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Report claims Nintendo management scheming to get rid of Iwata
- Thread starter scytheavatar
- Start date
Nintendo made just too many mistakes with 3DS and WiiU to even consider mobile as a solution. I'm not a mobile fan but it would be easier to accept mobile support if Nintendo had knocked it out the park with their current systems and would be failing... But that's not the case, even without smartphones WiiU/3DS hardware and software would have a more difficult time selling.
Iwata will learn from this generations mistakes and have another chance one year from now when they start unveiling their next Gen handheld developed to survive for a smartphone/tablet.
If they deliver on the upcoming systems and still fail commercially, a big change will happen quick.
Iwata will learn from this generations mistakes and have another chance one year from now when they start unveiling their next Gen handheld developed to survive for a smartphone/tablet.
If they deliver on the upcoming systems and still fail commercially, a big change will happen quick.
I could see them embracing it first and it falling to other places. I wonder if making games a service would nuke the AAA market in some form. Also will IAP become the norm. Going to be super interesting next gen.
Shining Sunshine
Banned
I'm not sure if it's good for Nintendo to hope that they continue to lose money.
something about brand awareness lol.
no one will buy new hardware just because they played a super slick 2D Mario game on a smartphone even if the game on Nintendo's hardware is better than the smartphone game.
SatoAilDarko
Member
I don't think Iwata has done the greatest job. But if the opposition (if any of this is true) dislikes him for his support of development and hardware then I'm fully with him. Nintendo on mobile would not be the full games I love from them.
Nintentoast
Banned
Sony said that they'll never have as good of games as Nintendo. I'm not going to give you the link, but believe me, it's out there.
Sony's huge conglomerate is failing. PlayStation is one of its only profitable businesses at the moment. People in this thread be acting like three years of losses means Nintendo has no money to ever do anything again...
Freeman
Banned
You wouldn't. They wouldn't exist. Do you buy a dedicated console to play EA games? One for Roskstar Games and another one for Atlus Games?
Nintendo hardware business if dragging them down(or at the very least holding them back).
A game like Galaxy would be awful on tablet but a game like Mario Maker would make a killing on tablet. I can understand them not wanting to go full tablet but there really is no reason why they can't put out the odd title here and there. They put that Pokemon Pokedex on iOS and it did pretty well.
It can certainly work even if it's a companion app (Knack companion app was fun) and the 0reality is there is a lot of money to be made. Even if they put out a free Nintendo Arcade app that let you purchase a few of the older Nintendo titles for .99-1.99 I'm sure that would make a killing as well. Very few people want to spend $5.00 for Mario Bros NES anymore.
Iwata said he doesnt have issues with microtransactions though, he said back in 2012, he just wants to make sure they stay kid and casual friendly and maintain quality(which I am assuming means in a way which kids cant overload the credit card).
Nintendo investors have not shown the level of aggressiveness with micro transactions as you are saying. That one investors I dont think infers a consistent belief that Nintendo going the way of canycrush would work.
Iwata has been president since 2002. There have been 3 years of operating loss, 2 of which had net loss, out of his 12 year tenure. It's irrational to just focus on the negative and assume that's all he is capable of.
KoopaTheCasual
Junior Member
Not to say that releasing new titles on IOS is good, but this is exactly why you're not a shareholder and will never be.
I think the continued licensing of Nintendo characters outside of the video game industry is something LONNNG over-due, and kinda weird how it's just being done again now (Campbell, Mercedes, etc). I think that's the direction Nintendo needs to continue down, if they want to avoid mobile. I mean just look at Disney characters how smart they're marketed on food products. There's a reason why Disney keeps recapturing the kid demographic, and it seems like Nintendo is finally wisening up.
I think slowly after the release of the DS and then the Wii, Nintendo has lost a bit of that magic they used to have. you can chalk it up to top celebrities, directors and designers at Nintendo showing their age, but over the past years I've had to really hold back some critisism whenever Iwata had to give some answers for whenever something wasn't up to expectations.
Maybe the stuff he does behind the scenes is really good for the company, but based on the stuff he has said openly and his philosophies, I think he's hurting the soul of the company. That presentation style of their Nintendo directs for example is super strict and overly formal -- I get this is Japan, but the directs aren't representative of that quirky Nintendo magic you see in their games, and since the Wii I've also thought the games started lacking that magic.
Enough beating around the bush. Iwata is not good for Nintendo, even if the Wii was successful. Gamecube was way better because while it didn't get the success the PS2 and Xbox had it did at least have some great first party titles but also had a lot of third party exclusives that really impressed because the system was even more powerful than the PS2 technically speaking.
That whole blue-ocean philosophy of Iwata is an admission of defeat. I'd rather have someone at the helm who knew how to compete properly.
Maybe the stuff he does behind the scenes is really good for the company, but based on the stuff he has said openly and his philosophies, I think he's hurting the soul of the company. That presentation style of their Nintendo directs for example is super strict and overly formal -- I get this is Japan, but the directs aren't representative of that quirky Nintendo magic you see in their games, and since the Wii I've also thought the games started lacking that magic.
Enough beating around the bush. Iwata is not good for Nintendo, even if the Wii was successful. Gamecube was way better because while it didn't get the success the PS2 and Xbox had it did at least have some great first party titles but also had a lot of third party exclusives that really impressed because the system was even more powerful than the PS2 technically speaking.
That whole blue-ocean philosophy of Iwata is an admission of defeat. I'd rather have someone at the helm who knew how to compete properly.
Why buy a console and game for Mario when you can get it on a phone? No one's buying new Nintendo IP's on mobile. Look at how often their new IP's are downplayed by members on this forum. They don't even recognize they exist. The average consumer won't give two shits about anything but their legacy IP's
You make no sense. There's something about this post. Something au... au, autumnal. reminds me of the fall.
Sounds like a juicy tabloid gossip. Kinda like they're getting rid of an evil CEO and putting the founders son, who hasn't been in involved in day to day activities in ages. I'm hoping Iwata scored a home run witH QOL. He'll need somethin to make the disgruntled investors go away.
Iwata and Reggie just had a DBZ fight at E3
Shikamaru Ninja
任天å ã® å¿è
It's not as simple as that. It's a huge potential marketplace with several different options. The obtuse thinking is "I don't want to play Mario Galaxy and Smash Bros. on my sh** smart phone".
But what about putting Brain-Age, English Training, Cooking Guide, and all those touch-generation IPs Nintendo no longer has a market for on their hardware? What about releasing small e-shop games like "Rusty's Real Deal Baseball" and "Steel Diver: Sub Wars"? What about multi-platform releases of their communications apps like Miiverse, Flipnote Studio, Swapnote? What about leveraging small Mario, Zelda, Metroid, mini-games?
This isn't about releasing their blockbuster games on smartphones.
So you think there is more money in the handheld market for them, then mobile?
1. Nintendo doesn't have enough output to support two pieces of hardware right now, doubt they could support three.
2. The games that are doing well in the IOS market in Japan, were designed to nurture IAPs right away, I don't think you can really refit Nintendo IPs with IAPs in mind without getting a ton of pushback or just being as successful as those games in general.
The Mario Kart 8 Direct was also anything but formal
You keep asking the same question. It doesn't have to be a traditional Mario game that would exist on console. It can be a unique Mario game MADE for mobile. Nintendo can have its cake and eat it too. They certainly have the money to at least try.
Totaly a Duder
Banned
Bring back Hiroshi Yamauchi!
Freeman
Banned
No company has games that are relevant enough to make their console market leaders. That is the point. If they can't compete in hardware/services/third-party support they are as good as done.
Are Nintendo WiiU games worse than Wii games? No, at least not enough to justify the complete disparity in sale.
The same applies to MS, Sony, Apple, Android, Valve. Did Valve games had to get better for them to dominate the market on PC with Steam?
Shikamaru Ninja
任天å ã® å¿è
What does that even mean? If there is a market, they can hire any subcontractor to port their game over. They will spend the money if they feel they will get their return.
Like I said above, Nintendo already has internal different divisions. The department that makes blockbuster 3D games, is different from the virtual console team, which is also different from the miiverse/communication app team.
Then they have a myriad of sub-contract companies disposable to them just like any wealthy publisher does. They can hire any variety of small companies to port or develop mobile games under the Nintendo first-party banner.
I don't want to be a shareholder and never will want to be one, most of hte people in here aren't shareholders and yet they certainly act like it.
I'm content being someone who plays the games that Nintendo makes in the comfort of my own home with my friends without having to buy a console I don't want or a phone I hate.
gasping4meaning
Banned
This might be the most reasonable, well-balanced post on this topic I've ever seen on Gaf. Well done.
I never bought the brand dilution argument especially coming from Nintendo who makes endless Mario games, sequels, terrible account system, and confuses customers with their DS and Wii branding.
Having pocket and mobile editions like what we see in Minecraft would be huge in attracting new fans which the Nintendo brand needs for longterm and short term strategies. The future lies in diversification away from their hardware, which is a generation or two behind in not just graphics but features too (Bluray, indie/3rd party support, and online for example)
Or they can hire those subcontractors to make games for their own systems when fans on those systems are complaining about software droughts? (I'm a huge 3ds fan, but the output has been dreadful this year compared to last).
Let's stop right there. Your dislike of the Wii doesn't mean the Wii wasn't good for Nintendo. What you want can be different from what makes a company successful.
Shogun_of_Truth
Member
I am the only one that has no problem with Nintendo porting old games to mobile?
Everyone has a gameboy/snes emulator on their phones these days anyway, makes sense to me that Nintendo may as well get some profits from it.
I think a VC platform with Wii U/3DS/PC/Mac/Android/IOS cross-buy would make them tons of money.
As long as they still only release new Nintendo games on their own hardware platforms, its not going to hurt hardware sales. No one buys a Wii U to play A link to the Past, but if you have a Wii U you will end up buying a Link to the Past. Putting these games on more platforms just gives more people the chance to buy them. It also puts Nintendo on peoples minds more, which translates to hardware sales from people who want to play new Mario/Zelda games on the Wii U.
Everyone has a gameboy/snes emulator on their phones these days anyway, makes sense to me that Nintendo may as well get some profits from it.
I think a VC platform with Wii U/3DS/PC/Mac/Android/IOS cross-buy would make them tons of money.
As long as they still only release new Nintendo games on their own hardware platforms, its not going to hurt hardware sales. No one buys a Wii U to play A link to the Past, but if you have a Wii U you will end up buying a Link to the Past. Putting these games on more platforms just gives more people the chance to buy them. It also puts Nintendo on peoples minds more, which translates to hardware sales from people who want to play new Mario/Zelda games on the Wii U.
Dont agree with the smartphone strategy, but I do agree Iwata needs to go. Get someone young who is perhaps western educated, but not necessarily, non-Japanese who understands the importance of keeping up with the times with relation to online and account systems. Their current trajectory with games is fine.
I think saying "Look, loads of people have mobiles!" means nothing in the long run.
How do we even know Nintendo games would do well in the mobile market?
Why would people pay a tenner for a Nintendo game on smartphones when there are free alternatives out there?
Casual gamers don't have brand loyalty, they just want to get something for free that they're going to play for a week on buses until the next fad of the week appears - and these people make up the majority of that smartphone marketshare, do you seriously believe Nintendo can be competitive in that environment for years down the line rather than make a quick buck and then fade off into obscurity even quicker?
They would play like crap and devalue the brand.
I'd much rather Nintendo pulled out all the stops and used the Virtual Console (after they sort it out...seriously -_-) as a selling point of the Wii U and future consoles (they mentioned the Wii U VC backlog should be there at next console launch if memory serves, due to the next console being able to absorb Wii U architecture, they won't have to recode it so they can just push it to it, unlike the Wii to Wii U issue. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I do remember reading this). That'd be far more beneficial for Nintendo in the long run
Shikamaru Ninja
任天å ã® å¿è
They can, but unfortunately there is a diminishing market and you are seeing Nintendo slowdown on the game publishing. They only feel comfortable pushing out BIG expensive to make IPs that feature Mario, (or Link), and that usually has to be done internally, because that's the only thing that seems to sell on their niche market this generation.
Mobile gaming would be a different story.
Fox Mulder
Member
why?
Id imagine Nintendo could easily make a simple game like candy crush or angry birds with their IP, and it could help push an entire group of kids to their hardware.
there will be a whole generation of kids that grow up with mobile devices and cheap games instead of a DS or Gameboy. Japan is shifting to mobile as well.
I keep asking the question because you keep dodging it.
Why would anyone pay for a console and game is they can get the same IP for a dollar on mobile?
The average consumer gets Mario on their phone, why would they care about buying a home console and a game? I'm not talking about the core, I'm talking about the soccer mom playing Candy Crush or the 3 year old playing Temple Run. They won't care about the quality of the game, they just want the recognizable IP.
They have enough problems supporting their own systems with content when 3rd parties don't show up like on WiiU - further reducing the people working on Nintendo hardware doesn't seem like a good idea at all, at least as long they don't have a major shift in their product philosophy.
Follow the Minecraft mobile model; it's not a dollar and people still buy the console and PC versions too.
Nintendo is missing out on the new fans and family money by not appealing to the Minecraft customers
They need to be merged into one platform which is where Nintendo seems to be heading
Tye The Czar
Member
Maybe they should develop apps that allow for synergy between mobile devices and Nintendo hardware.
That's such a misnomer. Their output between 3DS and Wii U the last few years has been higher in quantity than ever before, and quality is still up there. The issue is just the gaps due to lack of third party support.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
Some fans continue to say that the only problem is Nintendo's games aren't magical like when they were kids, and if they were Nintendo would be a leader.
But no one company can carry the core console market as it is today, by themselves. Nintendo's problem remains they lost 3rd parties. Microsoft couldn't sell 80 million xboxes with just Halo and Forza. Sony couldn't succeed with only Uncharted and God of War. Without the CoDs, GTA, sports, etc.
One reason Nintendo's own franchises aren't as "relevant" I suspect is lack of exposure. If more people in the core demographic had their console because 3rd parties were on board, more would have access to Nintendo's first party games. It's that simple. Of course this comes across as a stealth argument for Nintendo going 3rd party to put their wares on popular platforms. But it's really just the situation Nintendo is stuck with.
The Japanese mobile market is its own case since Japan is abandoning everything in favor cell phones. Focusing on just that ignores the rest of the world. Meanwhile Nintendo can't directly compete with premium core game consoles in the west that are mostly aimed at a narrow but profitable slice of 20-30 year old males. Either Nintendo finds a new niche for themselves, or boogeymen oust Iwata and bow to shareholders who know nothing other than they see cell phones everywhere. And we see whether or not a lot of people end up being sorry they got their wish.
But no one company can carry the core console market as it is today, by themselves. Nintendo's problem remains they lost 3rd parties. Microsoft couldn't sell 80 million xboxes with just Halo and Forza. Sony couldn't succeed with only Uncharted and God of War. Without the CoDs, GTA, sports, etc.
One reason Nintendo's own franchises aren't as "relevant" I suspect is lack of exposure. If more people in the core demographic had their console because 3rd parties were on board, more would have access to Nintendo's first party games. It's that simple. Of course this comes across as a stealth argument for Nintendo going 3rd party to put their wares on popular platforms. But it's really just the situation Nintendo is stuck with.
The Japanese mobile market is its own case since Japan is abandoning everything in favor cell phones. Focusing on just that ignores the rest of the world. Meanwhile Nintendo can't directly compete with premium core game consoles in the west that are mostly aimed at a narrow but profitable slice of 20-30 year old males. Either Nintendo finds a new niche for themselves, or boogeymen oust Iwata and bow to shareholders who know nothing other than they see cell phones everywhere. And we see whether or not a lot of people end up being sorry they got their wish.
GeorgioCostanzaX
Member
I think the idea they cant compete and make money in the mobile market is crazy talk. They have more then enough money to either port really old games over to mobile or make very specifc mobile games while still making handheld and console games. I have not really seen any arguments against it other then "it doesn't guarantee success". Well obviously, but Vegas odds would be heavily in the favor of making money. I think people are being disengenous when they try and infer that Nintendo wouldnt make money long or short terms in the mobile space.
Also, it's seems the people most against Nintendo mobile games only play F2P ones. There are a lot of good non F2P games on the mobile scene. Nintendo doesn't have to "go for a quick buck" they can actually maintain quality in the mobile space, not all mobile games are shit, which seems to be inferred in a lot of these topics.
Scorpion Soldier
Member
From a fan-perspective, definitely. From a bussines perspective however...
I'm going to use your other post, but I think those other games that you listed would be a drop in the bucket and would amount to nothing on the IOS. The games that are doing well in IOS in Japan are the ones that entice the whales, and none of those IPS you listed would get whales to do anything.