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Soundwave on 17 January 2014
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TheLastStarFighter said:
chris_wing said:
TheLastStarFighter said:

In order for Nintendo to be better off as a software-only company, it would have to tripple its sales, plus another 20% to make up for licensing fees they are now charged (or not earning) on their own software.  Plus the usual 25%+ profit they usually make on hardware (Wii U was a abboration and a mistake).  So if you really think Nintendo could sell 110 million copies of MarioKart on PS + Xbox... yeah, OK, sure.  They would be lucky to see any increase... I would wager many titles would go down as they would no longer be looked at as "flagship" system titles (see Sonic, Crash, etc). And they would lose the synergy of bundles, of promotion of titles on boot screens, of hardware designed around their own games, etc.

If you're thinking they could make massive sales on Smartphones... sure, if they are willing to sell titles for a few bucks.  FYI, Nintendo made more money off 1 title, Animal Crossing New Leaf, last year than Rovio made as an entire company - including selling Angry Birds, one of the most successful multi-plat mobile titles ever.

As far as Sony goes, the Playstation brand hasn't made money since the launch of PS3.  However, they do take in a most of their revenue by being a hardware platform maker.  Their 1st party software business is small, but if they do return to profitability with PS4 it will because they are a platform holder making money off licenses on 3rd party sales.  Same as MS.  And same as Nintendo, despite their larger in-house games division.  There is a reason all of them are in this business.

Good post, but Nintendo is loosing money, and that is the bottom line.  Could they sell 110 million copies of Mario Kart on PS + Xbox (Android, PC, Steam OS, Ouya, iOS, OSX), probably not, but they aren't going to match their Wii sales of Mario Kart on Wii U either, Wii was a fluke.  A return to profitablity is important for Nintendo since they have no other (major) buisiness to fall back on like Microsoft & Sony do.

There is no question Nintendo needs to return to profitability, but you don't shed 2/3s of your business - your primary business - to do so.  You find out what is wrong and you fix it.  In the case of Nintendo, they launched a console that hasn't done well during its first year+.  They need to find a way to make it do well or design a new piece of hardware that can do better.  If I were running the company, I'd do both.  I'd spend reserve cash to buy up a couple publishers to bring in more exclusive software to move Wii U's, and I'd design new hardware that can compete both within the industry and against other entertainment platforms.  A powerful new gaming system that is third party friendly, an andoid tablet with exclusive Nintendo style and software and an android Nintendo phone with controls to play games.  I'd outsouce much of the chip design, but deveop a common OS and online network between the 3 devices and start a subscription service to play updated versions of classic games.  Some games could be played on the phone, some require the tablet and full on AAA titles would be only on the new home console.  A dedicated home gaming network among the devices could make for great multiplayer matches, but I digress and daydream...


Software is Nintendo's primary business, as Yamauchi famously once said the console is just a box people buy to play Mario on (which is to say the console is just something that's in the way of people getting to what they really want -- which is the games). 

I understand that Nintendo fans have a very strong emotional bond to the idea of a Nintendo hardware though so it's difficult to imagine a different future, but what Iwata is actually saying is they are no longer looking at the console + $50+ games for console as the only way to do business in the future. 

We are well past the "just fix the Wii U!" phase at this stage from the sounds of it. I think Nintendo quietly is starting to accept the Wii U's failure and the fact that they need different ideas for the future, not just the same ol' "well we screwed that console up, oh well lets just try to do better next time" concept.