Scoobes said:
zorg1000 said:
Scoobes said:
No, but it is part of the hardware. As was the decision to go with a non-standard disc format that restricted storage space. Since the N64, for all the great hardware descisions Nintendo have made, their have been plenty of mistakes that have hindered the success of their platforms.
OT: I actually don't think Nintendo should go third-party but I can understand people who think they should. Nintendo have generally struggled to fulfill the potential of their home hardware platforms; N64 was powerful but had storage issues; Gamecube also had storage issues and a bizzare design; Wii was hugely successful but Nintendo were still unable to bring all but the core third-party games to the platform; Wii U was so poorly executed and the tablet proving to be such a hindrance that it's at the stage it's at. On the portable side the mobile and tablet segment is making inroads in their marketshare.
So, from a userbase perspective it sounds like a no-brainer. Go third-party and sell to a much larger userbase and reduce the R&D and marketing costs for designing the hardware platform. The next Mario Kart for consoles sells 30+ million like the Wii version did. The next 2D Mario games come out on tablets and sells tens of millions.
However, part of the appeal of Nintendo games and one of the reasons they're able to maintain such a high standard is because they control the hardware. By designing the hardware their software developers have full knowledge and can maximise the full potential of the platform for their games. I don't have full confidence that Nintendo could maintain the quality they do if they had to design for multiple hardware platforms. We're already seeing how difficult they're finding it just jumping to HD development on Wii U and that's where they've designed the hardware. They would really struggle if they had multiple platforms to get to grips with.
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I made a thread a few days ago showing the most Nintendo IP don't necessarily sell better simply due to install base, it seems as though just a few of their flagship franchises (2D Mario, Mario Kart, possibly Smash Bros) are directly dependant on how big the install base is. Even major series like Zelda, 3D Mario, Pokémon seem to sell a relatively consistent amount regardless of install base. This leads me to believe that most Nintendo franchises wouldn't necessarily benefit from being available on competitors devices. On mobile I can see Nintendo games getting big downloads but considering Nintendo games typically cost $40-60, those massive download numbers for free or $1 may not necessarily translate to more money for Nintendo.
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The difference in the sales of the titles where the install base makes a difference is a compelling one however. Mario Kart is probably the best example. Just look at the difference from Wii to Wii U. MK Wii has nearly 6x the sales which is a lot of missed revenue/profit.On the mobile front I think Nintendo is one of the few companies that could suceed at selling $40-60 titles on App/Play Store. Plenty of people would spend that sort of money on a new Pokemon or big Mario title.
Like I said though, I think the appeal and quality of Nintendo games comes from the synergy of hardware (not just talking power/inards here but the whole package) and software teams working together. I don't think the magic of their games would neccessarily translate if they had to develop on multiple platforms.
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People have been conditioned to only spend a few dollars at most for games on smartphones/tablets, there is no way Nintendo is selling $40-60 games on the App/Play Store. Pokémon is actually one of the games I'm talking about that sells a pretty standard amount regardless of install base, Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire sold 16 million on GBA with an 80 million install base, Pokémon Diamond/Pearl sold 17 million & Black/White sold 15 million on DS with an install base of over 150 million and Pokémon X/Y have sold over 14 million (still growing) on 3DS with a current install base under 60 million, also each of these devices had a remake of previous Pokémon games and all 3 times they sold in the 10-12 million range. The series has been stagnant since 2002. Like I said, it's literally like 2-3 games that have shown to be directly affected by install base.
As for ur second paragraph, I agree completely.
