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[soldat7]

I don't know about that, so you say Apples greatest asset is a easily copied shop front.

All Nintendo need to have on their smartphone is a decent browser, a facebook and Twitter app alongside copies of a few hundred of the most popular ios apps, then add their own greatest asset - their glorious back cat - game over.

Perhaps Nintendo will do to Apple what they're about to do to HD twins with project cafe.

You're trivializing the problem a great deal. Think of Apple and Nintendo in terms of a Venn diagram, with the intersection being shared capability and feature offerings. It would be difficult, and likely impossible considering relative branding and userbase, for either company to simply outclass each other feature-for-feature with some unknown future device. Nintendo losing marketshare to Apple is a side-effect, one that I'm sure Apple gladly exploits, but not an original intention. Nintendo cannot simply come out with a better phone with a bunch of excellent gaming features and expect to 'win.' That's backwards thinking.

 

[krypt0nian]

You're trivializing the problem a great deal. Think of Apple and Nintendo in terms of a Venn diagram, with the intersection being shared capability and feature offerings. It would be difficult, and likely impossible considering relative branding and userbase, for either company to simply outclass each other feature-for-feature with some unknown future device. Nintendo losing marketshare to Apple is a side-effect, one that I'm sure Apple gladly exploits, but not an original intention. Nintendo cannot simply come out with a better phone with a bunch of excellent gaming features and expect to 'win.' That's backwards thinking.

Add to that most non-gaming people would look at a Nintendo phone with derision.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Yeah I was wondering, especially since they helped on Sword & Sworcery. Anyways, if it comes, out, I'll definitely rebuy it for iOS.


Well like I said in my post, it's all about the user base (the actual store front doesn't mean anything). If you have 100 million users of the device that likely already own games & apps for it, why would they abandon their purchases in anticipation of a Nintendo "app store?" Even if they did buy into Nintendo's effort, it's very unlikely that they would just forget about the Apple app store and stop making purchases for it.

Brand loyalty is fickle in this day and age, people upgrade their phones every one or two years.

I reckon if Nintendo released a smartphone they'd encroach into Apples market share of smart phones as much if not more then Apples advance into the handheld video game market.

 

[commish]

Brand loyalty is fickle in this day and age, people upgrade their phones every one or two years.

I reckon if Nintendo released a smartphone they'd encroach into Apples market share of smart phones as much if not more then Apples advance into the handheld video game market.

That doesn't even make sense. Why would Nintendo's phone succeed? Because of Pokemon?

 

[jman2050]

Brand loyalty is fickle in this day and age, people upgrade their phones every one or two years.

I reckon if Nintendo released a smartphone they'd encroach into Apples market share of smart phones as much if not more then Apples advance into the handheld video game market.

I'm doubt Nintendo has the infrastructure to do something like create a smart phone. It's not as simple as making a phone and slapping an OS on it, there are tons additional issues and challenges Nintendo would have to work with in addition to everything they're already doing in the games space.

 

[Interfectum]

I reckon if Nintendo released a smartphone they'd encroach into Apples market share of smart phones as much if not more then Apples advance into the handheld video game market.

Uh... no. Nintendo releasing a smartphone would be disastrous.

 

[Stumpokapow]

Brand loyalty is fickle in this day and age, people upgrade their phones every one or two years.

I reckon if Nintendo released a smartphone they'd encroach into Apples market share of smart phones as much if not more then Apples advance into the handheld video game market.

Brand loyalty for phones is higher than it's ever been specifically due to content ownership.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Add to that most non-gaming people would look at a Nintendo phone with derision.

Why?

Most people that buy iPhones surely have played a game on it and thus are gamers?

 

[SmokyDave]

The Cave shooters are touch controls in a traditional genre done perfectly. I honestly prefer it to d-pad, topped only by a nice arcade stick. The only problem is the friction build up if you slide too much rather than rolling your finger.

I'm surprised at the responsiveness of League of Evil too. That one doesn't match the d-pad but it's much better than I expected.

 

[Vinci]

Nintendo isn't going to make a smartphone, FFS. It's not in their competencies to do so, nor is Apple ever going to compete against Nintendo head-to-head with gaming software for the exact same reason. These companies are both smarter than people are giving them credit for: They know what they can do, what they're good at doing, and where those two aspects converge or don't.

 

[krypt0nian]

Why?

Most people that buy iPhones surely have played a game on it and thus are gamers?

Most people that buy phones are not gamers and would see it as a phone to play games ie for children.

And what makes you think they could make a quality OS? They've never done one yet.

 

[dream]

League of Evil is a great example of touch screen controls done right. The game requires nearly Super Meat Boy levels of precision at times and when you fail, you feel like it's your fault rather than blaming imprecise controls.

 

[Tobor]

I just imagined adding all my contacts via Friend codes. /barfs

 

[Jokeropia]

Well it certainly looks a lot worse for Nintendo on the chart.

That's because 19% of the DS share is much more than 19% of the PSP share.

 

[FoneBone]

Nintendo doing a smartphone is beyond a stupid idea. Period. It doesn't matter what your fanboy allegiance (or lack thereof) is.

 

[Captain Chaos]

I'm doubt Nintendo has the infrastructure to do something like create a smart phone. It's not as simple as making a phone and slapping an OS on it, there are tons additional issues and challenges Nintendo would have to work with in addition to everything they're already doing in the games space.

But this is Iwata we're talking about?

What's he been upto with all that profit and whopping r & d budgets? cause he certainly didn't spend it on in house development of wii titles - most of it was third partied out, even OOT, their big 3DS title this year has been farmed out!

I bet it's project cafe and a smartphone.

 

[poppabk]

I just imagined adding all my contacts via Friend codes. /barfs

Yeah imagine a phone where all your contacts had to supply you with a number unique to their device if you want to contact them.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Nintendo doing a smartphone is beyond a stupid idea. Period. It doesn't matter what your fanboy allegiance (or lack thereof) is.

just talking...

 

[krypt0nian]

But this is Iwata we're talking about?

What's he been upto with all that profit and whopping r & d budgets? cause he certainly didn't spend it on in house development of wii titles - most of it was third partied out, even OOT, their big 3DS title this year has been farmed out!

I bet it's project cafe and a smartphone.

How much money would you like to lose on that fool's bet? Yes, it's Iwata and thank your gods that's he's not as business illiterate as you seem to be.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Yeah imagine a phone where all your contacts had to supply you with a number unique to their device if you want to contact them.

slowly but surely Nintendo are getting rid of those barriers to use.

 

[Captain Chaos]

How much money would you like to lose on that fool's bet? Yes, it's Iwata and thank your gods that's he's not as business illiterate as you seem to be.

Perm Ban bet.

I bet within 5 years Nintendo brings out a smartphone.

 

[Quadrangulum]

But this is Iwata we're talking about?

What's he been upto with all that profit and whopping r & d budgets? cause he certainly didn't spend it on in house development of wii titles - most of it was third partied out, even OOT, their big 3DS title this year has been farmed out!

I bet it's project cafe and a smartphone.

Nintendo's an amazingly small company with less employees than publishers like EA and Activision. They're strained just in maintaining and supporting their own systems with a steady stream of software. Those R&D figures are dwarfed by the corresponding expenditures of CE giants like Apple.

 

[bob page]

Perm Ban bet.

I bet within 5 years Nintendo brings out a smartphone.

Farewell, sweet prince.

 

[Interfectum]

Perm Ban bet.

I bet within 5 years Nintendo brings out a smartphone.

Goin' balls out. I like it.

 

[Vinci]

Perm Ban bet.

I bet within 5 years Nintendo brings out a smartphone.

Dude, if you want to get perma'd, just call Evilore's mother a name or something, or tell him his computer system looks like a baby's crib. Just get to it.

Nintendo's an amazingly small company with less employees than publishers like EA and Activision. They're strained just in maintaining and supporting their own systems with a steady stream of software. Those R&D figures are dwarfed by the corresponding expenditures of CE giants like Apple.

Actually, Apple's R&D budgets are relatively small compared to many of its competitors.

 

[charlequin]

Nintendo isn't going to make a smartphone, FFS. It's not in their competencies to do so, nor is Apple ever going to compete against Nintendo head-to-head with gaming software for the exact same reason. These companies are both smarter than people are giving them credit for: They know what they can do, what they're good at doing, and where those two aspects converge or don't.

I say this all the time!

The big thing that Nintendo has is a rock-solid core competency in actually making game software. Apple will never have that and never even try to.

Conversely, Nintendo would never, ever succeed at making a phone and will never, ever try.

 

[krypt0nian]

Perm Ban bet.

I bet within 5 years Nintendo brings out a smartphone.

That's an easy one. There is no way Nintendo is bringing out a smartphone. No partnerships or branding like Sony and android. A Nintendo developed and produced smartphone.

Not a chance. Get a hold of yourself and stop drinking the Mushroom Kingdom koolaid, son. I gave that up after the amazing Gamecube.

 

[JoDark]

Apple's biggest asset isn't something which I see brought up much.

Hand me downs.

As we get 2-3 years past the 3GS, I see a lot of families upgrade to 4's, and hand down their
3Gs' to their young kids as iPod/Gameboy replacements. Sometimes REALLY young. Then they share apps in the family. The phone is now a free iPod, and the kid is seen as cool for having one.

There are millions of iPhone's either in this state now, or soon to be.

How can a 3DS compete with this? Sure it doesn't play Pokemon (blurry in the 3DS' case!, but it plays final fantasy, and a TON of great games. I have enjoyed handheld games for years, and bought a 3DS day one. It now sits as I play iPhone games on the go, and iPad games at home while watching TV.

My console gaming? Alive and well. My Handheld gaming? Mostly iGamer now thanks. I will buy an NDS, but if it's filled with $40 games like the 3DS, it will likely be in the same state as the 3DS. Buying 5-10 iGames a week (mostly $1, some 3-5) is no problem, I do it all the time. Buying a $40portable game feels like a ripoff in comparison. I will only buy the absolute best of the best when the comparative price is so dramatic.

I will buy the PSN version of FF IV complete tomorrow as an example. But I really wish it was coming to the iPad. Probably my last PSP game pre-NGP.

 

[Vinci]

That's an easy one. There is no way Nintendo is bringing out a smartphone. No partnerships or branding like Sony and android. A Nintendo developed and produced smertphone.

Not a chance.

Why are you throwing in modifiers? Nintendo's not going to make a smartphone even with Droid. There's simply no reason for them to do so.

 

[Interfectum]

The big thing that Nintendo has is a rock-solid core competency in actually making game software. Apple will never have that and never even try to.

I think even Apple is surprised gaming took off like it did on the platform. The closed marketplace, the fact that the hardware is all so similar, decent tech and the low price of entry created a perfect storm for games to take off.

 

[Graphics Horse]

That's an easy one. There is no way Nintendo is bringing out a smartphone. No partnerships or branding like Sony and android. A Nintendo developed and produced smartphone.

Not a chance. Get a hold of yourself and stop drinking the Mushroom Kingdom koolaid, son. I gave that up after the amazing Gamecube.

Apple x Nintendo would be the only way, and Nintendo's viability as a handheld manufacturer would have to be completely crushed before that happened.

 

[krypt0nian]

Why are you throwing in modifiers? Nintendo's not going to make a smartphone even with Droid. There's simply no reason for them to do so.

Because there's a minuscule chance they might enter into some partnership. They've done things like that before. But that wouldn't be a Nintendo phone.

 

[Vinci]

Apple's biggest asset is that it's a very focused company with deeply-seeded core principles that it follows religiously. In essence, its employees have complete faith in what the company is doing. This is a very rare quality for a company to have. It also makes such an entity extremely dangerous to those who are less focused and apply their abilities more loosely across a huge variety of trendy markets or product segments.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Because there's a minuscule chance they might enter into some partnership. They've done things like that before. But that wouldn't be a Nintendo phone.

So you're telling me there's a chance!

 

[krypt0nian]

So you're telling me there's a chance!

For a Nintendo phone, nope. For them to license out a game or two one day, minuscule.

 

[bob page]

Apple's biggest asset is that it's a very focused company with deeply-seeded core principles that it follows religiously. In essence, its employees have complete faith in what the company is doing. This is a very rare quality for a company to have. It also makes such an entity extremely dangerous to those who are less focused and apply their abilities more loosely across a huge variety of trendy markets or product segments.

Ahem... Sony.

Just look at what happened with the Playstation Phone (ie. Xperia Play). The Sony product lines are so divided that not even the Playstation brand could save it. In this day & age, you can't just slop together a phone and overlook certain qualities. Everything has to be there: hardware, software, UI, etc).

 

[hyp]

Apple's biggest asset isn't something which I see brought up much.

Hand me downs.

so true. my 3 year old has my iphone 1G and ipad 1. hahah.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Apple's biggest asset is that it's a very focused company with deeply-seeded core principles that it follows religiously. In essence, its employees have complete faith in what the company is doing. This is a very rare quality for a company to have. It also makes such an entity extremely dangerous to those who are less focused and apply their abilities more loosely across a huge variety of trendy markets or product segments.

You could swap Apple for Nintendo there.

 

[Of All Trades]

Brand loyalty for phones is higher than it's ever been specifically due to content ownership.

That doesn't mean that brand loyalty for smartphones is meaningful, especially since disabling the phone aspect has no effect on the non-communications aspects. I can "abandon" my iPhone and still play Dungeon Raid or Stick Golf at home, just as PS2 owners "abandoned" their PS2 games to play Call of Duty or Wii Sports.

This goes doubly for a platform that is heavily driven by the low cost of content, thereby marginalizing the cost of replacement.

Well, we can certainly disagree. I think there are more than enough quality titles to justify what I said.

To be clear, you think there are more than enough RPG and strategy games on iOS that can compete with with the quality of DS/PSP RPG and strategy games (I'm being nice and excluding console/PC) to the extent that you can declare that touch-based controls are superior?

 

[Vinci]

You could swap Apple for Nintendo there.

I don't completely disagree with that. However, that similarity in fanatic devotion to the company's strategy and perspective on the future does not make the companies' strategies or perspectives the same. It took Apple a very long time to build up the skills it is applying now, just as it took Nintendo a very long time to build up its skills. Their skills are not the same, so neither is going to attempt to directly compete with the other because they would be operating as a massive disadvantage.

 

[commish]

I say this all the time!

The big thing that Nintendo has is a rock-solid core competency in actually making game software. Apple will never have that and never even try to.

Conversely, Nintendo would never, ever succeed at making a phone and will never, ever try.

You do realize how many people said this about Apple before the iphone, right? Another core competency of Nintendo is that they are great at making portable electronic devices that sell in the millions.

I don't think Nintendo will make a smartphone anytime soon, but if the future of mobile gaming is smartphones (very possible/probable), I can't see Nintendo just ignoring that and continuing to release handheld gaming systems and charging $35 to $40 a game. The next five years will be pretty interesting in mobile gaming.

 

[Captain Chaos]

That's an easy one. There is no way Nintendo is bringing out a smartphone. No partnerships or branding like Sony and android. A Nintendo developed and produced smartphone.

Not a chance. Get a hold of yourself and stop drinking the Mushroom Kingdom koolaid, son. I gave that up after the amazing Gamecube.

Well I sit here typing on a iPad, texting on my iphone with the 3ds in the drawer.

5 years from today we'll see a Nintendo handheld portable device which is could be classed as smart and has phone functionality.

 

[Captain Chaos]

I don't completely disagree with that. However, that similarity in fanatic devotion to the company's strategy and perspective on the future does not make the companies' strategies or perspectives the same. It took Apple a very long time to build up the skills it is applying now, just as it took Nintendo a very long time to build up its skills. Their skills are not the same, so neither is going to attempt to directly compete with the other because they would be operating as a massive disadvantage.

Well, I think they are in direct competition with each other and recent comments by Iwata and bullish timing of apples developers conference proves that.

 

[Slayven]

I hope this inspires devs to step their game up. The vast majority of smartphone games are shit and clones of shit.

 

[Vinci]

Well, I think they are in direct competition with each other and recent comments by Iwata and bullish timing of apples developers conference proves that.

Apple is making video games itself? Nintendo is a general consumer electronics company? It's true that they are indirectly competing with one another, but they are not directly competing with one another. There is a difference.

If you like Iwata's comments, he once stated that he considers newspapers and internet sites to be indirectly competing against his products as well.

 

[dream]

Well I sit here typing on a iPad, texting on my iphone with the 3ds in the drawer.

5 years from today we'll see a Nintendo handheld portable device which is could be classed as smart and has phone functionality.

"Smart and has phone functionality" is kind of loaded though. You can browse the web and make voice calls with a PSP-2000, after all.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Apple is making video games itself? Nintendo is a general consumer electronics company? It's true that they are indirectly competing with one another, but they are not directly competing with one another. There is a difference.

If you like Iwata's comments, he once stated that he considers newspapers and internet sites to be indirectly competing against his products as well.

You're adding itself, I'm talking about the thread title.

Surely Nintendo are a general consumer electronics company as much as apple?

 

[Captain Chaos]

You do realize how many people said this about Apple before the iphone, right? Another core competency of Nintendo is that they are great at making portable electronic devices that sell in the millions.

I don't think Nintendo will make a smartphone anytime soon, but if the future of mobile gaming is smartphones (very possible/probable), I can't see Nintendo just ignoring that and continuing to release handheld gaming systems and charging $35 to $40 a game. The next five years will be pretty interesting in mobile gaming.

Yes.

Was beginning to think I'd drunk too much red stripe for a minute there.

 

[Warm Machine]

The question is, where does Nintendo go from here? If they are not making a phone but phone manufacturers continue to eat more of the mobile video game space what are their options?

 

[Skilletor]

Yeah imagine a phone where all your contacts had to supply you with a number unique to their device if you want to contact them.

:lol

Oh, this made me laaaaaugh.