Why do people think that Nintendo could go or should go third-party?

[kristianity77]

Personally, I just think the console scene has matured so much in the last half a decade or so to become much more than something to play games on. Yes, primarily that is still their main function, but these days most people want so much more from their consoles. Netflix, Spotify, Sky Go, TV on demand, Youtube, Internet, Media Player, etc. This is where its been headed for a while and will continue to head in that direction. I don't personally mind it, provided games stay at the forefront of what these consoles are about.

Unfortunately this is not where Nintendo want to go (so far anyhow) and its the reason they are being left behind. Games alone these days don't sell consoles. Or perhaps more accurately, they don't sell consoles anywhere near as much as they used to. People want more these days from their consoles.

I grew up with Nintendo, owned and loved the SNES, N64 and Gamecube. But this is when consoles were just that, consoles. I had little interest in the Wii and absolutely zero interest in the Wii U. Not because the games don't interest me, because some of them really do. But I'm not prepared to shell out £200 or so to play a handful of titles and then not be able to do anything else with the console.

Having said all this, I'd absolutely love Nintendo to release games on the other consoles. One thing they haven't lost focus on is how to make great games. The sales numbers would be humongous if we ever saw Mario Kart, Zelda, Metroid etc on multi platforms but Nintendo will never do it. I get the impression they would rather fall on their own sword and take every single franchise to the grave with them rather than develop for other platforms. And the sad fact is, if the NX bombs like the Wii U did, that might well be what happens.   Nintendo put themselves in the corner of the room whilst MS and Sony duked it out for everything else.  Thats all well and good if they want to be separate from them in terms of target audience etc, but the focus of the consumer now is now on the two guys in the middle rather than the one who sat it out.  Its a problem for Nintendo, and will only get bigger if the NX doesn't deliver on all fronts.

The other sad point is, is that iconic characters like Zelda, Mario etc are beginning to lose their shine to a small degree because the people who grew up on Nintendo are now older and in more cases than not have left Nintendo behind and the majority of kids today won't see past Xbox and PS4.