Nintendo should make better use of its more than $10 billion cash pile

 I actually believe nintendo knows what their business is... 

 Actually, they know their business very well, thats why they dont use the app route... I mean angry birds "sold" more than 100 million... and yet they havent made $100 million... but then you see smash bros, new super mario, DK, mario galaxy, mario kart... mario kart has sold more 25 millions (without bundles) make the math (25000000*$49= $1225000000) I mean business wise there is no contest. The iphones/app and all that stuff could work for publishing, but thats not the future of gaming.  

I agree and disagree.

I disagree that Nintendo should be making games for the I-Phone, Android or any other non-Nintendo device.

I agree that Nintendo has billions in the bank a major aquisition would be very smart. Say Nintendo purchased EAGames or Activision their stock would shoot through the roof. Also they would be able to supply the WiiU and future consoles with way more software from reputable developers. I think Nintendo relying so heavily on first party studios needs to have a shit load more of them. I mean seriously the last aquisition was in 2007, thats a disgrace considering Sony is aquiring developers left and right.

I think Nintendo needs more software and third parties aren't reliable enough to sell Nintendo's hardware. Nintendo needs to make a major aquisition of a major publisher or many small aquisitions of developers.

I somewhat agree with Joelcool7. Either buy one significant 3rd party publisher or several medium to small developers.
I think that it`s true that Nintendo needs to do something, even if just to please some investors by giving them bigger returns or buy some company to expand their business (like EA) or make it stronger (buy 3rd parties).

Reading the text reminded me of 3 words: gold rush fever!
It seems that everyone has become mesmerized by the success of Apple. Like menx64 mentions, Angry Birds is a huge success, but the returns are below those of Nintendo biggest franchises.
Big sales numbers not always have that big of a return.>
It`s almost like people want Nintendo to become Apple...

It`s true, it`s all about games.
Let`s hope Nintendo is ready for next year. They better have something special prepared for the more casual market and lots of core games... And let us not forget it`s time 3rd parties step up with some good games aswell.

What Nintendo needs is the right software.

Look at the 3DS: There is no Brain Training, no Tomodachi Collection, no Mario Bros., Rhythm Heaven, Wario Ware, Kirby or any sort of 2D platformers or "pick up and play" games announced besides Mario Kart.

Nintendo saw its sales rise because they focused on a broader market. And now they simply ignore this market altogether. It's mind boggling. Imagine Steve Jobs walking on stage, saying "we lost interest in all of our iOS devices. We'll focus on the Mac instead!" And one year later, when sales plummet Jobs enters the stage again saying "We have NO idea why our sales are so low! It must be the prices!" This is what Iwata acts like currently.

There is no reason for Nintendo to stop making games for the core audience. But it is their job to create games like those I mentioned above.

Before Brain Training and Nintendogs the DS got outsold by the PSP in Japan. Without those games Nintendo would have been in the exact same position 6 years ago.

Why is it so hard to release the games mentioned above? They take less time to develop. They sell better. They are cheaper to make. And you need less developers for them so you can release more titles each year.

As always, it's (mainly) about games. The 3DS has a very attractive price now, and with the right games it will do very well.

Nintendo's errors have been in trying to make third parties drive sales for the 3DS. Nintendo wants third parties to bring their big PS3/360/PC IPs to Nintendo devices, but they're not giving developers enough incentives to do so. And one of the incentives has been time for the third parties to establish themselves on the platform, which has led to the 3DS suffering lackluster sales.

Here's the problem with getting the third parties in my opinion: The 3DS is not attractive enough for developers, partly because of install base, which Nintendo now seeks to rectify, but also because of the hardware. The only unique capabilities the 3DS has over competing devices is its 3D screen and StreetPass. Every other feature has been done on other devices (which includes Nintendo's own).
The 3D has proven shaky, and new lines of smartphones with 3D are releasing, making the mobile 3D market more crowded. And I haven't seen Nintendo push StreetPass as a killer feature at all.

So what I think Nintendo needs to do to attract third parties first and foremost, is to become a top tier publishing partner for independent developers, in the same way EA and THQ have their partner programs, and Sony have their great reputation for supporting developers.
If Nintendo can keep supplying the 3DS with their own games, along with having the likes of Crytek, Insomniac, Epic and other independent developers creating exclusive content for their platforms, they will start to attract more third parties.

Nintendo thinks they can win over third parties in one big swoop, but winning the support and loyalty of the big publishers and developers, means that Nintendo have to make sure there is an audience for their games.
Luring independent developers with good publishing support could be a good step in the right direction from here.

I selected wait and see, purely because I want to see what will happen to the end of the year with the price cut and Mario Kart/Mario 3D launching before jumping to any conclusions.

I totally agree, their business model is completely broken.

Yeah, what ioi said.
Nintendo should also whack Reggie in the head a few times to put some senses into him.