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NoirSon on 29 November 2014
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ICStats said:
NoirSon said:

I am guessing HyrulianScrolls might be referring to the fact that many analysts seem to overlook Nintendo by releasing on the iPad would be going from having no oversight other then their own to a market firmly controlled by Apple. A position they haven't been in for a while and one probably based on how they have acted in the past as well as having to share profits or reduce prices to compete in that market they wouldn't necessarily want.

The article is just another example of how many so called experts really don't know jack squat about business or then seeing dollar figures.

Sure, it just depends on how much they gain from controlling the ecosystem.  At this time, being platform holders is not necessarily working for Nintendo.

I know it won't be popular here, but my opinion is Nintendo could do better if they sowed a few of their IPs on 3rd party consoles and mobile this generation.

In terms of mobile, the userbases are over 1 Billion and willo be 2 Billion active users before long.  Something like free-to-play pokemon with in game purchase for additional Pokemon could make a lot of money, and they can advertize their 3DS & Wii U and upcoming games through that.

On console, Wii U has a 24.7% market share after 1 year of competitors; by next year it might be a 15% share.  Nintendo is the best game bublisher, their games are consistently great, and the only thing limiting their sales this generation is userbase.  Being an exclusive platform holder in Gen 8 is not necessarily the best strategy, if they're struggling (which they are) to sell the Wii U more competitively.


See the problem with that line of thinking is you fail to see how the shift will affect Nintendo as a game developer.

One of the reasons, Nintendo is as successful at game development as it is today is because their teams are working with their hardware. They don't have to go out to get middleware or other development tools to move development unless they want to as nearly everything is developed in house or shared once available. They also don't have to pass someone else's quality to reviews to release their own games.

It also boils down to whether Nintendo can really make games that work on the mobile platform. While the technology is there that any Nintendo game can be displayed on such, the majority of Nintendo's stable outside of some racing, RPGs and simple platformers aren't really designed to work well with the standard smart phone input methods. Heck, how many people complained about the Wii games and preferred using the classic controller or GC on anythat allowed them to? The IPs may sell themselves for a while but if Nintendo isn't able to adapt their style to mobile quick enough they will wind up losing all the good will they had. And releasing even mobile ports to smart phones also reduces the amount Nintendo regualrly charges in re-releasing/remaking their own games on newer systems either as bonuses or cash grabs.

Just as Sega lost a lot of its own fanbase as they transitioned from hardware/game publisher to full on third party game publsiher why do people think Nintendo ever doing the same will lead them to more success when it just opens the fanbase to be more divided?