Kimishima: Revenue From Mario Run Did Not Meet Our Expectations

[Nautilus]

Mummelmann said:

Nautilus said:

You are right.They wont shell out 300 to buy a tablet.They will shell out 300 to buy a Switch.

It is harder to determine if Super Mario Run was successful in what it was supposed to do(which was spread brand awareness, which no one can deny that Nintendo has lost some), simply because there is no new Mario game, a big Mario game, to be used as a reference.And even if it did, it would be hard to say how much was the game doing in its own merit and what was due to the mobile strategy.And as far as we know, the Switch has been selling out everywhere, and the 3DS is still going well for a system on its 7th year.And not to mention that Nintendo stocks have been on the rise the past few months.So as far as we know, the strategy has been working.

 

And you cant come and say "But hey, ignore that one game that has worked way too well, because its Pokemon and its an exception and bla bla bla", because thats not how things work.If it was done once, it can be done more times.The problem with Super Mario Run was the pricing.10 dollars was too steep.It should have been 5 dollars máx.Hopefully Nintendo will get better over time and fix these decisions as they go.

Pokemon was already a huge franchise on handhelds, with or without Pokemon Go, and to mass market consumers the Switch is a tablet. it looks like a tablet, it has a touch screen like a tablet and is the same size as one. But it lacks almost all of the functionality. So, no, there's no reason to think that people will go and pay 300$ for a Switch because they paid a Mario game they refuse to pay full price for.

Rising stock and lasting strategy isn't always something that goes hand in hand, ask GM before their biggest crash, the market isn't that black and white. Nintendo still don't seem to have a clear cut plan for the future, they appear to be tossing a very wide net to see what sort of fish they catch and are still very much behaving like a company that has a hard time reading the different demographics and markets and responding correctly.

There is absolutely no reason to think that a game like Mario Run will help the Switch sell more, as it stands. The mobile gaming segment is vastly different and if a device doesn't deliver on convenience and content and pricing, mass market consumers will simply pass on it. Mario Run and Pokemon Go happens to have been released on devices almost everyone in the western world owns, that's a far, far cry from convincing someone to buy yet another tablet-like seeming smart device without actual smart functionality in addition to the one(s) they have to play video games that they're likely not hugely interested in to begin with.

Your whole point become moot by the fact that the Switch is not a tablet and will not be perceived as that.Assuming Nintendo is doing its marketing right, as so far it has, the consumer will periceive it as a gaming system, and nothing else.People will buy it primarely to play games, and whatever comes extra is extra.I mean, as far as I know, people are not buying the Switch to play Angry Birds or Clash Royale.Now, if you think it is a tablet, well you are the very small minority here, and I cant do nothing about it.

As for the other points, I did say as far.So far, everything is good.And yes, while it may not indicate that it will keep on being successful, you cant also say it wont be successful and whatever Nintendo is doing right now is wrong.