Is install base really that important for Nintendo IP?

[Arlo]

zorg1000 said:

Arlo said:
Basically every gamer friend I have has a handful of Wii U games they want, but aren't willing to spring for the system. I mean, it's every person I talk to--they would ALL love to play the latest Mario or Zelda, but they're just not interested enough to actually buy the system just for those games. Not even close.

Yeah, install base matters. Wii games didn't sell that much more because it was an artificially inflated install base consisting of people who wanted nothing but Wii Sports and the like. With an install base of 150 million actual gamers, things would be different. This has gone back for several generations.

 

How does that explain why most of these franchises sales have stayed stagnant whether they were on NES, SNES, Gameboy, N64, GBA, DS?

A few franchises definitely are stagnating, and there's no denying that.  But many others are held back because of their ties to Nintendo hardware.  Even going as far back as N64, Nintendo has had great games on their systems yet has been up against a rival system that many gamers consider to be a better value.  I'm of the opinion that many of them wouldn't be stagnating if every game was available to everyone.  Even a person who's never bought a Nintendo system in their life might find a couple of Nintendo games they want per generation, but they never do/will.