| TheSource said: Looking back at the old profitability numbers I'm led to believe that Nintendo charged alot less to develop NES games than it did on future systems. Hmm |
You mean royalties from third-parties?
From what I know the first contracts made when Famicom/Nes hadn't still take off were favorable to third-parties ( like Namco or Hudson ).
However when was the time to renew those contracts after five years then Nintendo charged the full price for the licensee ( famous is the anecdote of Yamauchi humiliating Namco's CEO ).
Don't forget also that one of the greatest source of income for Nintendo was that they were the exclusive manufacture of every Nes cartridge. Third-parties paid Nintendo in advance to get the cart even before they gained anything from their game.
I remember that at the beginning of the GBA/GC era Nintendo lowered their royalties.
“In the entertainment business, there are only heaven and hell, and nothing in between and as soon as our customers bore of our products, we will crash.” Hiroshi Yamauchi
TAG: Like a Yamauchi pimp slap delivered by Il Maelstrom; serving it up with style.
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