotional, fickle beings. They despise bad news, and the 18% dip followed by a recovery and only a net loss of 6% speaks volumes to that.
If they keep going on the path they've been on, then yeah they'll buy themselves a quick ticket out of the video game biz. But if they make the changes that need to be made, they can bounce back from this.
I'm not saying Nintendo doesn't need a course correction, because they do. Hell, they need a whole new compass let alone a new course.
However, the stock price is a very emotionally-charged aspect of a company. Look at Apple when they dipped down into the 300s in share price not long ago. Everyone was calling doom and gloom, the end of the Apple reign, etc. Not me. And I fucking HATE Apple products. But I saw a company sitting on mounds of cash reserves and not going anywhere anytime soon.
I see the same thing with Nintendo, to a lesser extent. They don't have the cash reserves that Apple does, but they have IP reserves, and in the videogame biz tried and tested IPs are as good as cash.
Nintendo isn't going anywhere. They need to change, and desperately, but they aren't going anywhere.
I wouldn't mind at all if they go the route of Sega and become a 3rd party publisher, but at the same time I would be ecstatic if they release a REAL console that isn't a generation or more behind in tech, that supports the latest media both gaming and not, and that has an online infrastructure that isn't completely laughable, although the 3rd point isn't a must because TBH the games that Nintendo really does great are much more suited for couch co-op and group gatherings (Mario, Mario Kart) than they are for online play, or else they're mostly single-player affairs like Zelda.
But people prophesying doom just because the stock price dropped massively are forgetting one thing: shareholders are emotional, fickle beings. They despise bad news, and the 18% dip followed by a recovery and only a net loss of 6% speaks volumes to that.
If they keep going on the path they've been on, then yeah they'll buy themselves a quick ticket out of the video game biz. But if they make the changes that need to be made, they can bounce back from this.
lensoftruth
Member
New building was something like 16 billion yen, so not cheap at all.
Michael Pachter said:
I'm gonna be pedantic here. He hasn't really played many Wii U games if he thinks you can control all of them with touchscreen controls. It's only Nintendoland that can.
They should do more, revive old franchises as well, give the Nintendo fans of yesteryear more reason to go from lapsed to an actual buyer of a Nintendo system again, that also
fixes having to be exactly like MS/Sony content wise ( ie. not another sports/shooterbox)
3 or 4 Nintendo Titles from Mario or Zelda franchises alone won't do, they have such a treasure trove of old abandoned franchises to tap into that aren't the typical ones we gotten new installments of the last decade or so.
I really think the time is right for a Nintendo Smart Phone. They could totally upset the apple cart in that space.
Disruptive price, massive catalogue of virtual console games out on day one, with more coming every few weeks. Allow third parties to release on it too (obviously) so you still have Candy Crush and Temple Run or whatever it is people play on their phones these days.
They'll need a proper online account system though...
Disruptive price, massive catalogue of virtual console games out on day one, with more coming every few weeks. Allow third parties to release on it too (obviously) so you still have Candy Crush and Temple Run or whatever it is people play on their phones these days.
They'll need a proper online account system though...
No, I believe that's separate. It's still a massive drain, yeah, but I don't think it's a part of it.
Struggling a bit?
Seriously, who buys a phone for games? They buy the games because they have the phone.
I'd buy a phone for Nintendo games. Wouldn't you?
BrokenEchelon
Banned
And do what, run their own OS? Look at what a multibillion dollar company like Microsoft has accomplished in that space: 4% marketshare last I checked.
Nintendo would fail completely in the smartphone sector with their own hardware.
If they run Android on it, then they may as well just go the route of selling apps on Google Play
Why would he? Just get a 3DS
dripdripsplash
Member
Why are people against Nintendo software coming to other consoles btw ? Never understood the argument. A way to justify them wasting money on a WiiU ?
lifeexpectancy
Member
Despite my above statements about not calling doom for Nintendo I'm going to play devil's advocate. Almost (or is it over?) 7 million people bought either an XB1 or PS4 over the last 6 weeks in 2013. There may be some overlap here, but even a conservative estimate would say that there are at least 6 million current-gen console owners out there. Six friggin MILLION in six weeks.
OBVIOUSLY the hunger and desire for new console hardware was there. Why then did Nintendo not pull in any of those buyers in their year head-start? Why did they not pull in more buyers over the Holiday season despite being priced lower?
Simple answer: the tech in the Wii U is outdated, and it is simply not going to be able to keep on pace with the XB1 and PS4 over the coming years. Console buyers know this. If I want a racing fix I don't need F-zero to do it. Same goes for just about any other genre they could dig up from their old/abandoned franchises. Hell, even platforming is done (and done well) elsewhere. I can play Rayman Legends or Max: Curse of the Brotherhood on other systems. Sure it may not be exactly like SM3DW, but it scratches that itch.
My point is resurrecting old franchises is not going to bring the Wii U out of the proverbial ashes at this point. The only thing I could realistically see even sort of saving it is a price cut to $199, with the pro controller included and the tablet controller ditched completely in the $199 sku. Almost half of the people I game with have said, on numerous occassions, that they would buy into the Wii U if they could get that bundle for that price. But the thing is, because of the way the hardware is set up I don't think Nintendo can and/or is willing to sell it at that price right now.
No amount of games are going to save a system that is considered almost universally to be massively inferior to current gen with next to no 3rd party support and a controller that is a gimmick at best and completely unnecessary for the bulk of the games. People are either going to go for the 360/PS3 option for $100 cheaper, or they're going to go with an XB1/PS4 if they're part of the early adopter crowd.
A huge price cut coupled with a proper controller, ALONGSIDE resurrections of those old franchises, might save it. But even then it's largely going to be relegated to 2nd system status for a lot of people. And since I don't see the price cut coming unless there are some big hail mary decisions made at the Jan 30th meeting, I just don't see the Wii U being saved.
Nintendo is not doomed. But IMHO the Wii U is, at least for now.
Weilthain
Banned
Nintendo as they are now would release a phone without multi touch, specs about as powerful as a GBA, doesnt run facebook/twitter and has the same camera from the Dsi.
Virtual console would launch with Mario Bros, Ice Climber and Dk Jr. A new game nobody wants added every couple of months.
.....
I kid (not really...) but I just dont see how Nintendo could sell a phone to the mass market, based on virtual console alone.
I would totally buy a nintendo phone though, no matter how gimped it was. I dont see regular people being interested.
Investors and analysts are expecting the mobile announcement on the 30th. They're buying on the expectation. Anything else and the stock nosedives. Should be interesting to say the least.
Seriously? A phone or tablet would be the end for Nintendo.
Other than Nintendo fans who will want to play full Nintendo games(well assuming that Nintendo won't make its games "mobile") on the touchscreen of an overpriced and underpowered mobile device that probably won't have the support and the functionalities of an Android or IOS device?
Nintendo is a decades old console maker and is not even able to offer all the services of the other consoles, how can you think that Nintendo as an improvised phone/tablet maker will make a decent phone/tablet?
They should use Android, but then it would be easy to get Nintendo games running on other non-Nintendo Android devices.
Yes, you buy Nintendo consoles for mario and zelda etc they would sell even less if you could get those anywhere
Actually I'd buy a phone for the phone. Until my current model's battery starts failing I see no reason to upgrade it. It can run certain functionality apps perfectly fine which is all I need it for. Also since battery life is bad I'd rather have a dedicate machine for gaming so as not to waste my phone's battery. If my 3DS dies oh well. If my phone dies I might be buggered.
They like Nintendo output and knowing it all goes to only one system rather than being split amongst three (PS4, XBone, PC).
They'd also not want to have to buy an additional console for it if they bought a Wii U. Or will Sony or MS be kind and give all Wii U owners a free system?
It's mostly due to the bigger picture.
In theory, yes that would be nice potentially.
In practice, they'd have to significantly downsize. Since they have downsized, morale would be low and output would be reduced.
They'd also no longer get any hardware income which actually accounts for a significant portion of their income.
Due to their income relying on their software, they'd no longer take risks. We'd end up with annualised Mario (Mario series isn't actually annualised, contrary to belief), Pokémon and the occasional Zelda. All smaller IPs would be completely gone.
Plus, if they go multiformat, their world renowned polish will go. Multiplatform games always have a difference in quality between formats. For it to continue, Nintendo would have to focus solely upon one console, which is not a smart thing to do if you only rely on your software for income.
Well if so, they're going to be disappointed. If they actually paid attention, Iwata stated that it wouldn't happen, but media etc. are misreporting things left, right and centre.
Nintendo going 3rd party is only good news for people who want to play mario/zelda games on the console they allready own.
Nintendo fans know this would essentially kill all development of their more quirky games, as they wouldn't have the incentive to develop those. Often times these kind of games fill a certain niche in the nintendo portfolio, but would never make sense to release as a 3rd party because they wouldn't sell enough to be profitable.
Lastly, the landscape for 3rd party developers hasn't been pretty the last decade either. Sega/THQ/Capcom/Square are only a few of the big 3rd parties that are only a shell of their former self and got hit hard in the last generation, resulting in both financial loss and a decline in quality.
How do you use miiverse and the eshop with the remote?
It should run on Android. I dunno if it's feasible to create a separate Nintendo store exclusive to Nintablets that ties the purchase to your unique Nintablet ID. I guess it could be cracked, but that's no different from their handhelds. Maybe they can add triggers to the tablet which cannot easily be emulated by other touch screens.
In any case, I didn't say it was clever, I said I wanted it.
Drawing would be gimped, but people who'd want to draw could buy the gamepad.
Nicktendo86
Member
It is just not as easy as that, first of all they need supply chain partners, HTC have trouble getting the latest Snapdragon SoC as they are no longer regarded as a top tier OEM, what hope would Nintendo have? They would be forced to pay top dollar for each component and that will ruin any hope of making it a disruptive price. What OS should they have, Android? Nothing else will sell, and that would mean having to have the play store which will bring a lot of competition in terms of cheap time wasting games which Nintendo will not like. The whole idea would be a disaster.
plank
Member
You can't use miiverse and eshop without the gamepad.
Psycho_Mantis
Banned
What about the idea of Nintendo placing all their IP's on all platforms(PS4/XB1/PC) and keeping their handheld games exclusive to their hardware.
Basically just quit console gaming and become a third party in that sector.
People would think "Why should we buy a Nintendo device for the games on that when we can get them on these other devices"
you can't use a number of games without the gamepad either, but this would be assuming they could patch it in. Surely there isn't anything in miiverse and eshop that would be technically impossible with a wiimote pointer instead of the pad?
There is no partially 3rd party. Either you are or not. When you crossed that barrier it's over, you doomed your hardware as you created the expectation that you will put your games on other hardware anyhow. Just look how much damaged they have done with the price cut on 3ds in terms of expectations from future Nintendo hardware.
So, more costs to add on top.
Mithos
Member
Just as those who'd want to play Nintendo games could buy a Wii U, but we ain't seeing that happening.
Hyperbole. Their console business is absolutely dead. Their handheld business is dying. I don't believe the answer to their woes is to release traditional consoles or handhelds. That would be the end of Nintendo. A gaming tablet if done right could be a great product that could sell if Nintendo backed it properly.
If that were true, the handheld business would never have worked. Everyone would have bought a Nintendo console and ignored the handhelds for the same reasoning.
The mobile market - phone or tablet - is an extremely bloody ocean though.
Nintendo needs to focus on its core competency, and look for the blue oceans that are emerging or will emerge soon around that.
VR VR VR 
Nintendo main issue right now is surprisingly not Wii U, but the software. If you read the updated forecast from them, besides the lowered hardware sales there is the lowered income from software and that's what is hurting directly the P&L. That's why they are forecasting a loss now. So that's the main priority for now. They are not selling their software to their user base. Outside Japan specially. Even on 3ds. Look at US and UK, 3ds is the best selling platform and yet the no 3ds game is on the top 10 for 2013. The same with Wii U, besides Mario and Zelda, the other 1st party games have a lousy attach rate. Even for Pikmin 3 and LCU a 220-250k sales while not that bad is still subpar.
March of the Crabs
Member
I used Miiverse with a Pro Controller this morning.
How do gamers not benefit?
Giant Panda
Member
Just don't go mobile Nintendo. That would guarantee doom to them.
And you accuse HIM of hyperbole?? LOL
The mobile market - phone or tablet - is an extremely bloody ocean though.
Nintendo needs to focus on its core competency, and look for the blue oceans that are emerging or will emerge soon around that.
VR VR VR
I think Nintendo is uniquely positioned to offer a compelling tablet device that people will want to own. No major videogame company has released and supported a gaming tablet. Attempts at gaming tablets have all been jokes from two bit companies.
Nintendo should offer a very competent tablet at a reasonable price (fair margin, no gouging like the $250 3DS, not saying it can't be 250, just that 3DS was ridiculous)
1. Have Android as the OS
2. Have eshop exclusive to Nintendo tablets
3. Have an air card of sorts that beams video to the TV
4. Support wire-less controllers and snap on contollers. Perhaps even having slide-out controller interfaces (I think it is crucial to offer a sleek looking device. So no buttons and controls visible by either excluding them or hiding them)
Its like, ok Christmas. Parents need to get their kids something. It used to be a Nintendo handheld with teh pokey-mans. No one wants handhelds anymore. OMG LOOK Pokey-mans on this really great Android tablet.
*Iwata laughs*
dampflokfreund
Banned
How about that:
Sony gets Metroid, Mario, Kid Icarus, Pikmin, Zelda, Pokemon, Wave Race, Luigis Mansion, F-Zero, usw
Microsoft gets nothing.
Has good hardware margins *Iwata laughs*
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