How Can Nintendo Recover? 559
Nerval's Lobster writes "Nintendo's revenue and profits are tumbling faster than Mario into a bottomless pit. Company executives recently suggested the next-generation Wii U console would sell 2.8 million units between April 2013 and March 2014 — significantly below the 9 million units predicted in previous estimates. Contrast that with Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One, which sold 4.2 million and 3 million units, respectively, in their first six weeks of release. In lowering its hardware and software estimates, Nintendo also expects to take a loss by the end of its fiscal year in March. Nintendo's attempt to carve a niche for itself as an ecosystem for casual gamers has also run into a massive obstacle in the form of smartphones and tablets, which quickly developed into popular gaming platforms. Nintendo is reportedly considering a 'new business model,' according to Bloomberg, with its CEO telling a gathering of reporters in Osaka: 'Given the expansion of smart devices, we are naturally studying how smart devices can be used to grow the game-player business. It's not as simple as enabling Mario to move on a smartphone.' While Nintendo could probably made some good money off legacy gamers by bringing its (much loved) portfolio of older titles to iOS, Android, and other platforms, that move to mobile might further weaken its hardware sales. So what do you think? If you were in charge of Nintendo, how would you turn it around?"
Re:Wii U problem is not underpowered. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Erm, the 3DS (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Erm, the 3DS (Score:4, Informative)
Re: It's not the 3DS, but the change of a generati (Score:5, Informative)
I think you overestimate how quickly consoles sell. You point to the 4.2 million and 3 million figures as evidence of declining console sales, and yet, the PS4 and Xbone had the best launches in the history of the industry.
Re:Start on Windows or tablets (Score:4, Informative)
Apparently Nintendo has been opening up to indies quite a bit: For instance, the requirement for an actual commercial address is gone. However, you'd have to be mad to make the WiiU your main platform, if just because as an indie, you will not get enough exposure to warrant the gamble. That's why everyone and their mother tries to develop for PC: If you get on Steam, you will get plenty of visibility.
Re:Market is Apple/Google's, but N has an advantag (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Erm, the 3DS (Score:4, Informative)
Cost definitely had something to do with it, but as one of the few people who used to have a Game Gear when I was in primary school (all my friends had Game Boys), the number one thing that sucked about the GG was the battery life. Because it had a backlit, colour screen, it only lasted an hour or two on batteries, whereas the GB would last all day.
Not only that, the GG required six AA batteries and these were damn expensive at the rate you went through them. You could use rechargeables but they lasted even less time than non-rechargeable batteries. I recall spending most of my time playing the GG plugged into AC power.