maybe it would be fine for them to put stuff on mobile platforms as I don't really think they are directly competing with Nintendo's core experience. Playing on the Wii U is epic, playing on an IPhone is a nightmare you will regret for the rest of your life. These are two completely different experiences.

However everywhere else I am against. First off Nintendo makes more money off of selling their games on their consoles in comparison to selling them on other consoles. Secondly would Nintendo's quality still be as high if they went third party? I know damn well Nintendo has about a hundred super senior developers who have been working with them since the stone age and are just waiting to retire. They haven't because they like Nintendo and they like what Nintendo does. If Nintendo went third party, I bet half of them would retire. Quality would drop like a rock, and Nintendo franchises wouldn't sell as well. Add 2 and 2 together and they would probably make less money than they are now.

I doubt it. Of course they would have slightly better sales, but not by much. Nintendo games are aimed to a different audience and I´m not sure if their games would find fans on the restricted PS3-Xbox360 consumer base.

Fans of those consoles don´t seek for the kind of phantasy experience Nintendo provides with their games. They´re more into only M-rated games, shooters and a few sports/racing simulators. Games like The Legend of Zelda, Fire Emblem, Metroid Prime, although excellent games, probably wouldn´t sell well on those platforms It´s no surprise that a game like Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed sold better on WiiU than on other platforms, despite the device´s still small install base

Sales would surge across the board at first. Everyone would buy Nintendo games on other systems for the novelty of it. I think after that, however, we'd begin to see certain franchises lose traction.

The thing about Nintendo games doing such massive numbers is that it's partially due to existing in a mostly closed system. Many Nintendo fans stick with Nintendo games out of a sense of loyalty and belonging. Being a Nintendo fan is an identifier for them. Without the hardware, I think that sense of identity would evaporate somewhat and they'd start to buy games based on more than it having a Nintendo badge.

I believe second tier franchise sales would sink downward. Mario platformers would probably hold steady. Games like Mario Kart and Smash Brothers would continue to be huge. The boon would be for Zelda (unless it's like Skyward Sword) and especially Metroid. I think those are franchises that would do very well on other platforms.

It would be interesting to see how some of these "I only play Nintendo games" people would react.

Multiplate? They have enough on their own plate.

They could collaborate with all you can eat buffets and sell millions. The Golden Corral introduces the new all you can eat Nintendo buffet for 9.99.

You could say that they were really hungry.

Nintendo fans would eat it right up.

OT  I'm sure that the sales would suck because Sony and MS console owners don't care for Mario, or so I've heard.

That brings up an interesting psychological question, for all platforms. How much of our love for things Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have to do with our natural prediliction and how much has to do with it being associated with a particular brand? It would be really cool to run some type of survey on that question.

In other words, do I love Nintendo because I love Zelda, Mario, and Metroid? Or do I love Zelda, Mario, and Metroid because I love Nintendo? And the same questions could be asked of Uncharted, God of War, PS+, Halo, Fable, Xbox LIVE, etc.

I think it would benefit everyone if they took a few moments to consider what they really want from a video game experience, regardless of brand names, and then apply that to their purchases, instead of simply embracing all things Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft.

Sorry, that's way off topic :/

If SEGA is any indication, the sales would take a nose dive.

This is easy to understand because the brand is stronger when it has a piece of hardware attached to that image. Once those disappear their uniqueness also gets diluted.

Don't think it would change much. I think gamers are pretty much split where they are. Now if we are talking iPhone... now that would be a huge gain for Nintendo.