Nintendo’s President Satoru Iwata Announces Online Gaming Network
flarevine.comAlmost anything is a step up from "hi there, I'm AJ3F532FDSAD. In this game. What's your name?"*
* you can't actually ask them that, since you can't talk.
Sure you can, you can encode information as gestures/taunts. So for four taunts, you have a base-4 encoding. It's great!
Is it simply hubris that makes a Japanese company like Nintendo think they cannot release their IP's on other platforms? Look at Sega, they were almost done before they stopped developing expensive hardware to ultimately released their games on all platforms. Nintendo's stash of IP's far exceeds Sega's and everyone elses except Disney.
Nintendo should be raking in cash from all directions at this point, their strategy makes absolutely no sense.
These last two quarters are the only ones in Nintendo's long history in which they haven't made a profit. Nintendo does rake in cash from all directions. They're a very successful company and they have an excellent business model.
Sega going 3rd party was their only option other then to go bankrupt. The situation is not comparable.
The situations are very much comparable. Nintendo may have a lot more buffer than Sega did but it is still fighting an uphill battle now.
The time to pivot is not when you've hit rock bottom, it's not even when you have peaked, it's when you've past the inflection point, well before you've peaked. And Nintendo is already well past that point. They are seeing incredibly robust competition for every aspect of their business: casual and party games, motion based games, mobile gaming, etc. The core strength of Nintendo, which has aided them in past attempts at pivoting, is their 1st party IP: Zelda, Mario, Pokemon, Metroid, etc. But that will only get them so far, and won't save them if they make serious strategic blunders or fail to keep up with the competition. Nintendo still has options now, but will they still have those options in 5 or 10 years?
Is it simply hubris that makes a Japanese company like Nintendo think they cannot release their IP's on other platforms?
No
Why are you of the belief that Nintendo needs to bow out of the hardware business? I could see this line of thinking in... 2004? But in the last 5 years Nintendo has seen wildly uncontrolled profits rolling in from the DS and Wii. The 3DS is beginning to pick up now too, after a slow launch.
Nintendo has a viable, innovative product in the gaming industry. They make games for their platform because their platform is unique and their games take advantage of that. Because of this, they are raking in cash from all directions.
Because 2011 was incredibly rough on Nintendo -- they lost $500 million last year. Even Nintendo says that Apple and Facebook (iOS and Facebook games) are a huge reason for this first-in-a-generation-loss, and let's face it, they're doing jack shit to accommodate a changing industry.Why are you of the belief that Nintendo needs to bow out of the hardware business?What has Nintendo done for a long time? A console, a handheld, fill it full of first party games.
So, even though they fully admit that these huge losses are because of an industry that is fundamentally changing, what is their strategy?
A console*, a handheld and fill them full of first party titles.
Oh, except this time, the console will have a controller that sports a huge touchscreen, so clearly they're taking on iOS (this is sarcasm).
Yeah, that massive loss of -$500,000,000 they raked in last year must be soothing investor worries...>Because of this, they are raking in cash from all directions.R&D isn't free. Companies lose a lot of money at the start of a hardware cycle, this always happens to everyone. The Wii has sold 90m units and unlike their competitors, Nintendo makes a profit on every unit sold. In the past year they've had the 3DS and the Wii U in development. That's an investment.
iOS isn't the competitor to the Wii U. Making the Wii U more "iOS-like" would not change a thing (except lose more money for Nintendo). While the handheld market is dying, the console market is very much alive, and Nintendo has no competition.
Every generation, someone declares Nintendo dead. This happened even with the NES, when entering the video game market was a death sentence for any company. Something tells me you don't know a single thing about the console industry.
"Something tells me you don't know a single thing about the console industry."
It takes a fanboy to swallow a FIVE HUNDRED MILLION loss without batting an eyelash.
Something tells me you don't know a single thing about business or investing.
Nintendo can't win at consoles and lose at business all day long. Unlike Sony and Microsoft, they can't be loss leaders. Xbox can run 500,000,000$ losses and be fine.
Nintendo can't.
You know what the difference between past-Nintendo haters and new ones?
In the past, Nintendo ALWAYS profited. Every weak console = profit. They have never lost $500,000,000 in a single year.
But hey, MASSIVE losses are nothing, right?
"iOS isn't the competitor to the Wii U."
iOS is the competitor to everyone. It's easy to pretend that niches aren't connected, but they are. With every brand of entertainment it's about money and time. You can't spend money and time that you've already spent elsewhere. If iOS games are first past the gate and successfully use up everyone's money/time allocations for gaming then they win. Regardless of whether they are competing against other touch-based games, casual games, or first-person shooters, MMOs, and even movies.
People have been declaring Nintendo to be on the ropes for the last few console generations. But that doesn't excuse the fact that Nintendo is facing far more serious competition than they ever have before, and they don't appear to be keeping up. Nintendo's previous problems were of the "not making as much money as fast as other companies were, for a while" sort, now they are seeing actual losses. Nintendo got lucky with the Wii. They innovated their asses off and came up with something that resonated with a new, larger gaming market. But now their innovation has stalled out, while that market segment is being cannibalized by other folks.
If Nintendo were trying something truly innovative (like the DS or the Wii) then perhaps there would be justification for people to mute their criticism to some degree, and give them the benefit of the doubt, but that doesn't appear to be the case. They appear to be flailing and clueless, that's not a good sign.
> But now their innovation has stalled out, while that market segment is being cannibalized by other folks....
...he says, on the eve of the next generation of consoles, four months before they'll be fully detailed and fleshed out.
When E3 rolls around, come back to this post and we'll see who was right.
Comparing Sega to Nintendo these days is like comparing DuckDuckGo to Google.
I.e., idiotic.
The worst thing Nintendo can do is to release their IP on other platforms. That's like saying Apple should start releasing software for Android.
They are really late to the game. Apple, Google, and Amazon are still on a trajectory to eating Nintendo's lunch completely.
Until Nintendo announces specifics for developers as well as the percentage take they'll get, it's hard to get excited. I'd be really surprised if they even allow indy devs in like the App Stores, and also if they don't charge 4-10k per dev kit.
I think I'll reserve judgement until it becomes available. There were similar comments when the Wii was announced and look what happened there.
Sony, Microsoft, and Valve have gaming networks. Apple has a new one. Google and Amazon don't really have one yet, but they do sell games.
Nintendo already support Indy games in WiiWare. My boys 7 & 10 love their 3DSs & Wii and rarely use the the iPod touch or XBox. Nintendo is after a younger market. There is lots of room for them. They have been pronounced "nearly dead" many times.
I don't feel that they'll ever die either. It'll just be another Gamecube period that they're entering.
Their indy catalog pales in comparison to their competitor's catalogs. Not to mention the pricing sucks in general
More accurate would be comparing to the N64. The [N64|3DS] came out using overpriced, relatively low storage cartridges when [Sony/Sega|Apple/Amazon] moved to [CD-ROM|cloud!] which is cheaper, more powerful, and allowed for easier distribution; as well as their competitors being easier to write for.
In Nintendo's market cartridges are an advantage. Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt & Uncle want to give a tangible present, not a gift card or "points". It is not about the technology, it is about the experience. I'm a dad, Nintendo has nailed it.
How many indy games target 4-10 year olds? Pricing doesn't matter as long as it is an affordable birthday present for grandma, grandpa, aunts, etc.
Actually a lot. Currently there are hundreds of titles on Apple's store. I wouldn't doubt if Google had a similar number. Have you seen the library for iPad and iPhone?
Nintendo doesn't need developers, they own the most beloved franchises in gaming.
Talk about too little too late. 90% of my gaming is on iOS, with the remaining 10% reserved for blockbusters on 360 or ps3. Nintendo is the next RIMM in terms of company direction. The Wii U will officially usher in the next "Gamecube" era. Sad times for Mario fans.
I think Nintendo has three advantages in the mobile-space (Nintendo 3DS vs. iOS/Android). #1, Nintendo-branded games. They're the "Disney" of video games, and have a large loyal following.
#2, dedicated gaming controls. Certain games need D-pads, analog sticks, and tactile buttons. Hard-wired controllers allow for more accurate control, and are essential in some "twitch-based" video games. Touchscreen's are phenomenally good for some types of games like board games and Angry Birds, but terrible for others like platformers and FPS's.
#3 is price. $40/$30 for a new game is extremely expensive for iOS games, but not 3DS ones. This may attract bigger budget games to the 3DS since developers/publishers could potentially make more on the 3DS than on iOS/Android. This can be considered a disadvantage too, since consumers may be deciding between one $40 3DS game, or 40 $0.99 iOS games. 3DS games will have to offer more perceived-value to justify premium pricing.
Currently I see #2, controls, as the biggest problem in the mobile-phone gaming space, which is why you're seeing 3rd-party solutions (iCade, 60beat GamePad, etc). Since 3rd-party solutions are not widely adopted and will result in high fragmentation, it'll probably require Apple or Google to design and release an "official" controller of some sort (ideally built into each device). If this never happens, there will still be a clear distinction between "portable gaming system" and "portable mobile phone/tablet".
Another of these "this thing is dead" pronouncements. Those tend to turn out wrong.
RIMM? Really? So you think Nintendo's new market strategy is to run around suing everybody over questionable technology ownership claims? Because that's RIMM. I'm not getting the comparison.
EDIT: wait, RIMM, wrong company in my head. I would still disagree with the comparison though.
Too little too late? Is that in general or just for you? Because I don't assume to guess the future of the market based on such a small sample size.
Yup, your iOS gaming really hurt the sales of the Wii, a product that is only slowing down in sales because everyone owns one already.
They are the better part of an entire decade late on this. And now they have to compete against entrenched competitors with that much more development, improvement, and network effect accumulation in their favor.
To be honest, I sort of wish Nintendo would just give up making consoles and stick to making and release games for other systems.
The Wii had much success in the market without much if any online presence. Nintendo has always been precautions of online due to their younger user base, but obviously they need to be in that space.
The good new for Nintendo is that its not Millions (xbox live or PSN) vs Zero, Nintendo has millions of consoles out there, and Wii U will probably sell millions of consoles as well, especially with the added value of an online network.
All Nintendo needs to do to catch up in the online space is sell a bunch of consoles.
I for one, am glad to see Nintendo fight the good fight. The world doesn't need any more Nokia's or Palm's.
How many people are going to want a WiiU when their iPad and iTV do similar things... they best price the WiiU extremely competitively! But how can they release a quality touchscreen controller without it costing bank? Controllers WITHOUT a screen, but still full of sensors already cost consumers $40-$60! Add in that screen and all the bits to power it... how can this controller cost less than $100/pop? How could they sell a multiplayer budget family console with $100 controllers?
People vastly underplay the importance of cost in consoles. Family game developers will target any platform families use. An expensive WiiU will finish the job that an expensive 3DS started -- it will kill Nintendo.
"All Nintendo needs to do to catch up in the online space is sell a bunch of consoles."
Selling consoles is not synonymous with people using their online service. Moreover, there is no guarantee that even Nintendo will be able to sell a significant number of consoles.
There are several huge competitors in online gaming currently, with more competition arriving and maturing every day. XBox Live, Steam, and Battle.net all have tens of millions of users and offer a robust set of features: social networking (friends lists), online game purchasing and digital distribution, online multiplayer and grouping with friends, text and voice based chat, achievements systems, etc.
Digital distribution and selling of non-physical items have enormous profit margins and low per-item operating costs. They are clearly the wave of the future for all software, especially gaming, yet Nintendo is only just now barely even flirting with the idea. "Catching up" to Steam and XBL doesn't just mean achieving the same number of online users, it means achieving the same level of revenue and the same level of brand credibility from the rest of the industry.
All Nintendo has to do is add online play through this network to the next Mario game.