kerrak said:
Your analysis tools are outdated. Nintendo is the one facing high pressure competition right now and in the near future. They have already touched the ceiling, at least in market share terms. Move and Natal are real threats for them. iPad iPhone and iWhatever are real threats. Facebook and social gaming are real threats too. In order to whipe Sony (or MS) off the face of the map, tell me: what does Nintendo have prepared for the Halo/COD/Killzone crowd ? What do they have for the GT5/Forza crowd? What are graphic "horse" going to admire on Nintendo? What are the Sandbox GTA/RDR/Inf/AC crowd going to play on Nintendo? And what about those gamers looking for more cinematic experiences HR/AW/Uncharted/MGS? Talk me about the best WRPG on Nintendo: ME? DS? FO? Something to please this crowd? And what about the number 1 JRPG (in market terms) FF? Face it, Nintendo's dominance is EXTREMELY BORING. They are a great company with a nice market share, but looking for the last 3 years to WiiSports WiiFit WiiSportsPlus WiiFitPlus SuperMarioThis SuperMarioThat every week in the top of the charts is not what i want to see as a gamer. Is this what you want? |
First off, Apple is not a threat to Nintendo. They aren't even in the same market. iPhone is a smartphone. I can play games, yes, but it is not bought for the same purpose as a DS. iPhones are bought to call people as well as preform other task. It is not a dedicated gaming device, thus, games are only an extra feature. There have been games on cell phone long before the DS, so I don't know why people think a phone is a threat to a gaming company now. The same goes for other "i" products.
Nintendo is applying the strategy of disruption. You can see it here. Scott Anthony, who wrote the post and is in the video, talks a lot about the Wii's disruption, even pulling out a Wii remote. He is a co-author on the Disruption books. Disruption, by nature, is a strategy geared at destroying the competition. The end result, if disruption is effective, is that the incumbents will either go out of business or become niche companies (like Harley Davidson). Think about Wii Motion Plus. If Nintendo was expanding the market, then why make it's games require a $20 attachment? Wouldn't think turn people away? It is meant to move upmarket. Nintendo is going after Sony and Microsoft's market one step at a time. First, they took over Sports games. Then, they took racing games. What's next? Maybe FPSs. Zelda is definatly going for action games. Nintendo is turning every genre into a motion control one.
Sony and Microsoft are losing gamers. Sales of games just drop off, and they haven't been doing well this entire generation. These gamers don't like the Wii Remote because they find it inaccurate and not going to fit their needs. But Motion Plus changes that, and now Nintendo will make action games and FPS games. Nintendo will steal away gamers from Sony and Microsoft. Why do you think they made motion controllers. They have shown no interest in getting Grandma to buy a PS3 in the past. Why start now? And do they even think these consumers will buy $300 systems with something like a $100 controller. Does Grandma really want Wii Sports in HD. She seemed fine with the standard definition Wii. Does your mom really want to start playing Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto? It's because they are not going for those consumers. They are trying to keep their current market lest Nintendo convert them to motion controls. Core games are getting boring, which is why there have been so many titles that just come and go. Motion controls are fresh and people may be ready to jump over.
Then there is the 3DS. But the DS is still selling. Their last big game was in 2007 (Pokemon). Why are they going to destory all their sales? Now they have to start over. Why? And Nintendo has refused HD this entire generation. Why make a 3D system? It doesn't make sense. But then think, who else is investing heavily into 3D? That's right, it's Sony. They are making 3D TVs, 3D video games, 3D movies, heck, probably 3D phones and portable devices as well. What if a company were to disrupt this big 3D effort? What would happen? Nintendo's 3DS is making 3D for the low teir consumers abnd plans to pull the rug from under Sony. That's right, Nintendo is out to destory Sony.
Yes, Nintendo is going to be attacked, but it is a defensive move from them, not an agressive one. Let me tell you, if Microsoft and Sony are unsuccessful, then Nintendo will remove them from the industry. It will all come down to a few key moments. This is why I find Nintendo's dominance interesting. The Horse race console wars are boring. This is straight up "I'm done with you. Be gone!"
As for do I want this future? I don't mind. I find a lot of the new games fun. I also am not upset when a game I don't like is in the sales charts. It means it did a good job. I would like to know why it did well. This is why I always notice Just Dance when it's in the sales chart. I find it interesting. I find these evergreen games interesting. I want to know more about them.
