Forum - View topicNintendo Sales Down 8% in 2nd Quarter Despite Mario Kart 8
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DRosencraft
Posts: 666 |
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It doesn't suit Nintendo to be out of consoles. It is very hard to imagine playing their games on any other system. It is just such an iconic company. As I see it, their problem is not really consoles per se. It's the same as it was last week, two months ago, three years ago; no games. As much as 1st party titles draw attention, it's the strength of the rest of the library that keeps players around. Not a lot of people are going to buy a console if there are only a few games of interest available. MK8 is a party game. Well, how often are you going to have a party? Same for upcoming Smash Bros. Nintendo's Forte was games to play together with friends and family. Well, people have become much less interested in that brand of on-the-couch-together game play.
A game like Hyrum Warriors, or Bayonetta 2 can change that, but these are somewhat niche, so you have to be cautious of pinning too much hopes in those. Overall, however, Nintendo lacks a lot of "other" games. There are big lulls between the 1st party titles, and not a lot to fill those gaps. Any gamer looking for value wants to wait, but by the time they look back at the game, how many are still playing it? |
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Beatdigga
 Posts: 4417 Location: New York |
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They can still make portables, they have the market cornered there, Bioshock being near console perfect for iOS be damned, but still, home consoles they don't have the resources to compete with multimedia companies.
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enurtsol
 Posts: 14795 |
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Pretty much; that's also why Microsoft isn't mentioned in these news articles about console financials since the Xbox division is just a portion of their whole business. Still, it kinda shows how the company is doing, decisions regarding the Xbox division largely don't have anything to do with the bottomline. (Apple could do the same thing too with their Apple TV if they ever decide that there's enough money out off gaming apps and cloud gaming. It already works with Macs.) |
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Barbobot
 Posts: 460 |
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Do note though that the Xbox division of microsoft is indeed in the red. The Xbox One hasn't turned a profit quite yet.
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enurtsol
Posts: 14795 |
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Yep, it takes years for a console division to recoup the investments, plus if the console is sold at a loss (though in this case it's not). It took the 360 till 2008 and the PS3 till 2010 to return to the black. But they knew that going in. |
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Stuart Smith
 Posts: 1298 |
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Is that Nintendo's fault or the consumers? Nintendo really is the odd-man out. Not relying on on-disk DLC, or day 1 DLC in an era where it's acceptable for a Game of the Decade to launch with over 100 dollars with of DLC content ready to buy. Offering online and backwards compatibility for free rather than being paid services like other companies. Focusing on games first and foremost rather than being a living room entertainment center device and social media integration. Focusing on new and innovative ideas for gaming rather than relying on interchangeable hardware and software. Gaming has changed so much the past decade in the western hemisphere. Nintendo remains top dog in Japan, but here gaming culture has shifted a ton thanks to things like mobas, shooters, streaming, let's plays, gaming news sites mingling with developer and publisher studios, and other western conventions. Time will tell if there's still a place for a company like Nintendo here. -Stuart Smith |
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ikillchicken
 Posts: 7272 Location: Vancouver |
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I think that's absolutely true. The Wii U appeals to die hard Nintendo fans and only die hard Nintendo fans. You have to recognize though that this is the problem. Numbers don't lie. The Wii U's sales numbers show where only appealing to Nintendo fans gets you. It's sad for sure. I wish it wasn't the case. But if Nintendo wants to right the ship they've got to realize that this just isn't viable. That niche has been shrinking since Sony entered the market and has finally gotten too small to be even viable as a side market. That's where, while I'm in no way eager for them to give up on the Wii U (especially since I went and bought one), I can't really deny that looking at going 3rd party makes some sense at least at some point. If your greatest asset is software then it makes a whole lot of sense to just sell software. Trying to force people into buying a console just to get that software doesn't make a lot of sense. Obviously there are downsides. There's a lot more profit in selling software on a console you own than licensing it to other consoles. But then, there's not much profit to be made period for Nintendo these days anyway. I don't know. I guess we'll see.
Sure buddy. Nintendo is just the last noble hero of gaming, tragically spurned by stupid westerners for holing out against the evils of [hate buzzword]. Superior Japanese gamers (and you) still appreciate them. 
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Polycell
 Posts: 4623 |
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The core problem with the Wii U is that the Wii hit it out of the park with the appeal to casual gamers and Nintendo tried to make lightning strike twice with their silly tablet; the second screen thing is interesting, but a heads-down display is limited in its usefulness. An updated version of the Dreamcast's VMUs can possibly work, but like the original I suspect it's not going to be too popular.
Thinking about it, the giant pad could've been used far more innovative with one of those needle things you press you hand into and see it out the other side(sorry for the poor description): each game could've been able to create its own buttons as they wished, with full tactile feedback. |
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enurtsol
Posts: 14795 |
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Thanks to handhelds. Gaming has changed in Japan too, shifting mostly to handhelds and mobile gaming (Japan has surpassed the US for #1 mobile gaming - it's already 50% of Japan's total gaming revenue.) Japanese game publishers have to increasingly address that as mobile gaming becomes more powerful - they can't afford not to serve half of the gaming market.
Things always change. If not for the change in the market due to Atari's collapse, that allowed Nintendo to fill the void. And if Nintendo doesn't serve the market well, something else will step in. So if not for these changes, Nintendo would not be here - or Sega or Playstation or Xbox or Steam, etc. Gotta change with the times. Can't blame change. |
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Guile
Posts: 595 |
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Even when they did do their first DLC pass for Mario Golf, they dropped the price of the game itself to compensate. Nintendo's the most consumer friendly company out there, butit doesn't line up with what modern gamers have become. Anti-consumerism is rewarded in this environment and it's too late for anyone to really fight against it. It's part of the reason I grew out of most video games and only really enjoy the occasional Nintendo game or RPG like the Atelier, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, or Tales Of series. I wonder if that's part of the reason why handhelds have taken off in Japan, and why most western developers don't develop for handhelds. |
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Tuor_of_Gondolin
 Posts: 3524 Location: Bellevue, WA |
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Some people seem to think that the sales results of the Wii mean that there is this great casual market out there that is just waiting for the right console to come along. They are wrong.
The Wii was a FAD. Look up the word. People who are not gamers joined a *fad* and rode it until the next fad came along, which they then chased after, because there is a sizeable segment of the population that is like that. Granted, *some* of those people did end up becoming gamers, but that was a small percentage of those who rode Wii fad. The point here is that no one, least of all Nintendo, should expect that to happen again, because it almost certainly will not. So Nintendo profited from a fad, and I certainly have no problems with that. But then they started acting (so far as I could tell) as if it was their product which pulled in casuals, and while that isn't *entirely* incorrect, it is a very misleading thing to think, because it implies that they could do something to make it happen a second time. This sets up unrealistic expectations, which we are now seeing being destroyed. Worse, it seems to have hidden/obfuscated changes in the non-fad-gaming marketplace, and those changes are also now impacting on Nintendo, which seems unable to answer them. Nintendo had best forget about the Wii, or at least not use it as some sort of standard, and instead look at how things are *now*, and where things will likely be in the future. Otherwise, it'll become increasingly irrelevant to the gaming community. That's my take, anyway. |
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enurtsol
Posts: 14795 |
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I don't think one has to do with the other. The Japanese are also very into mobile gaming, and that type of gaming is full of DLCs/microtransactions. And even your linked article says
Most games can still be enjoyed without DLCs/microtransactions. I think the Japanese just prefer handheld/mobile gaming since they're outside the house a lot and don't have the entertainment situation to maximize consoles at home. |
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Fedora-san
 Posts: 464 |
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Sigh. Nintendo is not going to go third party. Even if they drop out of the home console market, which they aren't, their dominance in the handheld market is more than enough reason to keep them in the hardware business. People have been saying Nintendo is doomed since 1986.
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Beatdigga
Posts: 4417 Location: New York |
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In 1986 Nintendo ruled the world. In 2014, they're losing money on home consoles and would be better served focusing solely on the mobile sector where their dominance is still present and if they do make home console games, sell them to third parties. No one wants their IP's bought by...EA. |
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Cecilthedarkknight_234
 Posts: 3820 Location: Louisville, KY |
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Don't forget about activision and ubisoft as potential buyers as well. Uggghhh the thought of any one of these companies buying out Nintendo ip's scares the hell out me. |
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