44 replies to this topic

[Metal Ghost]

I honestly hadn't realized the extent of Nintendo's financial malaise. Always good to remember that such things tend to be very cyclical though. And if I'm doing the math correctly that would have swung to a profit had it not been for a very large foreign exchange loss. But nonetheless, the company is being very explicit about softer than expected hardware and software sales.

http://www.bloomberg...-3ds-price.html

[godslabrat]

Metal Ghost, on Thu Oct 27, 2011 8:54 AM, said:

Always good to remember that such things tend to be very cyclical though.

Yep. I'm waiting for the chorus of "They'll pull a Sega and go software-only" any minute now. We haven't heard that one since two days before the Wii launch.

[Reaperman]

Metal Ghost, on Thu Oct 27, 2011 8:54 AM, said:

I honestly hadn't realized the extent of Nintendo's financial malaise. Always good to remember that such things tend to be very cyclical though.

Yeah, but I'm not especially excited about anything that they have on the horizon (I was excited about the wii).
I'm sure big N has some money squirreled away, but many of their previous riches were probably paid as dividends.

I'm not saying it can't be reversed--I'm sure some are looking for an xmas miracle.

[Cybergoth]

Kinda expected. I didn't spend a single cent for Wii games the whole year.

[Tempest]

I think the rushed release of the 3DS and the lack of good Wii games lately have really hurt them. These days it seems that the Wii is quickly becoming the shovelware system and the few quality games that are released are getting lost in the shuffle. I also think that the rise in casual iPhone gaming has stolen a lot of their customers. Not to mention the whole 'motion craze' has died down.

Other than Skyward Sword I'm really not seeing much on the horizon that I really want to play. The 3DS gives me a headache so that's a no go for me.

[MagitekAngel]

Tempest, on Thu Oct 27, 2011 9:42 AM, said:

These days it seems that the Wii is quickly becoming the shovelware system and the few quality games that are released are getting lost in the shuffle.

Quickly becoming? The Wii has had this problem through its entire lifespan: the only difference now is that in addition to the never-ending parade of shovelware, the first party well has now dried up, too. It really makes me wonder why NoA won't own up and release those three RPGs over here - other than Zelda, what else exactly are they expecting us to buy from them this holiday?

I think one of the problems is that if it doesn't have Mario, Link, or Samus on the cover, Nintendo spends no money to promote it. I bought Monster Hunter Tri and Sin and Punishment and enjoyed them as the great exclusives they are. Nintendo, on the other hand, is convinced that I'd rather spend my money on Wii Party, or Wii Grocery Shopping, or Wii Tax Return.

[ComputerSpaceFan]

Most sites discussing this have pointed to the strong Yen being a major part of Nintendo's financial woes and they are predicting a loss of "only" 70 billion Yen instead of 100 billion

If I could whisper into Iwata or Reggie's ears I would tell them they seriously need to revamp their handheld business model or iOS will kill them and also as far as the WiiU goes, Nintendo need to focus their efforts into the online multiplayer / social network space which the Wii was sorely lacking or it's time to call it a day and close up shop.

Just my two cents.

I'm not a hater and I'm not a fanboy. I love the Wii but I can see where the industry is heading and my own interest in gaming is moving toward an XBox Live / PSN model. For some reason, Nintendo doesn't see this or refuse to aknowledge it and instead think a goofy tablet controller is the answer.

[Reaperman]

...Maybe it's time to 'unshelve' that GBA replacement that's been acknowledged to have existed. Modernize, if possible, and pray.
A 'Gameboy' just might be able to save them--hint, hint. Not that orphaning the fairly fresh 3ds is going to win them a lot of friends among current owners.

A new, grown up, card game for the pokemon generation could lessen some shortfalls too.
New game and watch games?
Pretty much too late to get any of that going for xmas though.

[Rex Dart]

You guys gotta drop this Gameboy fixation; it's been out, it was called the DS, it's now called the 3DS, get used to it.

[Reaperman]

Rex Dart, on Thu Oct 27, 2011 11:58 AM, said:

You guys gotta drop this Gameboy fixation; it's been out, it was called the DS, it's now called the 3DS, get used to it.

As an opinion, I guess I see the point. However there is some evidence that Nintendo actually was planning on following through on their 'gameboy and DS as parallel handheld lines,' statements.

Quote

Nintendo’s global president Satoru Iwata says the company did have another handheld gaming system complete at one point in the past three years, but ultimately decided not to release it.

(source) That would place an unreleased handheld somewhere in the 2006-2009 timeframe, which includes a period when there was a great expectation of information to be released on the 'next gameboy.' There was a lot of buzz going around at that time--rumored specs and the like. Most seemed to suggest specs along (these) lines.

(here) is another great link about the handheld to be released post-ds

Edited by Reaperman, Thu Oct 27, 2011 1:31 PM.

[wood_jl]

....and to think, after being the innovative-yet-value-brand for the last few years, the plan to get out of this is to sell handhelds (which have been supplanted by smartphones), and on [opposite to Wii pricing] overpriced Wii-U (or whatever) and absolutely ridiculously over-complex and overly-expensive ($100 per controller, anyone?) system.

Software-only would be cool, however. How many Mario games would they have sold if they'd done that some time ago?

[Animan]

Yeah, the strong Yen has been pretty bad lately.

I highly, highly doubt Nintendo will pull a Sega and go platform-agnostic. Sega was in a very different situation at that time.

[Metal Ghost]

I hadn't thought about how much extra controllers are going to cost for that Wii U....yea, likely to hit the wallet pretty hard. At the same time I don't think (and this is pure speulation) that you'r realy going to have to have the screen controller for a lot of live multiplayer. My hunch is that regular Wii controlls or the classic controller could be used for that though.

It will definitely be intersting to see how this all plays out. I was reading an article yesterday (sorry, can't seem to find link now....I think off of Joystiq) that made a good counter-points to the whole exchange rate issue. I'll have to try and find a link later.

[ComputerSpaceFan]

Animan, on Thu Oct 27, 2011 4:04 PM, said:

I highly, highly doubt Nintendo will pull a Sega and go platform-agnostic. Sega was in a very different situation at that time.

Nintendo is not Sega, but Joystiq has an interesting article that points out they do have something in common....

"You can build the best, most advanced and most visually appealing hardware ever devised by man and you will still crash and burn if you do not follow through with great games. This is a mistake that cost Sega their hardware business. It's also a trap that Nintendo has fallen into on three separate platforms, the GameCube, the Wii and now the 3DS."

[Rex Dart]

For crap's sake you won't need 4 touchpad controllers, just the one.

[Mord]

Cybergoth, on Thu Oct 27, 2011 9:39 AM, said:

Kinda expected. I didn't spend a single cent for Wii games the whole year.

I did, and I'm planning on picking up Skyward Sword next month. I don't really think the Wii is really the problem here. It's slowing down I don't doubt, but I don't think it's dragging the company down.

The 3DS however... I would probably put most of the blame on that thing right there. Maybe it's having a similar effect on the company as the Virtual Boy did after all. From the initial high price to the second analog attachment planned, etc, it's been nothing but a mess. The only 2 systems I was going to buy after the 360 and PS3 were the 3ds and vita. But various things about each have already made me close the doors on those as well.

[Mord]

wood_jl, on Thu Oct 27, 2011 3:41 PM, said:

....and to think, after being the innovative-yet-value-brand for the last few years, the plan to get out of this is to sell handhelds (which have been supplanted by smartphones), and on [opposite to Wii pricing] overpriced Wii-U (or whatever) and absolutely ridiculously over-complex and overly-expensive ($100 per controller, anyone?) system.

Software-only would be cool, however. How many Mario games would they have sold if they'd done that some time ago?

If they launched the WiiU with a packin of the next main Mario game, I suspect the console would be an instant hit. The only reason the Wii really took off in sales this generation was because of the huge influx of casual gamers that propped numbers up. If they really want to hook all the fanboys up instantly, they should bite the cost of developing the next mario game and bundle it.

Going software only however would basically mean a loss of revenue and an increase in headaches as they retrain their entire staff for other consoles.

[Mord]

Rex Dart, on Fri Oct 28, 2011 9:24 AM, said:

For crap's sake you won't need 4 touchpad controllers, just the one.

I would certainly hope so. Given the GC's tendency of not needing 4 Gamecube controllers for many 4 player games, but instead requiring 4 GBAs.

[godslabrat]

Mord, on Fri Oct 28, 2011 11:11 AM, said:

If they launched the WiiU with a packin of the next main Mario game, I suspect the console would be an instant hit. The only reason the Wii really took off in sales this generation was because of the huge influx of casual gamers that propped numbers up. If they really want to hook all the fanboys up instantly, they should bite the cost of developing the next mario game and bundle it.

I agree that a pack-in game would be ideal, and it should be a REAL game, not a minigame collection. Mario is the obvious choice. It would be awesome if the game could be a homage to the old-school pack-in games. Maybe the pack-in could be the WiiU version of Super Mario World... assuming Wii=NES and therefore WiiU=SNES.

That said, I have to wonder if there could be some other hot title that would be a worthy pack-in. Maybe the next Smash Bros., or Mario Kart...?

ComputerSpaceFan, on Fri Oct 28, 2011 9:04 AM, said:

Nintendo is not Sega, but Joystiq has an interesting article that points out they do have something in common....

"You can build the best, most advanced and most visually appealing hardware ever devised by man and you will still crash and burn if you do not follow through with great games. This is a mistake that cost Sega their hardware business. It's also a trap that Nintendo has fallen into on three separate platforms, the GameCube, the Wii and now the 3DS."

I'm confused. At what point was Nintendo ever accused of not putting great games on the Cube, Wii, and 3DS? That's practically the only thing no one disputes-- despite the 3rd-party shovelware, Nintendo's own games are always A-list titles.

[Mord]

godslabrat, on Fri Oct 28, 2011 11:23 AM, said:

ComputerSpaceFan, on Fri Oct 28, 2011 9:04 AM, said:

Nintendo is not Sega, but Joystiq has an interesting article that points out they do have something in common....

"You can build the best, most advanced and most visually appealing hardware ever devised by man and you will still crash and burn if you do not follow through with great games. This is a mistake that cost Sega their hardware business. It's also a trap that Nintendo has fallen into on three separate platforms, the GameCube, the Wii and now the 3DS."

I'm confused. At what point was Nintendo ever accused of not putting great games on the Cube, Wii, and 3DS? That's practically the only thing no one disputes-- despite the 3rd-party shovelware, Nintendo's own games are always A-list titles.

Additionally, I disagree that the lack of great games was the main contributing point to Sega crashing like they did. They had a LOT going against them, from internal strife/lawsuits to negative public image with how they kept dumping their own console every 2-3 years to release something new. Unlike Sega, Nintendo has a strong history of standing behind their consoles... Virtual boy aside. >_> At least that was the exception instead of the general rule, like in Sega's case.

[Rex Dart]

godslabrat, on Fri Oct 28, 2011 11:23 AM, said:

I'm confused. At what point was Nintendo ever accused of not putting great games on the Cube, Wii, and 3DS? That's practically the only thing no one disputes-- despite the 3rd-party shovelware, Nintendo's own games are always A-list titles.

While I understand that they're considered quality titles (I didn't care for 'em), I doubt you'll find many people who'll claim Wind Waker, Mario Sunshine, Double Dash, Wario World, or Donkey Kong Jungle Beat as their favorite entries in each respective series. I know this doesn't mean they're crap, but the GC was generally disappointing to most.

[NE146]

Here's some food for thought that most of you probably haven't considered unless you "think outside the box" such as myself.

My thought is they will probably pull a Sega and go software only. Discuss.

[Austin]

If they go software only, it will be a while. They still have to release the Wii U, which is a ways off in itself. Then you give that a few years (if it manages that long) and see where things go from there.

[ComputerSpaceFan]

Rex Dart, on Fri Oct 28, 2011 12:19 PM, said:

godslabrat, on Fri Oct 28, 2011 11:23 AM, said:

At what point was Nintendo ever accused of not putting great games on the ... 3DS?

I doubt you'll find many people who'll claim Wind Waker ... as their favorite entries in each respective series. I know this doesn't mean they're crap, but the GC was generally disappointing to most.

To Rex Dart I would say that I have heard some folks list Wind Waker as their favorite GC game, even though the art direction decision Nintendo made was initially met with disappointment. But to agree with Rex I have heard a lot of folks (check this month's Retrogaming Roundup podcastwhere they discuss controllers) say that the kiddy-centric look and releases Nintendo focused on put the GC at a bit of a disadvantage.
I bring up RGR's podcast because Scott Schrieber goes into detail about things like "the Terminator game" (I believe he's referring to Redemption) as an example of the kinds of games Nintendo mainly released in Europe and not North America, instead making mostly kiddy games for NA.

To godslabrat I would say Nintendo's three launch titles for 3DS answer your question perfectly.

[godslabrat]

ComputerSpaceFan, on Fri Oct 28, 2011 12:51 PM, said:

To godslabrat I would say Nintendo's three launch titles for 3DS answer your question perfectly.

To which I would say that judging any system based solely on its launch titles is a sucker punch, especially when done in the same breath as two other systems with 4+ year lifespans.