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[StevieP]

OK, I'll do the maths.

Just for you.

According to numbers on Nintendo's web site (where they are being paragons of transparency compared to other platform holders to be honest) as of June 30th, 36.67 million games have been sold on Wii U. They also have a list showing sales of the top-ten selling games on the platform as of March 31st. All of these games are first party games and they add up to 13.75 million. Since then Mario Kart has been released. Also, Nintendo have released other games not on the top ten and these top ten games will have gone on to sell more units between March 31st and June 30th. So, mostly to simplify the maths, I'll make the assumption that all these Nintendo games not accounted for sum up to about five million units. In that case half of the games sold on their platform are first party, half are third party.

So let's say that, on average, after shops have taken their cut, and shipping costs etc that publishers, devolopers and platform holders make $30 to share. Let's say that the platform holder takes $10 in royalties. If so, Nintendo makes $30 on their own games on their own platform and $10 from third party games on their own platform, and they would make $20 from their games on someone else's platform.

So, let's say that the amount of sales they get from their own games on their own console is Y. Therefore, since about half of the games sold on their platform are third-party, the amount of third party games sold is Y as well. If so, they would make 30Y + 10Y = 40Y dollars by keeping their games exclusive on Nintendo platforms.

Let's instead say that they were to release their games on Xbox, PS and PC and not have their own platform. I'm a Nintendo optimist. If they do the right thing and go third party, I can easily see them being the biggest publisher around. I think that they have a huge potential in that case and would sell at least three times as much of their own software as they do today. This is a conservative estimate, the difference in installed base will be much larger than that. In this case they would sell 3Y copies of their own software and zero third-party on their own software. So they would make 20*3Y = 60Y dollars in this scenario.

So, according to the maths, if you accept my assumptions, which may not be water proof but still, they would make 50 % more money if they released their games on Xbox/PS/PC.

Now I'm very interested in seeing you people who claimed that it would make just as much sense for MS and Sony to release their games on other platforms do the maths to show that. I predict I will have to wait for a very long time. Likely, many of them will not even acknowledge this post.

It would be totally awesome if you could respond to AniHawk's post, here:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=123868043&postcount=552

i understand your intent, but it comes across as port begging because it's something that was brought up again and again even when the company was doing well. i also feel there's very little critical thinking involved with making the suggestion.

right now there's only a possibility, one that can't be proved either way until it happens, that nintendo's games would do well on the xbox one and playstation 4. for starters, i don't know where this idea in particular comes from. it paradoxically marries the ideas that 'nintendo's games are fantastic so people would buy them on a bigger userbase' and 'nintendo needs to stop supporting their own hardware because no one is buying their games for them!' like nintendo's real fanbase is this group that may, hypothetically, buy their games in droves. well who's to say that instead of 'i'll wait for the console to be $150 with a game' doesn't get replaced with 'i'll wait for it to be $20'?

beyond that, there's very little evidence the games nintendo makes would see massive success on these platforms. the ps4 and xbox one aren't made for kids and families, and neither are their games. they're built for 18-34 year old males with lots of disposable income. multiplayer is not centered around the living room, but behind a paywall. there's nothing inherent to these machines that's immediately attractive to nintendo's traditional fanbase, and nintendo would pretty much be all alone in forging that path.

the suggestion that nintendo needs to make games for other platforms usually comes with the suggestion that nintendo's games would be 'better' by virtue of being on those platforms. it's unrealistic in how it portrays nintendo's development process and games development in general. nintendo's hardware is weird and hard for third-parties to use because nintendo's hardware is built for nintendo's software developers. it's relatively easy for them to use and accommodate themselves with. if they had to start making games for other platforms, there would be some quick, cheap looking ports for starters followed by a long silence as resources are shifted around and people have to learn new hardware very quickly. budgets and manpower would increase for certain games and others would need to cease development entirely. more than likely, focus on just the best-performing franchises would increase and risky titles would come out with far fewer frequency than ever before.

if they never do anything else with them, it basically rids the company of their hardware division, which has been around for about forty years. it brings in a ton of revenue for the company, which allows them to make and publish the two dozen or games they produce each year. without that, their model will have to change very drastically, further affecting budget, manpower, etc.

plus you need to factor getting into what sony would take, what microsoft would take, learning their process, learning their restrictions, and competing against third-parties with established fanbases (well i've been over that one sorta already).

it's just a bad idea based on the premise that something might actually happen.

 

[Amazeballs]

Yes and all the executive staff were hand picked and very close friends with Iwata. This article is bogus.

What a cruel thing to do, spreading rumors like these. It serves nothing but to pile on stress and doubt on top of the mental strain from just recently having bile duct surgery.

 

[JordanN]

Good point. Didn't know Activison released HW too.

Spoiler

NOT!

So? Their hardware isn't going to disappear in a day. In fact, that only makes the argument stronger.

They'll have to put out games on whatever console installbase they have left. That, or their games go multiplat (so a game on iOS also shows up on 3DS). Where's the problem?

 

[Chinpoko_Master]

I guess that Yamauchi should have left after the N64/GC fiasco too?

Um, isn't that when he handed the reins to Iwata? Kinda proves my point lol.

 

[maxiell]

The worst part of Iwata stepping down would be that there would be no more Iwata Asks.

They already announced there would be no more Iwata Asks in their last conference call.

How come no one ever shouts for Sony or Microsoft to expand into mobile? If there's so much extra money to be made, everyone would benefit from making mobile ports, not just Nintendo

Not really sure what your point is here - both companies release games on mobile.

What a cruel thing to do, spreading rumors like these. It serves nothing but to pile on stress and doubt on top of the mental strain from just recently having bile duct surgery.

He's a powerful executive, stress is pretty much part of the job.

Mobile is far from a sure thing, and 3DS has done fairly well. I think game pricing on 3DS is a huge issue - for kids who own both a tablet and a 3DS, games are so much cheaper on the former. I don't think they need to come down to mobile pricing, but they need to get competitive or else they are limiting the exposure of their wonderful games. When they announce their next handheld, I think this is something they'll address.

 

[gogogow]

So? Their hardware isn't going to disappear in a day. In fact, that only makes the argument stronger.

They'll have to put out games on whatever console installbase they have left. That, or their games go multiplat (so a game on iOS also shows up on 3DS). Where's the problem?

Lol, releasing games on mobile platforms will destroy Nintendo's HW business.

Going both on iOS and 3DS? Lol. No it doesn't make your argument stronger at all. Do you think people are willing to buy a 3DS when they can play it on their phones/tablets? Typical short term thinking. No, the 3DS isn't going to dissapear in a day, but Nintendo also don't have to release new HW anymore. Once they release games on mobile platforms, people will just wait for the next Nintendo mobile game. People will get used to the low pricing and you think people will "upgrade" to the 4DS where games costs around $30-40?

Your argument consists of Activsion, which is a 100% software company, of course they release games on all platforms. Nintendo is a SW and a platform holder. What a terrible comparison.

 

[EulaCapra]

Seems like a GAF poster translated a portion of the article days ago and now articles are popping up stretching that small anount of info into a couple of paragraphs not wanting to translate the rest of the article by themselves. Hehehe.

 

[Aquamarine]

Um, isn't that when he handed the reins to Iwata? Kinda proves my point lol.

Yamauchi continued to watch Iwata's every move until mid-2005. He didn't give up his authority / control the instant he left. In fact, Yamauchi hired a pawn (Mr. Asada) to have authority OVER Mr. Iwata so in the event he turned out to be a bad CEO, he could be removed.

The only reason Mr. Yamauchi handed the reigns to Mr. Iwata is because he decided it was time for him to retire (he was 74 at the time).

 

[-MB-]

PS4 and XB1 aren't bombing like the Wii U.

Vita is bombing very very hard.

 

[CrimsonCrescendo]

To Satoru Iwata, this line of thought is a short-term strategy, and one he doesn't wish to pursue because he, like Yamauchi and others at Nintendo ( like Shigeru Miyamoto), fully embrace Nintendo's status as a platform holder. They have too much pride to release software on other platforms when they place so much value on the business of integrated hardware and software as being Nintendo's identity.

Here's some of Iwata's comments when asked about possibly supporting smartphones in 2013:

The way I see it is this: If Iwata takes care of the following questions (and more, these are just off the top of my head) in the next 4 to 5 years:


A) Their internet infrastructure.

B) Their lack of partnerships with major developers and major publishers which has lead to next to no 3rd party support.

C) What their plans are post Wii U? The Wii U ain't coming back. It'll be lucky to sell 12 to 15 million units by the end of 2016. 20 million lifetime if they're lucky (and that's still below the Gamecube). What does he plan to do to stop another failure like this? This has been a trend since the SNES sans the Wii. SNES sold less than the NES. N64 sold less that the SNES. Gamecube sold less than N64. And now the Wii U is looking to sell less than the Gamecube. What are his plans for having the next "Wii" happen?

D) To add to C: What is their plan to have the next jump in tech go more smoothly than previous gens have gone? Every single time we hear how they're ready and then a year later we get "development has been more difficult than we expected, but this won't happen next time" and then it does any way?

E) Obviously their promotional tactics this time around haven't been the most effective. How are they going to change that?

F) If they aren't going to try to keep up with Sony and Microsoft and if he isn't going to have Nintendo go mobile, what are his plans to differentiate Nintendo products to serve a market large enough to keep going? Clearly the Wii U didn't work. The 3DS is looking to to barely a 1/3 of what the DS did. They are losing massive amounts of market share in both the console and handheld space. The longer this goes on, the more tricky it will be to turn it around. So what is he planning to do?

Then that "forward/future thinking" statement will have meaning. If we don't see any improvement on those fronts or we don't see some gears starting to be set in motion, then he clearly needs to be replaced as he's blowing smoke up people's ass. In the mean time, what we do know is that he's turning down a major potential source of revenue they clearly need, which reflects poorly on him. Iwata is definitely not in an enviable position right now.

 

[Chinpoko_Master]

Man, the only thing more annoying than port begging is people whining about port begging that isn't actually port begging.

 

[JordanN]

Lol, releasing games on mobile platforms will destroy Nintendo's HW business.

Going both on iOS and 3DS? Lol. No it doesn't make your argument stronger at all. Do you think people are willing to buy a 3DS when they can play it on their phones/tablets? Typical short term thinking. No, the 3DS isn't going to dissapear in a day, but Nintendo also don't have to release new HW anymore. Once they release games on mobile platforms, people will just wait for the next Nintendo mobile game. People will get used to the low pricing and you think people will "upgrade" to the 4DS where games costs around $30-40?

Your argument consists of Activsion, which is a 100% software company, of course they release games on all platforms. Nintendo is a SW and a platform holder. What a terrible comparison.

It was said in this thread Gunman Clive did better on 3DS than on mobile so there can definitely be an audience for the two.

Using Activision was pointing out that despite them having a mobile division, they still keep COD going on consoles. Again, there's nothing stopping Nintendo from doing both or making certain franchises exclusive to different platforms.

Ice Climbers and Warioware could be portable only (3DS & iOS). Zelda and Metroid could still release either just on consoles or handhelds. In both scenarios, Nintendo still sees money from both revenue sources.

 

[Amazeballs]

He's a powerful executive, stress is pretty much part of the job.

Mobile is far from a sure thing, and 3DS has done fairly well. I think game pricing on 3DS is a huge issue - for kids who own both a tablet and a 3DS, games are so much cheaper on the former. I don't think they need to come down to mobile pricing, but they need to get competitive or else they are limiting the exposure of their wonderful games. When they announce their next handheld, I think this is something they'll address.

I've not experience either, but I don't think the stress from running a videogame company and the anxiety from knowing you're at risk for deadly cancer are comparable. In any case doubt in your trusted coworkers isn't something that would ameliorate the stress Iwata is in. A person can only handle so much.

Publishers on the 3DS tend to favor weekly sales over permanent price drops. I've picked up a good number of games for 15-20 USD. Even then the Nintendo games that never go on sale tend to outsell many third party games that do so I don't think price drops are necessary for Nintendo developed games. I believe Mario 3D land on the 3DS sold around 9 million before the 10 dollar price drop..

 

[Mik317]

It was said in this thread Gunman Clive did better on 3DS than on mobile so there can definitely be an audience for the two.

Using Activision was pointing out that despite them have a mobile division, they still keep COD going on consoles. Again, there's nothing stopping Nintendo from doing both or making certain franchises exclusive to different platforms.

Ice Climbers and Warioware could be portable only (3DS & iOS). Zelda and Metroid could still release either just on consoles or handhelds. In both scenarios, Nintendo still sees money from both revenue sources.

Exclusive Software Pushes Consoles. If the same content comes out on a system (IOS/Android) most people already have..then why the fuck would they buy a 4DS. They would just wait for the IOS version ..

It is a counterproductive strategy. If Nintendo releases full fledged games on another console..they need to go all in and dump hardware otherwise..what the fuck is the point. VC Console , add-ons, and small minigames are ok for IOS and the like. But if you put out WarioWare on IOS and try to sell the same game on your 4DS..for more probably..you are asking to fail.

 

[User Name Here]

http://nintendoeverything.com/report-details-supposed-turmoil-within-nintendo-management/



Comments? First time I have heard of Yamauchi’s first son, anyone knows what he has been doing that makes him Nintendo president candidate?

He is the son of the former Emperor Lord God-King Yamaunchi!

 

[JordanN]

Exclusive Software Pushes Consoles. If the same content comes out on a system (IOS/Android) most people already have..then why the fuck would they buy a 4DS. They would just wait for the IOS version ..

It is a counterproductive strategy. If Nintendo releases full fledged games on another console..they need to go all in and dump hardware otherwise..what the fuck is the point. VC Console , add-ons, and small minigames are ok for IOS and the like. But if you put out WarioWare on IOS and try to sell the same game on your 4DS..for more probably..you are asking to fail.

Well no one here has seen what a 4DS looks like. For all we know, it might have some gimmick like the DS/3DS that keeps people coming back to it.

As for Warioware, how about exclusive content? 4DS version gets its own levels, iOS gets something separate. Yeah, it sucks to halve content like that but one of the biggest IP's ever is solely just that (Pokemon).

Anyways, I'm only in favor of Nintendo putting software where it makes sense. If console and iOS can still co-exist, then why not let them do it, regardless of them "not going all in"?

 

[MagiusNecros]

He is the son of the former Emperor Lord God-King Yamaunchi!

Beyond being the son of Yamauchi what else is there to him?

 

[Mik317]

Well no one here has seen what a 4DS looks like. For all we know, it might have some gimmick like the DS/3DS that keeps people coming back to it.

As for Warioware, how about exclusive content? 4DS version gets its own levels, iOS gets something separate. Yeah, it sucks to halve content like that but one of biggest IP's ever is solely just that (Pokemon).

I'd rather they not gimp games like that. Pokemon can be traded between versions easy now so it's not even close to being comparable.

VC Games, Mini Games, and apps are worth pursuing. Full Fledge games would eat too much in their buisness of selling hardware. The former is a legit extra source of income. The Latter is the begining of the end of their hardware business. Short term gains for sure but that audience has proven that unlike "hardcore" gamers that they don't need to upgrade and that they are fine with what they already have (see the Wii)..especially since phones are damn near requirement in todays world.

 

[Tripon]

Beyond being the son of Yamauchi what else is there to him?

That's his qualification. Seriously.

 

[Vilix]

So how's Sega doing these days?

 

[AniHawk]

Can we agree that Nintendo probably needs to take a risk or two right now to counteract their current trajectory?

i don't think anyone would argue that.

 

[Log4Girlz]

How come no one ever shouts for Sony or Microsoft to expand into mobile? If there's so much extra money to be made, everyone would benefit from making mobile ports, not just Nintendo

Nintendo has a massive library of iconic IPs

 

[MagiusNecros]

That's his qualification. Seriously.

Sounds shortsighted if you ask me.

 

[Guest12345678]

How come no one ever shouts for Sony or Microsoft to expand into mobile? If there's so much extra money to be made, everyone would benefit from making mobile ports, not just Nintendo

Im pretty sure both sony and microsoft have made mobile games, using their established console ips.

 

[Neff]

This all really reminds me of Tekken for some reason.

 

[Vilix]

Im pretty sure both sony and microsoft have made mobile games, using their established console ips.

I don't believe I've seen one of their major IPs on a mobile device outside of their own handhelds.

 

[civilstrife]

A Nintendo without Iwata would likely be a Nintendo I have no interest in.

 

[Bundy]

It's about time.

A report published on Japanese website Business Journal details alleged turmoil within management at Nintendo.

The article claims that there’s a shared recognition of Iwata being the culprit among management. While there is a strong desire to bring games/franchises like Mario to smartphones, Iwata is strongly vetoing the idea. Iwata reiterates that “Nintendo’s strength is in unified development of game hardware and software”, stubbornly rejects the “net” (seems to reference how smartphones don’t use physical media since they download games), and fixates over “game consoles” – perhaps in light of his pride as a former developer.

Hiroshi Yamauchi, the previous president of Nintendo, passed away last fall. Apparently, no one remains who can defy Iwata. There are also rumors of management scheming to get rid of the president.

Another insider quote shared by Business Journal claims that there’s cultural friction based on how Iwata comes from outside the company (maybe given his origins at HAL Laboratory?). He continues to be involved with software development even after becoming president and there is a feeling of helplessness among “native” Nintendo executives.

Another point worth mentioning: supposedly, managers who oppose Iwata would want Yamauchi’s first son to become Nintendo’s president

........ NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

No BigN franchises on smartphones, please -_-

Spoiler

.... it's just a question about... "when"... ;(((((

 

[Amazeballs]

I don't believe I've seen one of their major IPs on a mobile device outside of their own handhelds.

There's that Uncharted game that has you collecting soda bottles, I think.

 

[Tripon]

I don't believe I've seen one of their major IPs on a mobile device outside of their own handhelds.

MS made Halo: Spartan Assault for the Windows 8 phone, they then ported it to the XBox One, and 360 and Steam. It was not well received.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo:_Spartan_Assault

 

[Aquamarine]

Beyond being the son of Yamauchi what else is there to him?

Katsuhito Yamauchi (born 1959)

1) Joined Dentsu (An advertising agency) in 1985 after graduating from college

2) He came back to Nintendo and joined Nintendo Co., Ltd.'s Public Relations Office as a Department Manager

3) Rose to Deputy General Manager in June 2000

4) As far as I know, he's still with the company


He likes to help produce Nintendo movies:

Animal Crossing (movie) : Supervision
Mewtwo ~Kakusei e no Prologue~ (special) : Associate producer
Pikachu no Obake Carnival (special) : Associate producer
Pokemon 2000 - The Movie : Associate producer
Pokemon 3 - The Movie : Associate producer
Pokemon 4Ever (movie) : Associate producer
Pokemon Heroes - Latias & Latios (movie) : Associate producer
Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea (movie) : Associate producer
Pokémon Zoroark: Master of Illusions (movie) : Associate producer
Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life (movie) : Associate producer
Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys (movie) : Associate producer
Pokémon: Giratina & The Sky Warrior (movie) : Associate producer
Pokemon: Jirachi Wish Maker (movie) : Associate producer
Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (movie) : Associate producer
Pokemon: The First Movie : Associate producer
Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai (movie) : Associate producer

And he has a couple of "Special Thanks" mentions in Nintendo game credits.

 

[Fourth Storm]

The whole article is nonsense. Who in management is scheming against Iwata? Miyamoto and Takeda? These guys are three peas in a pod.

Likewise, who are these guys from Nintendo's olden days that Iwata looks down upon? Puh-lease!

 

[MagiusNecros]

Katsuhito Yamauchi (born 1959)

1) Joined Dentsu (An advertising agency) in 1985 after graduating from college

2) He came back to Nintendo and joined Nintendo's Public Relations Office as a Department Manager

3) Rose to Deputy General Manager in June 2000

4) As far as I know, he's still with the company


He likes to help produce Nintendo movies:

Animal Crossing (movie) : Supervision
Mewtwo ~Kakusei e no Prologue~ (special) : Associate producer
Pikachu no Obake Carnival (special) : Associate producer
Pokemon 2000 - The Movie : Associate producer
Pokemon 3 - The Movie : Associate producer
Pokemon 4Ever (movie) : Associate producer
Pokemon Heroes - Latias & Latios (movie) : Associate producer
Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea (movie) : Associate producer
Pokémon Zoroark: Master of Illusions (movie) : Associate producer
Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life (movie) : Associate producer
Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys (movie) : Associate producer
Pokémon: Giratina & The Sky Warrior (movie) : Associate producer
Pokemon: Jirachi Wish Maker (movie) : Associate producer
Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (movie) : Associate producer
Pokemon: The First Movie : Associate producer
Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai (movie) : Associate producer

And he has a couple of "Special Thanks" mentions in Nintendo game credits.

Thank you. This gives me a lot more information to make a judgment on.

 

[Lambda Pie]

I don't think you understand the mobile market one bit, tradiitonal ips aren't doing great there, it's the ones that exploit IAP, something Nintendo would get killed for trying to do so.

mobile F2P Pokemon would make them so much money the Wii and the DS would look like flops by comparison.

 

[heidern]

Can we agree that Nintendo probably needs to take a risk or two right now to counteract their current trajectory?

After the Gamecube Nintendo took a policy of risk taking being the default position. DS, Wii, Wii U and 3DS were all risks in their approach. Taking more risks is actually just a continuation of the current policy.

 

[Zornack]

I don't believe I've seen one of their major IPs on a mobile device outside of their own handhelds.

 

[StevieP]

mobile F2P Pokemon would make them so much money the Wii and the DS would look like flops by comparison.

Actually, that probably isn't the case. Unless you can show your math

 

[Pikma]

I can't wait for Iwata to go. He represents everything that is wrong with Nintendo to me.

I really hope Iwata stays. He represents everything that is good about the video game industry to me.

 

[Sandfox]

mobile F2P Pokemon would make them so much money the Wii and the DS would look like flops by comparison.

The only way they would be making that kind of money with a f2p game is if they went insane with IAP and tried to emulate system used in P&D.

 

[antonz]

Sounds shortsighted if you ask me.

Sounds like the exact kind of person some behind the scene plotters would want. An easy to control person with no real understanding of the industry etc. so they could lead him around for their bidding.

Afterall the reported problem is Iwata wont do as they want of him

 

[Hours Left]

Yet his approval rating went up at the last shareholder meeting.

Seems like rumblings from bitter execs on the outside of the majority.

 

[Pikma]

mobile F2P Pokemon would make them so much money the Wii and the DS would look like flops by comparison.

What are you basing on? Your own expectations? Wishful thinking? Don't be ridiculous, the Pokemon franchise sells ~12 million copies of $40 games, I'm gonna let you do the math about how much 99cents copies they'd have to sell to make the same amount of money. And that's not taking the money they make with each hardware unit sold into account, which is usually even more.

 

[Sami+]

So it's either Iwata or iOS?

I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place trying to decide what I'd prefer.

 

[Aquamarine]

Yet his approval rating went up at the last shareholder meeting.

Seems like rumblings from bitter execs on the outside of the majority.

Well, "it went up" is a little misleading.

Iwata, 2013:
Approve: 772,384
Oppose: 218,960

Iwata, 2014:
Approve: 777,999
Oppose: 169,240

It's less that investors are increasingly satisfied with Iwata...and more that opposition to Iwata's re-election declined.

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

please dont be true, this is going to be the biggest downfall ever in videogamehistory. iam going to be infinite sad, if this should ever happen

No, that would be Sega exiting the hardware market. By all accounts Iwata has hurt Nintendo more than help it. Why would anyone honestly want him to stay based solely on performance (i.e the only thing that really matters here)?

 

[Guest12345678]

I don't believe I've seen one of their major IPs on a mobile device outside of their own handhelds.

uncharted was on mobile with some coke promotion thing and i believe there was a halo tablet game. Think the halo game was called spartan assault.

 

[McLovin]

If I were Nintendo I would have made a wrap around controller for an iphone/android and sold old nes/snes/n64 games on it for a couple bucks a pop. It seems like they missed out on a ton of money for the last few years.

 

[maniac-kun]

Its very understandable that they want that.

 

[Lambda Pie]

What are you basing on? Your own expectations? Wishful thinking? Don't be ridiculous, the Pokemon franchise sells ~12 million copies of $40 games, I'm gonna let you do the math about how much 99cents copies they'd have to sell to make the same amount of money. And that's not taking the money they make with each hardware unit sold into account, which is usually even more.

40 bucks? that's nothing.

sell pokeballs to catch pokemons at 99 cents a piece. how many pokemons there are? 200?

oh you don't want to catch pokemons? no problem, from 1.99 to 9.99 depends on tier.

don't want to spend time waiting for them to evolve? 2.99 and they evolve to second form. 4.99 to third. is there a fourth form?

they'd need to empty an ocean to keep all their profits.

 

[StevieP]

If I were Nintendo I would have made a wrap around controller for an iphone/android and sold old nes/snes/n64 games on it for a couple bucks a pop. It seems like they missed out on a ton of money for the last few years.

Almost nobody wants a bloody controller for their smart devices. It defeats the purpose of said devices in fact.

40 bucks? that's nothing.

sell pokeballs to catch pokemons at 99 cents a piece. how many pokemons there are? 200?

Pokemon alone makes a lot more money than the majority of things on mobile.