Reggies Thoughts on Nintendo Going Third Party.

[greenmedic88]

It becomes far easier to see Nintendo's position on becoming a third party developer when the company is put into the context of being a toy company first and a software developer second.

Granted, Nintendo was originally a (card) game company first, which shows how the company has been able to adapt their business model to changing times (Nintendo made Game And Watch LCD toys before the Famicom), but given the slant of their consumer demographics (swings towards the children's market more than any other console manufacturer) it would leave a gap in the market if they ever left the hardware business completely.

That said, the response to Pokemon Go, but not Mario Run, does demonstrate previously untapped markets had been left on the table. What distinguishes Pokemon Go from Mario Run is in how each respective game used the platform for which it was developed for.

Pokemon Go in retrospect, seems like such a natural evolution for the game that it boggles the mind why the concept wasn't executed earlier other than for an unnatural resistance to allowing Nintendo's IPs showing up on anything other than their own hardware.

Mario Run, on the other hand, was like every other mobile run game with the exception that it featured the Mario IP and cost $9.99. Is there any wonder why there was only a 4% conversion from those who downloaded the free demo to those who paid for the full app?

The point is that Nintendo uses the unique features of the hardware they design in the process of developing their own software titles. Yes, some of those features would be available on other platforms, but each iteration of Nintendo hardware allows software developers to explore the hardware and incorporate those features into their games. Some hardware elements have a greater effect than others (shake control was fun if not completely unnecessary, 3D was interesting, but ultimately had no impact on game play), but hit or miss, it's what allows Nintendo to innovate and have fun rather than just be an IP company that cranks out sequel after sequel.