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[GDGF]

Question for GAF. Did Iwata explicitly state that he would retire if he didn't reach his goals in time or are we just reading into things? The only thing I can find is this:

岩田社長は President Iwata,
「達成できなかった場合は、 "If you couldn't achieve it,
どう責任を取るのか」 how will you take responsibility?"
という質問に対し、 in response to the question:
「コミットメントという言葉を "The word 'commitment'
使ったことで、 I used,
ご理解頂きたい」 please understand,"
と強い決意を with strong determination
示した。 indicated.

That just says he's determined to reach his goals. Not that he's going to leave if he doesn't. Is there anything else?

 

[Somnid]

can't wait for for the day nintendo properties come to other consoles.

You mean the day other properties come to Nintendo consoles.

 

[prwxv3]

Nintendo does not need third-party relations if they can sell the platform on their own merits. Wii was not a failure in the eyes of investors because the fans didn't get their Assassin's Creed. The console made dough because consumers purchased Nintendo games. By itself, that is not a bad business move.

Wii U having a six month drought is the only thing I can find to mark it for, and even we won't know if that was a true failure until we see what happens this holiday. Maybe it is smart to keep your major titles to hit in quick succession during the release of a competitors console. It certainly seems like a good choice to me, despite upsetting early adopters (including me). That's what I thought they were doing to begin with.

3DS no games? lol

They were able to get away with not having games like Assassin's Creed because of the crazy sales with the Wii due to casuals. That is not happening with the WiiU.

 

[twofold]

I think they are hoping the people they are targeting (young families) won't have the budget/tech savvy to mind, or won't know until it's too late

How are people who can't afford to purchase a tablet going to be able to afford a Wii U?

This years $100 tablets will comparable to last years $200 tablets in terms of performance and hardware specs, which is quite amazing. For $100, people will be able to buy an excellent, versatile tablet device which does lots of tablet-y things. Next year, these tablets will be even cheaper still. Nintendo won't be able to compete on price with these devices.

 

[Aquamarine]

Question for GAF. Did Iwata explicitly state that he would retire if he didn't reach his goals in time or are we just reading into things? The only thing I can find is this:



That just says he's determined to reach his goals. Not that he's going to leave if he doesn't. Is there anything else?

Iwata Q&A

Investor: You are aiming for the operating profit of 100 billion yen in the next fiscal year. Do you have a strategy in place if this fails? Will you take responsibility if you cannot accomplish it?

Iwata: First of all, this may not be a direct answer to your question, but it is my job to focus on how to accomplish this aim, rather than to think about what we should do if our aim cannot be accomplished. I believe my job is to establish as promising a situation as possible to accomplish this aim. From this perspective, for Nintendo 3DS, it is vital to create similar momentum as we see in Japan in the overseas markets. So, the point is to launch several key titles seamlessly abroad to change the sales momentum of Nintendo 3DS itself, and then to create a cycle where hardware sales soar and its software sells well. As for Wii U, there will not be any key titles at the beginning of the year, so even though it will take some time, starting from this summer when the software lineup is enriched, we will promote our platform and aim to change the sales momentum dramatically. As for your second question, I used the word "commitment," so I believe you can understand what I meant by that.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

so was moneyhatting bayonetta 2 the equivalent of drafting brandon knight

Success makes it easier to ignore the lack of professionalism. In contrast, struggling magnifies what a buffoon he looks like wearing a Luigi hat as his sidekick vacuums imaginary...things.

Oh my god

Edit: Nintendo probably could have dramatically increased their 3rd party support if the Wii and Wii U were 1.5-2x as powerful. They wouldn't be as strong as the competition, but close enough to a tweener system that people wouldn't treat it like a last gen port box.

The melding of NBA-Age with Nintendo threads = <3

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

Yes. This is clearly good news if true. You're clearly a troll if you think a second straight year of losing money is a bad thing. They're the ones seeing what they want to see.

No one said it was good news, you proved my post as to seeing what you want to see.

 

[Kunan]

So much less of a loss than I was expecting.

vvv Oh man that last sentence is chilling.

 

[GDGF]

Iwata Q&A

Investor: You are aiming for the operating profit of 100 billion yen in the next fiscal year. Do you have a strategy in place if this fails? Will you take responsibility if you cannot accomplish it?

Iwata: First of all, this may not be a direct answer to your question, but it is my job to focus on how to accomplish this aim, rather than to think about what we should do if our aim cannot be accomplished. I believe my job is to establish as promising a situation as possible to accomplish this aim. From this perspective, for Nintendo 3DS, it is vital to create similar momentum as we see in Japan in the overseas markets. So, the point is to launch several key titles seamlessly abroad to change the sales momentum of Nintendo 3DS itself, and then to create a cycle where hardware sales soar and its software sells well. As for Wii U, there will not be any key titles at the beginning of the year, so even though it will take some time, starting from this summer when the software lineup is enriched, we will promote our platform and aim to change the sales momentum dramatically. As for your second question, I used the word "commitment," so I believe you can understand what I meant by that.

Oh damn.

Well, I hope it doesn't come to that. I'd love for Nintendo to pull through on this one. Here's to hoping the upcoming 3DS lineup is well received.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

You'll be long dead before that happens. But your grandchildren will carry on in your memory.

I think the people calling for Nintendo's imminent third party move are jumping the gun. However, I think statements like this are misguided in the other direction. With the way this industry is going, I think anybody who is looking five-ten years out and thinks that any of these companies still being around and kicking in exactly the same way they are now with dedicated gaming machines is being rather presumptuous.

No one said it was good news, you proved my post as to seeing what you want to see.

You had no clear point, so I attempted to connect the dots. Apparently, that was a mistake, and I should have just ignored it as a vapid post that had no purpose.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Wii was not a failure in the eyes of investors.

Any investor that bought their shares between Sept-07 and Sept-08 would probably beg to differ.

 

[Father_Brain]

Less than 20 hours until judgement time. Iwata's probably sweating bullets over this coming Q&A.

This is inaccurate. The results are (AFAIK) usually released at 5 PM JST, when the markets close, so more like a bit over 28 hours from now.

 

[Skyzard]

I don't think anyone is necessarily missing that point. People aren't pretending anything contrary to what you are suggesting is occurring. What people are observing is that this strategy is currently not working at all, and the path to recovery -- outside of a belief that strong first party software will invariably turn this ship around -- seems very distant and perhaps unattainable given the terrible, terrible launch it's experiencing right now.

I don't think it's unlikely things will turn around eventually. I think everyone agrees they should have had more software from the start and could have tried to aim for a lower launch price but I don't see what would have been better in terms of hardware (since price is an important factor).

But give it some time. People are broke and have a lot already, give them time to want They need to see mario and mario kart U and smash bros first though. Hopefully Wii Fitness/sports are still reasonably appreciated also.

I just don't know what they should change and why, seems overall, they had the right philosophy with the design, just couldn't manage with the software and perhaps got greedy with the price. What can they change with their strategy? Dropping the price will work but they need the software to make it back.

 

[Aquamarine]

This is inaccurate. The results are (AFAIK) usually released at 5 PM JST, when the markets close, so more like a bit over 28 hours from now.

Thank you for some accurate information!

So the FY release should be at 3:00 AM New York City (EDT) time on Wednesday.

 

[VXLbeast]

So can we replace Reggie?

 

[speedpop]

After the Wii Nintendo thought it could do both by themselves, but the market has proved them very, very wrong. They need outside help, especially in the West, but so far we've seen no indication of them getting that. Unless they get some major support in the West the Wii U is going to constantly struggle, and unfortunately it doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon.

I'm sorry but this comment will have to be hauled up.

Nintendo are the epitome of a universal game maker. Their games are never included in a "best game developer in Japan" and yet they are too Japanese to be included in a Western debate. So where do you place them? It's why their games sell so much worldwide. One of the largest franchises of the modern era is Japanese and every 5-30 year old knows what Pokemon is. People are going to go nuts over X & Y - as if the 3DS needs anymore push.

The Wii U has had a dismal start with a drought that looks endless. But so did the N64, the GC, and even the Wii itself. And yet I can recall some of the greatest and critically acclaimed games that Nintendo made on all three consoles. Nintendo have shown time and time again that they can support their own machines on the breadth of their own development studios. In terms of lifetime sales the N64 was a joke in Japan and Europe. The GC was a joke everywhere (despite it selling on par with the "successful" Xbox worldwide). The Wii was huge but people still lament that it didn't have the games they wanted.

I don't care too heavily about fiscal reports because I'm not vested in it personally whatsoever. But I know that the Wii U hasn't had a single chance to do anything yet because the games aren't there. I buy a console for the life of it - I've barely seen half a year. When the droughts stay put for 3 years and Nintendo continues to post yearly losses then people can start complaining. Until then their comments seem ludicrous and delusional.

Recent history has shown that if you want third party to go with your Nintendo then you either create a gaming PC or buy another console alongside it.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

I just don't know what they should change and why, seems overall, they had the right philosophy with the design, just couldn't manage with the software and perhaps got greedy with the price. What can they change with their strategy? Dropping the price will work but they need the software to make it back.

I disagree vehemently that they got it right with the design. I think if it ultimately succeeds, it'll succeed by following the 3DS playbook wherein they move heaven and earth to flood the thing with great software allowing it to sell in spite of its hardware design, and not because of it.

 

[Father_Brain]

Thank you for some accurate information!

So here's an updated schedule:

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclo...ntendo+FY+2013+Release&iso=20130424T17&p1=538

That's at 4:00 AM New York City time on Wednesday.

I thiiiiiink the results briefing, which you might have been thinking of, will be at around ~10 AM JST on the 25th, which would be 9 PM EDT on Wednesday night. But I might be an hour off.

 

[hatchx]

Shit, if one thing is for sure, if the Wii U can actually make a come back, it will be one of the most epic comebacks ever.

 

[DarkPanda]

Nintendo does not need third-party relations if they can sell the platform on their own merits. Wii was not a failure in the eyes of investors because the fans didn't get their Assassin's Creed. The console made dough because consumers purchased Nintendo games. By itself, that is not a bad business move. l

Nintendo absolutely cannot sell a platform on their own games alone. Out of the last 3 generations where Nintendo attempted to go it alone the Wii is the only one to show any real success vs the competition, and that was due to very unique and unrepeatable circumstances. The Wii's premature death is proof of that. Because if the Wii had gotten Assassin's Creed and a significant portion of the CoD audience perhaps the platform wouldn't have been for all intents and purposes dead for the last two years and wouldn't have ceded it's position as the #1 selling console to the 360 for almost 2 years now. Nintendo had lightning and lost it and THAT is a bad business move.

 

[Iacobellis]

Wii U I really don't understand. It's a tablet, but it doesn't do tablet things. With the DS, touchscreens were new to the public. Only devices that had them at the time were PDAs, so the young audience Nintendo appeals to had most likely never used the technology before. Same with the Wii, what other console offered motion controls?

The Wii U really seems more like a "Hey, we can play this game too" kind of device. Had it come out in 2010, then I could definitely see it making more sense. Of course, what would Nintendo be competing with? Tablets are nothing new nowadays, Apple started the current craze over three years ago.

It depresses me to an extent that Apple has lured the kind of crowd Nintendo had during the DS/Wii with $.99 games on the iPod Touch. Sure, they are leaps and bounds cheaper and the devices offer more bang for the buck, but Nintendo games have that special appeal no other company offers. I mean, really, who is going to be nostalgic ten years from now missing when they finally got three stars on a level in Angry Birds?

 

[Aquamarine]

I thiiiiiink the results briefing, which you might have been thinking of, will be at around ~10 AM JST on the 25th, which would be 9 PM EDT on Wednesday night. But I might be an hour off.

Okay so:

FY 2013 Earnings Release schedule:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclo...ntendo+FY+2013+Release&iso=20130424T16&p1=538

London * Wed 8:00 AM BST
Paris * Wed 9:00 AM CEST
Los Angeles * Midnight Tue-Wed PDT
New York * Wed 3:00 AM EDT
Chicago * Wed 2:00 AM CDT

FY 2013 Briefing (Q&A, Presentation, Outline, Supplementary Info) schedule:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclo...+2013+Briefing+Release&iso=20130425T10&p1=538

London * Thu 2:00 AM BST
Paris * Thu 3:00 AM CEST
Los Angeles * Wed 6:00 PM PDT
New York * Wed 9:00 PM EDT
Chicago * Wed 8:00 PM CDT

 

[Cheerilee]

People wanting Iwata to be fired should realise that his replacement would very likely be male, Japanese, 45-55, and from within NCL. They aren't necessarily going to be 'better' than Iwata simply by being a new face.

He'll likely share at least three of the same letters as Iwata, possibly four.

Iwata
Inaba

Nintendo needs to fire Iwata (or demote him to game development), buy out Platinum games, and make Inaba CEO, ASAP.

Minami can run NOA or something. Reggie doesn't need to be fired, just demoted to marketing.

Oh damn.

Well, I hope it doesn't come to that. I'd love for Nintendo to pull through on this one. Here's to hoping the upcoming 3DS lineup is well received.

Iwata's also said that Nintendo's hardware success should never even compare to the GameCube (not even if they beat the GameCube), and that if they can't vastly exceed the GameCube, they should just get the hell out of the hardware business.

And he's also said that if they ever have to leave the hardware business, Nintendo's not going to go third party like Sega, they're just going to fucking quit videogames completely.

 

[Skyzard]

I disagree vehemently that they got it right with the design. I think if it ultimately succeeds, it'll succeed by following the 3DS playbook wherein they move heaven and earth to flood the thing with great software allowing it to succeed in spite of its hardware design, and not because of it.

If they made it super powerful, their traditional userbase (huge factor) won't be able to afford it, their games wouldn't really take advantage of the extra power (nor do they really need to, being already a generation behind (not HD previously)) and so third parties (who aren't now) still wouldn't have been convinced.

That's how I imagine things anyway. I agree fully about requiring maximum software performance and effort. I just think the extra cost would have been more hurtful to them than the extra tech would have brought. Right now they just need to work towards price cutting and software releases.

I wish the hardware was a notch better. Maybe more 1.5 than 1. (current gen = 1, next gen being 2) so people were more forgiving of how the Wii ended up last gen in the later years - which has had an affect on initial sales mostly but probably still slightly with long-term sales too

 

[Unregistered007]

Not surprising, sales aside no one has anything positive to say about the Wii U as a hardware. Check out the System Update thread.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Shit, if one thing is for sure, if the Wii U can actually make a come back, it will be one of the most epic comebacks ever.

The only thing that could top it would be if Vita turned around. Coffin.gif at the ready for both.

The GC was a joke everywhere (despite it selling on par with the "successful" Xbox worldwide).

Who exactly considers the original Xbox a success? :/

 

[Steve Youngblood]

If they made it super powerful, their traditional userbase (huge factor) won't be able to afford it, their games wouldn't really take advantage of the extra power (nor do they really need to, being already a generation behind (not HD previously)) and so third parties (who aren't now) still wouldn't have been convinced.

That's how I imagine things anyway.

I'm not in the camp that thinks it needed to be super powerful. However, I think they could have done a little bit better if they didn't focus so much on low power consumption and a small form factor. Further, my other takeaway from the system is that -- though there are some use cases for the GamePad that are kind of neat -- I don't think the device was ready for prime time. What it brings to the table does not make up for how much it costs, and I feel too many corners were cut as is to keep things from really going off the rails.

 

[Father_Brain]

Okay so:

FY 2013 Earnings Release schedule:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclo...ntendo+FY+2013+Release&iso=20130424T17&p1=538



FY 2013 Briefing (Q&A, Presentation, Outline, Supplementary Info) schedule:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclo...+2013+Briefing+Release&iso=20130425T10&p1=538

London * Thu 2:00 AM BST
Paris * Thu 3:00 AM CEST
Los Angeles * Wed 6:00 PM PDT
New York * Wed 9:00 PM EDT
Chicago * Wed 8:00 PM CDT

Looks like the results were actually released at 4 PM JST/3 PM EDT last year, so I stand corrected.

Last year's results briefing began at 9PM EDT, though, so I was right about that.

 

[darkistheway]

I think the people calling for Nintendo's imminent third party move are jumping the gun. However, I think statements like this are misguided in the other direction. With the way this industry is going, I think anybody who is looking five-ten years out and thinks that any of these companies still being around and kicking in exactly the same way they are now with dedicated gaming machines is being rather presumptuous.

An industry where one bad console wipes out the profits of two previous, record-setting generations is not, in my opinion, an easy one to navigate. Nintendo's methodology, as deplorable as it seems to be to all the 'hardcore' is best suited to long-term success.

But then, there are people on NeoGAF who wanted Sony to release another $599 loss leader just so they could brag about the graphics.

Last-gen's move to multi-platform (including the long-forgotten PC) points toward the future you mention.

 

[prwxv3]

I'm not in the camp that thinks it needed to be super powerful. However, I think they could have done a little bit better if they didn't focus so much on low power consumption and a small form factor. Further, my other takeaway from the system is that -- though there are some use cases for the GamePad that are kind of neat -- I don't think the device was ready for prime time. What it brings to the table does not make up for how much it costs, and I feel too many corners were cut as is to keep things from really going off the rails.

I think the worst thing is that they are currently taking a loss (though small) on the WiiU but without that power increase of next gen systems.

 

[Skyzard]

^ I can't believe it costs that much when it's comparable to pretty damn old tech by now. I understand research on the gamepad would have cost them quite a bit but hardware should not be how they make it back.

I'm not in the camp that thinks it needed to be super powerful. However, I think they could have done a little bit better if they didn't focus so much on low power consumption and a small form factor. Further, my other takeaway from the system is that -- though there are some use cases for the GamePad that are kind of neat -- I don't think the device was ready for prime time. What it brings to the table does not make up for how much it costs, and I feel too many corners were cut as is to keep things from really going off the rails.

Yeah I agree a little better would have been nice, and actually needed for their hardcore (edited in previous post) as long as it didn't increase price too much for the rest.

I think atm they are being a bit greedy to try and recover some money but it's not helping them. Maybe they are exploiting the super hardcore too much atm and will just wait till the end of the year to bring out the software and hardware price cuts together, which is understandable but annoying.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Nintendo absolutely cannot sell a platform on their own games alone. Out of the last 3 generations where Nintendo attempted to go it alone the Wii is the only one to show any real success vs the competition, and that was due to very unique and unrepeatable circumstances. The Wii's premature death is proof of that. Because if the Wii had gotten Assassin's Creed and a significant portion of the CoD audience perhaps the platform wouldn't have been for all intents and purposes dead for the last two years and wouldn't have ceded it's position as the #1 selling console to the 360 for almost 2 years now. Nintendo had lightning and lost it and THAT is a bad business move.

Didn't the Wii technically have more game releases than PS3 or 360 at its popularity peak? Its success was driven by a few big games, sure, but it had a lot of "filler" 3rd party support. The Wii U doesn't even have that.

 

[Cheerilee]

I'm not in the camp that thinks it needed to be super powerful. However, I think they could have done a little bit better if they didn't focus so much on low power consumption and a small form factor. Further, my other takeaway from the system is that -- though there are some use cases for the GamePad that are kind of neat -- I don't think the device was ready for prime time. What it brings to the table does not make up for how much it costs, and I feel too many corners were cut as is to keep things from really going off the rails.

The WiiU needed to be a true next gen system with a better name, and an inexpensive Motionplus 2.0 should have been the controller.

The next Nintendo handheld (possibly a return to the GameBoy name) should have been everything that the WiiU controller is. Both systems designed with each other in mind.

 

[Aquamarine]

Looks like the results were actually released at 4 PM JST/3 PM EDT last year, so I stand corrected.

Last year's results briefing began at 9PM EDT, though, so I was right about that.

FY 2013 Earnings Release schedule:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclo...ntendo+FY+2013+Release&iso=20130424T16&p1=538

London * Wed 8:00 AM BST
Paris * Wed 9:00 AM CEST
Los Angeles * Midnight Tue-Wed PDT
New York * Wed 3:00 AM EDT
Chicago * Wed 2:00 AM CDT

FY 2013 Briefing (Q&A, Presentation, Outline, Supplementary Info) schedule:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclo...+2013+Briefing+Release&iso=20130425T10&p1=538

London * Thu 2:00 AM BST
Paris * Thu 3:00 AM CEST
Los Angeles * Wed 6:00 PM PDT
New York * Wed 9:00 PM EDT
Chicago * Wed 8:00 PM CDT

 

[DarkPanda]

I'm sorry but this comment will have to be hauled up.

Nintendo are the epitome of a universal game maker. Their games are never included in a "best game developer in Japan" and yet they are too Japanese to be included in a Western debate. So where do you place them? It's why their games sell so much worldwide. One of the largest franchises of the modern era is Japanese and every 5-30 year old knows what Pokemon is. People are going to go nuts over X & Y - as if the 3DS needs anymore push.

The Wii U has had a dismal start with a drought that looks endless. But so did the N64, the GC, and even the Wii itself. And yet I can recall some of the greatest and critically acclaimed games that Nintendo made on all three consoles. Nintendo have shown time and time again that they can support their own machines on the breadth of their own development studios. In terms of lifetime sales the N64 was a joke in Japan and Europe. The GC was a joke everywhere (despite it selling on par with the "successful" Xbox worldwide). The Wii was huge but people still lament that it didn't have the games they wanted.

The N64 lost to the Playstation, a newcomer to the market. The GC lost bad to the PS2 and basically tied with the og Xbox, another newcomer. Nintendo without a doubt can make great games, but sometimes they have trouble making great selling games. There's a difference.

The problem right now is not that they're to Japanese, it's that they're not dudebro enough. Right now in the west, dudebro is what sells. Adolescent male power fantasies, preferably online so you can share the woahs with your bros, are what sell in the West now, and Nintendo currently isn't providing anything to that audience. Wii era stuff sold amazingly, but that was to an audience that has since moved on to phones and tablets. Most of what's left on the console side are kids and bros, and since most kids want to be bros, Nintendo needs exclusive content that caters to them.

Recent history has shown that if you want third party to go with your Nintendo then you either create a gaming PC or buy another console alongside it.

That's the fucking problem. There should be no need to buy another console to supplement Nintendo's. The fact that you need one is proof that Nintendo is doing something wrong. They should be about all of gaming all in one place.

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

Okay so:

FY 2013 Earnings Release schedule:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclo...ntendo+FY+2013+Release&iso=20130424T17&p1=538

London * Wed 9:00 AM BST
Paris * Wed 10:00 AM CEST
Los Angeles * Wed 1:00 AM PDT
New York * Wed 4:00 AM EDT
Chicago * Wed 3:00 AM CDT

FY 2013 Briefing (Q&A, Presentation, Outline, Supplementary Info) schedule:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclo...+2013+Briefing+Release&iso=20130425T10&p1=538

London * Thu 2:00 AM BST
Paris * Thu 3:00 AM CEST
Los Angeles * Wed 6:00 PM PDT
New York * Wed 9:00 PM EDT
Chicago * Wed 8:00 PM CDT

Damn so wednesday at 8 for the good stuff..atleast thats when I get off work.

 

[Father_Brain]

Didn't the Wii technically have more game releases than PS3 or 360 at its popularity peak? Its success was driven by a few big games, sure, but it had a lot of "filler" 3rd party support. The Wii U doesn't even have that.

IIRC, there was actually a year or two at the height of its success when more third-party software sold on it than on PS3 or 360. Not sure if this was worldwide or just in NA, though.

That's the fucking problem. There should be no need to buy another console to supplement Nintendo's. The fact that you need one is proof that Nintendo is doing something wrong. They should be about all of gaming all in one place.

Coming off Wii and GC, I think that goal would have taken a lot longer than one new console launch to be realized even if Nintendo had done everything right.

 

[Sandfox]

I'm surprised that they lost less money than they did last year. That's good I guess because it means that it will probably take less than I thought to return to profit.

 

[Somnid]

I'm surprised that they lost less money than they did last year. That's good I guess because it means that it will probably take less than I thought to return to profit.

They'll profit next year unless they take a huge Wii U price cut (and I don't think they will). It's more a matter of how much.

 

[prwxv3]

The N64 lost to the Playstation, a newcomer to the market. The GC lost bad to the PS2 and basically tied with the og Xbox, another newcomer. Nintendo without a doubt can make great games, but sometimes they have trouble making great selling games. There's a difference.

The problem right now is not that they're to Japanese, it's that they're not dudebro enough. Right now in the west, dudebro is what sells. Adolescent male power fantasies, preferably online so you can share the woahs with your bros, are what sell in the West now, and Nintendo currently isn't providing anything to that audience. Wii era stuff sold amazingly, but that was to an audience that has since moved on to phones and tablets. Most of what's left on the console side are kids and bros, and since most kids want to be bros, Nintendo needs exclusive content that caters to them.




That's the fucking problem. There should be no need to buy another console to supplement Nintendo's. The fact that you need one is proof that Nintendo is doing something wrong. They should be about all of gaming all in one place.

Plenty of their games sell very well. They just have a problem with third parties. and they are getting more and more important as time goes on.

 

[DarkPanda]

Didn't the Wii technically have more game releases than PS3 or 360 at its popularity peak? Its success was driven by a few big games, sure, but it had a lot of "filler" 3rd party support. The Wii U doesn't even have that.

The problem was that most of those games were crap. While there were a few notable gems, most of the Wii's 3rd party support consisted of half-hearted "test" games, me-too mini-game collections, and shitty licenced games, all of which sold poorly and gave the console a reputation for one where only Nintendo games sell, mainly because Nintendo games were they only ones worth buying.

 

[shinra-bansho]

They'll profit next year unless they take a huge Wii U price cut (and I don't think they will). It's more a matter of how much.

Why not exactly? It's a matter of necessity at this stage.

To leave it as it is, is to leave it to languish and dispel remaining retailer confidence.

 

[Sandfox]

1. On Tuesday we will get an "Outlook for fiscal year ending March 31, 2014" summary which may announce major titles that we will see from now until late March 2014.

2. On Wednesday we will get a "Launch of Primary NINTENDO Products by Region (Apr. 2013~) chart which will demonstrate future software lineup by Nintendo.

3. On Wednesday, we will also get presentations / outlines / Q&A with Iwata that he may use to announce / reveal titles.

So really, it's a tossup.

Off the top of my head I would like Iwata to talk about:
-listening to fans more like Nintendo seems to be lately
-NFC approach similar to how they went in on DD a while back
-his plan for Wii U software(I would be glad to see the console eventually get at least one Nintendo game a month)
-connectivity between Wii U and 3DS through things like Miiverse
-what his goal for the 3DS is this FY now that it seems to be hitting its stride SW-wise

Why not exactly? It's a matter of necessity at this stage.

To leave it as it is, is to leave it to languish and dispel remaining retailer confidence.

They could always take the Sony approach and just change something about the console or bundle games to keep the price the same. Like if they decided to add Mario Kart U to the Deluxe bundle or something and put NSMBU in the Basic. I can see a price drop coming first though.

 

[TreasureHunterG]

Nintendo does not need third-party relations if they can sell the platform on their own merits. Wii was not a failure in the eyes of investors because the fans didn't get their Assassin's Creed. The console made dough because consumers purchased Nintendo games. By itself, that is not a bad business move.

Wii U having a six month drought is the only thing I can find to mark it for, and even we won't know if that was a true failure until we see what happens this holiday. Maybe it is smart to keep your major titles to hit in quick succession during the release of a competitors console. It certainly seems like a good choice to me, despite upsetting early adopters (including me). That's what I thought they were doing to begin with.

3DS no games? lol

No third-party support is suicide. No platform ever managed to survive or ever had a consistent lifetime without it. Nintendo system can survive without it, but their system are always plagued with release vacuums which take away the hype from the machine. It's a very bad idea to actually support this.

 

[Satchel]

Given they just launched a new console that isn't doing great, this is actually not too bad right?

 

[Mit-]

Impossible for them to ever match their profits of the golden DS Lite + Wii days. They expanded to a level that they are incapable of maintaining simply due to the industry that they're in. They were only that successful due to the casual audience, and the casual audience is now done with Nintendo and moving on to smart phones and tablets.

In order to continually captivate that massive crowd, you would need a new innovation every 5-6 years on the same level as the Wii when it was unveiled. There quite possibly has NEVER been another innovation that large in gaming history--something that could bring in any kind of person, gamer or not. Kinect was close, but clearly not on the same level.

Wii U is not an innovation near the level of the Wii. 3DS is not an innovation near the level of the DS, nor is the same market available that made the DS such a success.


This is a natural process. They have to shrink back down to a smaller size from before they could barely keep up with demand for their hardware and games. Those days are not coming again anytime soon.

 

[Halfmunch]

We shouldn't laugh but this got me! Hahaha

 

[The Horror the horror]

Plenty of their games sell very well. They just have a problem with third parties. and they are getting more and more important as time goes on.

Actually, it's the opposite.

Developers are going under or are consolidating under few publishers. Longer developing cycles, meaning fewer games from individual publishers.

At the start of current gen, Sony themselves said that third party reliance means less and less; it was all about first party games and exclusives. The Wii reinforced that assessment. No one will call the Wii a haven for third parties, yet it sold like crazy on the strength of first party games and exclusives.

The next-gen system with the strongest third party support and decent first party will yield market leadership to the next-gen system with the decent third party support and strongest first party.

 

[GDGF]

Anybody think they might announce a stock buyback option soon?

 

[prwxv3]

Actually, it's the opposite.

Developers are going under or are consolidating under few publishers. Longer developing cycles, meaning fewer games from individual publishers.

At the start of current gen, Sony themselves said that third party reliance means less and less; it was all about first party games and exclusives. The Wii reinforced that assessment. No one will call the Wii a haven for third parties, yet it sold like crazy on the strength of first party games and exclusives.

The PS3 would not have turned around without the third party support it got. Wii was able to get away with it due to its crazy sales from casuals. WiiU has neither.