RolStoppable said:
I just got a good chuckle out of your post, that's all. You can't even say that I didn't warn you. Anyway, you've given a clear demonstration that you didn't understand what Nintendo announced, but I will try to explain it to you. A smartphone Zelda the way you described would compete with a console Zelda game like A Link Between Worlds. The latter is something that Nintendo currently sells for $40 on the 3DS. What would be the ceiling on smartphones, maybe $20? And just like that, Nintendo would have devalued their IP by 50%. Nevermind that such a Zelda game has to be crossed off the list of games that can sell a Nintendo handheld and lower hardware sales will lead to lower software sales overall. So what you proposed is an absolutely ridiculous idea. |
I'm just reciting what Iwata said.
He said devaluing IP in reference to the mobile games being of poor quality and being ports of existing games (which would lead to a poor experience since button based games don't always translate well to mobile).
He said ALL Nintendo IP are on the table for smart devices.
I think Nintendo reviewed the issue you are talking about ... the fact that having Mario/Zelda/Pokemon/etc. games on mobile platforms would erode the handheld market, and I think they simply got to a point where the reward simply outweighed the risk, that is the potential amount of money that they can earn from mobile is enormous.
The people who really want dedicated handhelds will buy one anyway, I imagine is Nintendo's feeling. The people who were going to ditch those devices for smartphones were going to do so anyway and nothing Nintendo was doing with the 3DS was stopping it. So I think given that Nintendo simply made choice here ... it's better to still make money off those people than lose them entirely (and also be walled off from a new generation of kids entirely).
And honestly they may very well be right. It's not like Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy games stopped selling on the 3DS even though "real" FF and DQ games are available on iOS. Monster Hunter is on iOS too ... and it's "real" Monster Hunter, not some little mini-game title. Monster Hunter still sells fine on the 3DS. Minecraft is on mobile and selling through the roof there, yet kids still buy it on console like crazy too. The market for dedicated portables may indeed decline in the next 4-5 years ... but it was going to do that likely no matter what Nintendo did. At least this way they'll be making money one way or another.
