| Soundwave said: An alliance with Google or Microsoft would give them a much larger audience on their own terms. If done correctly a Google-Nintendo phone could outsell all the consoles combined from this coming gen for example. |
Why would they make a phone? That just doesn't make sense.
It would make a lot more sense, in a Google-Nintendo partnership, for them to create a gaming platform more akin to Steam, and then create hardware of various types to utilise that platform. Kind of like the gaming equivalent of Android.
And no, a Nintendo-Microsoft alliance would be a disaster for all involved. The two companies are just too different from one another in terms of how they operate.
Anyway, on the overall topic - it's not that Nintendo fans are necessarily opposed to going third party, it's that Nintendo fans know that Nintendo won't do it. Beyond that, most Nintendo fans don't want the loss of Nintendo's influence on hardware, because Nintendo is the trend-setter of hardware, despite typically being lower power. They introduced the analog stick. They introduced shoulder buttons, force feedback, motion controls, touchscreen controls, and wireless controllers. They made multiple attempts at introducing 3d visuals (the first that I know of being Virtual Boy). They tried console-handheld connectivity multiple times.
Nintendo's history is filled with experimentation and innovation in the hardware space. By comparison, the biggest bit of experimentation done by either of the other two was Camera Control - that is, Eyetoy (which later evolved into Kinect). Sony introduced Move only after Nintendo had proven the viability of motion controls. Microsoft introduced Kinect for a similar reason. Sony and Microsoft are companies whose main industries involve a lot of refinement but not a lot of true innovation. They have a tendency to respond rather than innovate. Nothing wrong with that, but the gaming industry needs a hardware maker that takes chances of that sort. Sometimes it's an instant hit (Wii). Sometimes it's a complete flop (Virtual Boy). And sometimes it takes a while to get off the ground, but becomes a powerhouse with time (DS). Obviously, it's too early to judge whether the Wii U is more like Virtual Boy or DS.
In short, Nintendo fans recognise that the loss of Nintendo's influence on gaming hardware in general would be bad for the whole industry. This isn't to say that the industry would collapse, or that gamers should be singing their praises or ignoring their flaws. Just that there's value in Nintendo remaining a hardware maker, even for those who aren't interested in playing on Nintendo systems.
