By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Nintendo going mobile was NOT their most important announcement.

DélioPT on 26 March 2015
spemanig said:
DélioPT said:
There are also other interesting ideas on how Nintendo can help pull mobile users to consoles.
For example, Mario Maker.

Content creation would be a compelling way to convince people to buy a console.
Experimenting on a HC or HH what you can create on a mobile device can give you that fulfilling feeling. And who doesn't like that? Who doesn't like creating good things?

People who grew up with Mario would probably be willing to take another chance on consoles if they could re-create what they loved to play as kids.

Or, what if you could create and develop characters for little adventures on mobile and have full blown adventures on a HH and HC?
"Start small" on mobile and then offer something bigger or even diferente types of adventure on HH and HC!
Adventures that offer co-op too.

Those 3DS streetpass games come to mind.


Overall, i think the best way to attract gamers might just be if they create games that "start small" on mobile and then go big on consoles or just create games that are a mix of gameplay mechanics but do complement each other.

Creating a sinergy between all devices might be the best way to attract mobile users to consoles.


I think that that will be an interesting issue for Nintendo to tackle. This is relevant for the mainstream, non-gamer, audience, but how can Nintendo get gamers to care, and do they even need to? I think that this, will in many ways, be like the Wii. I think that is was refreshing for a lot of gamers to be able to connect with there non-gaming friends while the Wii was out. It became such a cultural phenomenon, that everyone had an experience with games like Wii Sports. As cheesy as it sounds, I think that will be enough. Teens being able to connect with their parents directly through this hobby they love.

But outside of that, I think that it's important remember that this is specifically a rewards program. Who were the only people who cared about Club Nintendo or the Digital Deluxe Program? The hardest of core Nintendo fans. That's not to say that this membership will appeal only to them, but it's clearly birthed from a concept mean to reward the most dedicated gaming consumers.

I think that you're going to see games that stay small on mobile. I think you'll see a lot more mobile games that lead to slightly deeper mobile games, as opposed to someone playing iPokemon Shuffle immediately jumping to dedicated gaming hardware. I think you'll see something like Pokemon Shuffle lead someone to something like Pokemon "Tower Defense," which has a little more strategy, requires just a little more commitement, and maybe even has a little linear plot to give the experience a little more meaning. Then from there, people can get more used to the idea of gaming being an important recreational practice, with the same relevance as TV or movies. With enough of these smaller, but more deep experiences, the hope will be that these consumers will be more open to the ideas of gaming on dedicated hardware in general, and gaming on Nintendo hardware in particular, now that they've created a library and a new attachment to the brand.


What you are saying is very imporant that it happens, but if Nintendo really wants people to transition from mobile to dedicated gaming devices (that is the plan, afterall) they need something more then brand empathy, be it because they are connected to the NN (always a tool to lower the barrier, as someone above mentioned) or because they play a game that features Nintendo's IPs.
They need something with actual and real consequences.

I think the real weapon will be when Nintendo starts making games that can co-exist on both platforms and what you do on one affects the other.

The Mii plaza games could become bigger and with more features on a console; An adventure game with side quests on mobile that can influence a game on the home console/handheld.
In a sense, it's like having amiibo (mobile quests and characters) bring something new to your main game.
You get more of the main game experience if you play a mobile game of the same IP.

It would be like making the game a platform.

That's the spirit that Nintendo should persue.



Around the Network
DanneSandin on 26 March 2015
Tachikoma said:
DanneSandin said:

You told me a year ago that Nintendo and Sony were teaming up to make a smartphone... 

Fucking Tamron man, when he gets back here I'm going to cut off his balls.

He gets TOO much enjoyment out of trolling you.

Yeeeaaahhh it must feel real good to have a scape goat ^^ I hope he read the bolded part ;)



I'm on Twitter @DanneSandin!

Furthermore, I think VGChartz should add a "Like"-button.

DanneSandin on 26 March 2015
Tamron said:
Tachikoma said:

Lolol, that's what you get for joking with friends in public :P

I have mod protection biatches :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(only joking of course)

Sorry spemnig, I'll stop derailing the thread now.



I'm on Twitter @DanneSandin!

Furthermore, I think VGChartz should add a "Like"-button.

Frogger on 26 March 2015
torok said:

You suffer the same issue of most Nintendo fans and it's something Nintendo itself suffers: the belief that their IPs are some magical things that can do anything. All of them aren't saving the Wii U. All of them won't avoid the fall of portables.

Making people create a NNID won't make them buy Wii U or 3DS. Just like people create a new account for WWF, they can do it for any console.

You are implying that an app with some games will create a magical connection between people and Nintendo. If games like GTA San Andreas didn't do it on mobile, nobody will. It's a companion device. Want people to buy your gaming device? You don't have to buy a mobile gaming company and make apps for that. Just create something people want and advertise it. That's what Sony did with the PS4. The mobile app is a companion an extra feature. The strenght of their aproach is at the core of the machine: the gaming aspect.

Creating an app with links to other game on the App Store isn't "creating a platform". You aren't understanding the concept of platform. Just creating an unified ID isn't creating a platform. This already exists, everywhere.

Their strategy is more straightforward: expand the handheld userbase to the mobile base. They will make money with mobile games, they won't attract games to their platform. Of course, some will make the jump, but that's a bonus. An unified login and cross-purchases is just the minimum requirement for this to work. That's possibility 1. Possibility 2 is that they will just make spinoff of their IPs on mobile to get some advertising, like Sony did. This of course, would fail in the same way. They can't go half way. Or they release a mobile full Pokemon or 2D Mario game or they will end with some random re-skin of a endless runner that won't change a thing.


I don't believe that Nintendo's brands are magical, but they do have mass market relevance, something Sony and Microsoft franchises lack. That's completely undeniable. Aside from Pac-Man, and maybe something like The Sims as a brand, I wouldn't say that there are any hardcore gaming IP with the mainstream appeal that most run of the mill Nintendo IP have. Disney has the brand power, but not the infrustructure or the gaming know-how. Minecraft has the brand power, but only one IP to tie it to. Nintendo has just put itself in the position where it now has everything that it needs to succeed at this.

Getting people to make an NNID alone wouldn't get someone to buy Nintendo hardware. I've already said that. But the connection with an account isn't some magical wonder. Apple does it with Apple IDs. Steam does it with their accounts. There's no magic. It's consumers with real, tangable connections to their accounts, and the software tied to it. It's why someone with an iphone is more likely to buy a Mac than a PC. That's not magic. It's basic consumer relations.

You're making it out to be some magical complicated thing. It's not. It is straight forward. It's just something Nintendo hasn't done, and to this extent, no one has done successfully. I'm not proposing that this will "save the Wii U." It's not even remotely the same thing. The Wii U was asking for a $350 investment. This is a, likely free, mobile platform to play, free to cheap, games. There's almost no barrier to entry with the latter, and nothing to lose by signing up.

And yes, it is a platform. It's not "just an account." The Facebook App is a platform. The Twitter app is a platform. Platforms "exist, everywhere." And even if you don't consider it a platform, those are merely semantics. The outcome is still the same and very real.

They've literally flat out confirmed that these mobile games are meant to usher people into buying gaming hardware. They've already confirmed that the main goal of these mobile games are not to earn revanue, but to entice people to buy Nintendo hardware. They've already flat out said that they would use a platform which connects mobile and gaming hardware, to unify the Nintendo gamer. These aren't assumptions. These are quoted statements directly from Nintendo over the past year.

A unified login and cross purchase system is not merely the minimum requirement for Nintendo to make mobile games, otherwise every mobile game would be part of an account requiring a login. All of Sega's games would need a Sega ID because it's the "minimum requirement." All of the GTA games would require a "Rockstar Plus" username, because it's the "minimum requirement." They don't do that, because they aren't trying to do what Nintendo's doing.

What their strategy is definitely not is a transfer of their audience from handheld to mobile. Handhelds aren't going anywhere. As long as there's a new exclusive Pokemon game on a dedicated handheld, the thing is guaranteed to hit at least 15 million units on the back of that one game alone. Because handhelds clearly aren't in a bubble, and more games come out for them than merely Pokemon, they will always sell enough hardware to warrent selling more. Handhelds are declining; they aren't dead. They will ultimately plateau.



Cloudman on 26 March 2015
spemanig said:
Cloudman said:


Can I put this in the OP? Lol, this is brilliant.

It's bad, but go ahead. ; )



 

              

Dance my pretties!

The Official Art Thread      -      The Official Manga Thread      -      The Official Starbound Thread

Around the Network
Soundwave on 26 March 2015
spemanig said:
torok said:

You suffer the same issue of most Nintendo fans and it's something Nintendo itself suffers: the belief that their IPs are some magical things that can do anything. All of them aren't saving the Wii U. All of them won't avoid the fall of portables.

Making people create a NNID won't make them buy Wii U or 3DS. Just like people create a new account for WWF, they can do it for any console.

You are implying that an app with some games will create a magical connection between people and Nintendo. If games like GTA San Andreas didn't do it on mobile, nobody will. It's a companion device. Want people to buy your gaming device? You don't have to buy a mobile gaming company and make apps for that. Just create something people want and advertise it. That's what Sony did with the PS4. The mobile app is a companion an extra feature. The strenght of their aproach is at the core of the machine: the gaming aspect.

Creating an app with links to other game on the App Store isn't "creating a platform". You aren't understanding the concept of platform. Just creating an unified ID isn't creating a platform. This already exists, everywhere.

Their strategy is more straightforward: expand the handheld userbase to the mobile base. They will make money with mobile games, they won't attract games to their platform. Of course, some will make the jump, but that's a bonus. An unified login and cross-purchases is just the minimum requirement for this to work. That's possibility 1. Possibility 2 is that they will just make spinoff of their IPs on mobile to get some advertising, like Sony did. This of course, would fail in the same way. They can't go half way. Or they release a mobile full Pokemon or 2D Mario game or they will end with some random re-skin of a endless runner that won't change a thing.


I don't believe that Nintendo's brands are magical, but they do have mass market relevance, something Sony and Microsoft franchises lack. That's completely undeniable. Aside from Pac-Man, and maybe something like The Sims as a brand, I wouldn't say that there are any hardcore gaming IP with the mainstream appeal that most run of the mill Nintendo IP have. Disney has the brand power, but not the infrustructure or the gaming know-how. Minecraft has the brand power, but only one IP to tie it to. Nintendo has just put itself in the position where it now has everything that it needs to succeed at this.

Getting people to make an NNID alone wouldn't get someone to buy Nintendo hardware. I've already said that. But the connection with an account isn't some magical wonder. Apple does it with Apple IDs. Steam does it with their accounts. There's no magic. It's consumers with real, tangable connections to their accounts, and the software tied to it. It's why someone with an iphone is more likely to buy a Mac than a PC. That's not magic. It's basic consumer relations.

You're making it out to be some magical complicated thing. It's not. It is straight forward. It's just something Nintendo hasn't done, and to this extent, no one has done successfully. I'm not proposing that this will "save the Wii U." It's not even remotely the same thing. The Wii U was asking for a $350 investment. This is a, likely free, mobile platform to play, free to cheap, games. There's almost no barrier to entry with the latter, and nothing to lose by signing up.

And yes, it is a platform. It's not "just an account." The Facebook App is a platform. The Twitter app is a platform. Platforms "exist, everywhere." And even if you don't consider it a platform, those are merely semantics. The outcome is still the same and very real.

They've literally flat out confirmed that these mobile games are meant to usher people into buying gaming hardware. They've already confirmed that the main goal of these mobile games are not to earn revanue, but to entice people to buy Nintendo hardware. They've already flat out said that they would use a platform which connects mobile and gaming hardware, to unify the Nintendo gamer. These aren't assumptions. These are quoted statements directly from Nintendo over the past year.

A unified login and cross purchase system is not merely the minimum requirement for Nintendo to make mobile games, otherwise every mobile game would be part of an account requiring a login. All of Sega's games would need a Sega ID because it's the "minimum requirement." All of the GTA games would require a "Rockstar Plus" username, because it's the "minimum requirement." They don't do that, because they aren't trying to do what Nintendo's doing.

What their strategy is definitely not is a transfer of their audience from handheld to mobile. Handhelds aren't going anywhere. As long as there's a new exclusive Pokemon game on a dedicated handheld, the thing is guaranteed to hit at least 15 million units on the back of that one game alone. Because handhelds clearly aren't in a bubble, and more games come out for them than merely Pokemon, they will always sell enough hardware to warrent selling more. Handhelds are declining; they aren't dead. They will ultimately plateau.

I think you're being a bit naive here. 

First of all they didn't say this at the DeNA conference, in fact Iwata said they are aiming to have several hit games on mobile. Mobile is a huge business, companies like Supercell make $2 billion in annual revenue, Nintendo is not in this to give away mobile profits to charity. It will likely become a core component of their business in short order, maybe even eclipsing consoles (not that that's a very high bar at the moment). 

I'm actually kind of skeptical that just because people like a F2P or $1 app that they'll be willing to pay $200-$300 for a seperate piece of hardware for those games. I don't think there's a ton of people buying Final Fantasy XV who started playing the games on iOS. 

These are seperate audiences, a lot of people who game heavily on mobile simply have no interest in a console or gaming handheld. Nintendo can now at least make money off them anyway. 



Frogger on 26 March 2015
DélioPT said:

What you are saying is very imporant that it happens, but if Nintendo really wants people to transition from mobile to dedicated gaming devices (that is the plan, afterall) they need something more then brand empathy, be it because they are connected to the NN (always a tool to lower the barrier, as someone above mentioned) or because they play a game that features Nintendo's IPs.
They need something with actual and real consequences.

I think the real weapon will be when Nintendo starts making games that can co-exist on both platforms and what you do on one affects the other.

The Mii plaza games could become bigger and with more features on a console; An adventure game with side quests on mobile that can influence a game on the home console/handheld.
In a sense, it's like having amiibo (mobile quests and characters) bring something new to your main game.
You get more of the main game experience if you play a mobile game of the same IP.

It would be like making the game a platform.

That's the spirit that Nintendo should persue.


I think the difficulty there is that it's hard to get someone only invested in what is ultimatly a shallow gaming experience when viewed from afar, invested enough in the in game effects it has on another piece of soft ware to make the $200-$300 jump. That appeals to them as an audience, but for an audience who, up til then, was only intrested in paying negligable amounts of money to experience your content, I think that it's very important that the real world, dollar to dollar, benefit takes priority.

That being said, I do agree that it will be extrememly important for Nintendo no to segregate these two different software experiences. Just as the platform itself should unify the experiences, the games from different facets of the platform need to work equally hard at remaining seemlessly connect, to the best extent. The merging of handheld and console dev teams proves that they already plan to do this on the dedicated gaming space, but Nintendo need to make sure that this rolls over into their mobile development as well.



Soundwave on 26 March 2015

Many/probably most people who will enjoy Nintendo smartphone apps simply will never graduate up the dedicated consoles/handhelds.

And I think Nintendo knows that.

Partly why they opted to choose this route ... they know now they weren't going to get these people using dedicated hardware no matter what ... might as well make money off them rather than making $0 off them.

The more interesting scenario is perhaps who knows Nintendo's next hit IP may actually be born on iOS/Android, not a dedicated home/portable platform.

Iwata's kinda tried to push that Nintendo isn't just dedicated video games in recent interviews he's specifically gone out of his way to remind people that Nintendo was around long before dedicated video games were and they used to be involved in many different businesses. Very likely going forward they are headed back in that direction again. 



Frogger on 26 March 2015
Soundwave said:

I think you're being a bit naive here. 

First of all they didn't say this at the DeNA conference, in fact Iwata said they are aiming to have several hit games on mobile. Mobile is a huge business, companies like Supercell make $2 billion in annual revenue, Nintendo is not in this to give away mobile profits to charity. It will likely become a core component of their business in short order, maybe even eclipsing consoles (not that that's a very high bar at the moment). 

I'm actually kind of skeptical that just because people like a F2P or $1 app that they'll be willing to pay $200-$300 for a seperate piece of hardware for those games. I don't think there's a ton of people buying Final Fantasy XV who started playing the games on iOS. 

These are seperate audiences, a lot of people who game heavily on mobile simply have no interest in a console or gaming handheld. Nintendo can now at least make money off them anyway. 


Yes, they did say it at the DeNA conference. And I never said that Nintendo doesn't intent to make money off of this. They do want to have multiple hits on the platform. But the purpose isn't "how can we make the most money off of this mobile hit," but "how can we most effectively built our brand and cement our platform through this mobile hit." The goals are completely different and are done with the primary motive of brand expension.

I would be skeptical of that too, but that's not what I described, at all. Like I said, the point isn't the games; it's the platform. An people didn't buy the iphone just because they had an ipod. They bought their iphones because they had thousands of songs connected to their Apple IDs that they didn't want to have to redownload and reorganize on a different, perhaps even better, platform. Every new app or game you purchase on your iphone is one less reason you'll be getting an Android phone. Your iOS FF example has nothing to do with that relationship.

These are separate audiences that have already proved that they could be swayed to invest in both consoles and gaming handhelds before. And if not for themsevles, for their family or friends. A mother with an NNID could be more easily swayed into buying a handheld for her child because she already has that base relationship with the brand. She's already a Nintendo constomer with an account. That's what matters. Nintendo are merely utilizing mobile games to achieve this, because simply launching a Nintendo app where all you do is check the eshop would appeal to no one but current Nintendo customers.



Soundwave on 26 March 2015
spemanig said:
Soundwave said:

I think you're being a bit naive here. 

First of all they didn't say this at the DeNA conference, in fact Iwata said they are aiming to have several hit games on mobile. Mobile is a huge business, companies like Supercell make $2 billion in annual revenue, Nintendo is not in this to give away mobile profits to charity. It will likely become a core component of their business in short order, maybe even eclipsing consoles (not that that's a very high bar at the moment). 

I'm actually kind of skeptical that just because people like a F2P or $1 app that they'll be willing to pay $200-$300 for a seperate piece of hardware for those games. I don't think there's a ton of people buying Final Fantasy XV who started playing the games on iOS. 

These are seperate audiences, a lot of people who game heavily on mobile simply have no interest in a console or gaming handheld. Nintendo can now at least make money off them anyway. 


Yes, they did say it at the DeNA conference. And I never said that Nintendo doesn't intent to make money off of this. They do want to have multiple hits on the platform. But the purpose isn't "how can we make the most money off of this mobile hit," but "how can we most effectively built our brand and cement our platform through this mobile hit." The goals are completely different and are done with the primary motive of brand expension.

I would be skeptical of that too, but that's not what I described, at all. Like I said, the point isn't the games; it's the platform. An people didn't buy the iphone just because they had an ipod. They bought their iphones because they had thousands of songs connected to their Apple IDs that they didn't want to have to redownload and reorganize on a different, perhaps even better, platform. Every new app or game you purchase on your iphone is one less reason you'll be getting an Android phone. Your iOS FF example has nothing to do with that relationship.

These are separate audiences that have already proved that they could be swayed to invest in both consoles and gaming handhelds before. And if not for themsevles, for their family or friends. A mother with an NNID could be more easily swayed into buying a handheld for her child because she already has that base relationship with the brand. She's already a Nintendo constomer with an account. That's what matters. Nintendo are merely utilizing mobile games to achieve this, because simply launching a Nintendo app where all you do is check the eshop would appeal to no one but current Nintendo customers.


Can you find me a quote where they said profits from smartphones aren't important to them and this is purely a venture to advertise home/dedicated devices? I watched the presser live and read the statement from Nintendo and also read the Time Magazine interview. 

They never said that. They said they were hoping for synergy but they never said that was their sole purpose. 

What they did say back before this decision was they were trying to figure out how to use mobile in a way to advertise their platforms, but they were also saying then that would not make smartphone games full out, so obviously that whole plan went down the toilet at some point. 

I don't think there will be nearly as much overlap here, Nintendo is going into mobile for its own merits. If they get some cross over, so be it, it's icing on the cake, but again as I said it's not the cake itself. The cake itself is mobile revenue ... revenue which who knows very well could be Nintendo's no.1 money maker in a few years. 

Personally I think dedicated portables are going to decline no matter what Nintendo did, and consoles ... to be honest, the big mistake they made there was letting Microsoft ever come into the the industry and get a foothold. They needed to either head them out way back in the GCN era or have made an agreement/partnership with them before they decided to go full blown with the XBox brand. 

Once they allowed Sony to walk into the industry and then let Microsoft do it too ... their days as a big player in the home console biz were always numbered. People don't want three console brands, it's only worked with the Wii and that required a miracle controller fad to pull off, something Nintendo hasn't come close to ever replicating.