I have been looking at forums, especially Vgchartz, in recent years, especially about Nintendo related news since I am a big Nintendo fan, ever since I played Super Mario World on SNES. Now some people commenting that Nintendo should go the route of third-party for one reason or another is nothing new. However, I keep hearing more comments of "Nintendo should go third-party," "NX will be their last console if they fail," "Sony or Microsoft should buy them," or something along those lines, compared to Sony and Microsoft, especially in recent years (due to obvious reasons).
Bear with me as I express my thoughts...
Why should Nintendo go third-party when, financially, they're not in trouble?...Sure they are not gaining profits of the likes of the Wii/DS era, but they gained some profit these last several quarters, thanks to Splatoon, 3DS, Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros, amiibo, etc. Those who comment will hark back to what happened to Sega and how they dropped off the console race. However, what people quickly miss (or forget to mention) is that Sega was BLEEDING money, which was a blow to their business, along with the fact that the PS2 started dominating the market and taking away marketshare and any momentum Sega had left. They could no longer support their own console long-term. Nintendo has been out of first place in the home console market for 3 out of the 4 generations since Sony's PlayStation came about, but have remained profitable through all but 2-3 years (which are from 2011-13, I believe), which is something Sega could not do. I have looked at that table that showed the yearly profits of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo that was presented in one of the sales discussions in this site and it amazes me that despite being able to dominate the game market, Sony has not really profited as much as much as Nintendo has at times (though Sony's profits on the chart could also be affected by their other products).
Nintendo seems to remain stable despite the struggles of the N64, the GameCube, and the Wii U. Yes, you can say that the Game Boy series, the DS, the Wii, and the 3DS have carried Nintendo, but you got to give some credit to the games that they've released on all their systems, home and handheld alike. Heck, with Virtual Console, eShop, and game accessories, they must've gained something from those areas. Amiibo is another beast in of itself. Plus, who knows how much they could earn (or lose) with the upcoming theme parks (who starts theme parks when they are bleeding money, anyway), mobile, etc.
So therefore, Nintendo appears financially stable when you include the assets they've gained for over 125 years, the $10 billion in the bank, and the value of their IPs, especially Mario, Zelda, and Pokémon. Plus, they are hiring more people by the year (even though their overall employment is rather low compared to the other first-party companies). Furthermore, as mentioned in the past, they, reportedly, could lose up to $250 million a year and it would be a long, long time before they could even consider going bankrupt (Source: http://www.gamesradar.com/nintendo-doomed-not-likely-just-take-look-how-much-money-its-got-bank/). Though obviously, that's not the ideal route Nintendo is going for.
Also, having a company like Nintendo along with Sony and Microsoft makes things interesting in the home console race. Sony and Microsoft have consoles that are mostly similar (though PS4 is more powerful). While that is fine and dandy (I have a 360 and plan to get a PS4 in the future when it gets a little more cheaper), I like a little variety in philosophies. Nintendo provides that uniqueness, despite lacking the tech that the PS4 and Xbone have. Its not just software, but hardware as well. Iwata realized near the end of the GameCube era that Nintendo would not go anywhere if they just did the same ole' song and dance against the PlayStation and the Xbox. To be honest, I commend how ballsy he was in creating a different kind of concept that showed people that there is something different from the Wii compared to PS3 and Xbox 360. This concept caught on to the masses, including the senior citizens and soccer moms that may have never considered playing video games before, something that even the PS2, the all-time best selling console, could not have claimed to be able to cater to, especially without the added DVD player. Sure, core gamers were turned off by the concept, especially later on, when the HD twins got multiplats that the Wii could not have had due to lack of power, but even then, there were still compelling software on the Wii that can be mentioned proudly among the gaming community. I can't name them all, but the Wii was a great console with a variety of hardcore and casual games with a unique concept that made it successful. Same with DS and 3DS (to a lesser extent compared to DS).
Of course, not all ideas work out as we look at the Wii U. While it has great games, it, unfortunately, did not catch on due to a variety of reasons, including bad marketing, unappealing and last-gen tech, software droughts, casual gamers moving on towards mobile, PS4 and Xbone hype, etc. Nevertheless, the Wii U provides unique experiences, including Splatoon, Smash Wii U, 3D World, Tropical Freeze, Pikmin 3, Hyrule Warriors, Bayonetta 1 and 2, LEGO City Undercover, ZombiU (before it got ported), Xenoblade Chronicles X, Super Mario Maker, Nintendoland, Yoshi's Woolly World, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, some notable indies, etc. This all done while Nintendo is also supporting the 3DS, which has its share of some of the best games of this generation like Fire Emblem, Bravely Default, Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon, Animal Crossing New Leaf, Kid Icarus, Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Pokémon X/Y/OR/AS, Monster Hunter, Shin Megami Tensei, Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, Smash Bros., etc.
Could they do better? Of course they can. There's always ways to improve. As mentioned in many discussions, third-party relations, expanding and reviving old IPs, creating new IPs, better marketing, providing better potential for their consoles, etc. are ways that can bring Nintendo over the top again.
I believe this generation has taken a toll on their usual game production as HD is more complicated, time consuming, and more expensive than most of the games they've produced in the past. I mean, think of what Aya Kyogoku (co-director of AC: New Leaf) could've done with the Amiibo Festival spin-off if it was not developed within a short amount of time (though I don't know how long this game was in production, I'm just guessing considering how reviewers criticized its lack of content and fun) or if Camelot had a little more time with Ultra Smash (again, criticized for lack of content and only going through the motions) or have developed a game that required a little more production time. Yeah, these are spin-offs, but even spin-offs can be good if developed well. This is not even mentioning trying to make games for 3DS in order to retain some of the momentum that the handheld still has. Unfortunately, the droughts have affected them this gen and they tried to compensate this year with filler that needed more time to flesh out and add more content.
They could only do so much with Wii U and 3DS at this point, especially since sales are slowing down for 3DS and the Wii U is going nowhere despite a more solid sales performance this year compared to last year which isn't really saying much. Hopefully, with the NX, they will be able to really utilize their hardware more efficiently with the experience from this current generation and produce games more consistently, especially since they've already merged their handheld and home console divisions.
Right now, Nintendo is in a transition phase and we have been pretty much aware of this for a while now. Iwata has been trying plan this before his ill-timed passing and now new president Kimishima is given the torch to complete the plan. They believe that they need to expand their brand to raise awareness of their IPs. Which is why you're getting the amiibos, the theme parks, the mobiles, and the potential TV shows/movies along with their bread and butter that is video games. Will they succeed? Who knows as it is too soon to tell. We could only hope for the best.
In the end, with the money they have in general and how they stand out amongst the competition, not to mention how stubborn they are in controlling their IPs and how they want their games to be made in integration with the hardware, I cannot fathom the idea of Nintendo going third-party anytime soon. They have made mistakes (who doesn't), we get it. But to the point where they could go third-party? I don't think so.
I might be wrong in some aspects of my little essay here, but these are my thoughts. Let me know if I'm missing something if possible.
Anyway, why do you think Nintendo should (or could) go third-party? Is there any realistic possibility that in the future (near or far) that they could end up as a third-party developer even despite what I've said?
Sorry for this long post...But I am eager to hear your thoughts.
