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[LordOcidax]

This was a Forbes headline back in 2013… 12 years later Xbox is already a third party company and it looks like Sony is going to follow the same route launching their games multi platform, and Nintendo is the only company that keeps their IPs on their own platform. What other Nintendo is doomed prediction do you remember from that era?

It May Be Time For Nintendo To Make Games, Not Consoles

It's a little worrisome, writing this post. The opinion I'm about to put forth is one that can get you laughed out of game journalism, and one few people in the industry will even entertain. It's the idea that Nintendo has lost their way when it comes to the home [...]

www.forbes.com

 

[Kilau]

Taul Passi had an awful take? Shocking…

 

[ComputerBlue]

You just know it’s Paul before you even open the article.

 

[Kacho]

Taul Passi

 

[Hellraizah]

Nintendo released games for iOS. They are not only first party. It's a start.

 

[Rudius]

You can play all of Nintendo's games on PC, and most even on phones.

 

[existensmaximum]

Yes I'm sure they are doomed and that the Switch 2 will be a failure. Absolutely.

 

[SweetTooth]

Paul Tasi lol

 

[LordOcidax]

Nintendo released games for iOS. They are not only first party. It's a start.

You can play all of Nintendo's games on PC, and most even on phones.

Nintendo is multi platform confirmed…

 

[lh032]

nintendo still need to make games now, not alot of good first party games on the switch. its rather dry.

 

[Topher]

Eh....that wasn't that wild of a take when looking at Wii U at the time. I've seen much worse "predictions" from actual analysts such....

"IDC expects Xbox One to recover and emerge with the largest installed base of any console in North America by the end of 2016"

PS4 to lead all consoles with 51 million sold by 2016 - IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is preparing to publish its latest console forecast and the research firm has give…

www.gamesindustry.biz

 

[Rudius]

Nintendo is multi platform confirmed…

Not fully, since they are getting no benefit from that.

 

[Unknown?]

Stealth Sony too doomed thread, just as bad as the original article.

 

[Hohenheim]

I'm pretty sure that in 4-5 years time, Nintendo is the only console you'll need if you want to play every game day 1. (If you have a PC too, that is).

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

It wasn’t that crazy of a prediction at the time. Wii U was a mega bomb that sold like half of what GameCube sold. If they hadn’t turned things around with Switch then they probably wouldn’t be in the console business anymore.

 

[darrylgorn]

I think the real factor here is how uniquely attractive their hardware is.

The switch worked because it was a different idea that people liked. If every manufacturer begins to make switches and that somehow compromises their revenue stream, it will be time for them to spread out.

The only exception is if they come up with yet another uniquely attractive platform.

 

[Soodanim]

The greatest lesson Nintendo ever learned was to run their own race. Switch was a monumental success despite the entire gaming world fighting over specs and all the rest. Why compete with Sony and MS when you can win by default doing something else?

2013 was a very different time for Nintendo, having lost the goodwill built up from the Wii but not yet having the technology to follow through on the vision that was a hybrid console.

We'll have to see how Switch 2 does in the long run, but after such a strong generation it's hard to see them taking a hugely wrong turn like they did in the past again. They will stick to their lane making first party titles for a console marketed to families and capitalising on IPs with movie offerings that only serve to strengthen the brand that is Nintendo.

They will also continue to aggressively pursue anything surrounding emulation while selling those same community rips.

 

[LordOcidax]

It wasn’t that crazy of a prediction at the time. Wii U was a mega bomb that sold like half of what GameCube sold. If they hadn’t turned things around with Switch then they probably wouldn’t be in the console business anymore.

So, this is justified then…

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

It wasn’t that crazy of a prediction at the time. Wii U was a mega bomb that sold like half of what GameCube sold. If they hadn’t turned things around with Switch then they probably wouldn’t be in the console business anymore.

The thing is, there's no Nintendo software without hardware. Their games have a perceived quality attached to being exclusive to a Nintendo console. Remove that and in 3 months they would get a 40% discount, and that would be the real Nintedoomed.

Taul Passi, as ever, proving himself a clueless idiot.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

Xbox is already a third party company and it looks like Sony is going to follow the same route launching

#sonytoo

 

[Dacvak]

So, this is justified then…

Hahaha this is great

 

[Trilobit]

 

[Sooner]

What an interesting take. Is it every year since 1998 again?

 

[Kacho]

So, this is justified then…

lol wut?

 

[Banjo64]

The opinion I’m about to put forth is one that can get you laughed out of game journalism

He knew it, but he said it anyway. That’s impressive commitment to being an idiot.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

I think the real factor here is how uniquely attractive their hardware is.

The switch worked because it was a different idea that people liked. If every manufacturer begins to make switches and that somehow compromises their revenue stream, it will be time for them to spread out.

The only exception is if they come up with yet another uniquely attractive platform.

I think Switch was in a way their safest and most conservative console. After Wii U it seemed like all the Nintendo fans and pundits were saying Nintendo should make a console/handheld hybrid. It was surprising to see Nintendo give gamers exactly what they were asking for after many years of pushing gimmicks.

The thing is, there's no Nintendo software without hardware. Their games have a perceived quality attached to being exclusive to a Nintendo console. Remove that and in 3 months they would get a 40% discount, and that would be the real Nintedoomed.

Taul Passi, as ever, proving himself a clueless idiot.

Ok? And what happens when the hardware sells like shit despite having a killer lineup of software? Wii U had Mario Kart, 2D Mario, 3D Mario, Smash Bros, Zelda, etc but it still only sold like 10m units.

Yeah it’s easy in 2025 to act like everything Nintendo touches turns to gold and their domination is inevitable, but things were pretty dire back in 2013-2016 timeframe. It’s a miracle they were able to turn things around.

 

[Buggy Loop]

You can play all of Nintendo's games on PC, and most even on phones.

Switch the easiest hack and emulated modern system

Still manages to be on its way to be the best hardware seller with virtually no price cuts

 

[HogIsland]

The only thing Nintendo excels at as a first party is catering to children. Everything else about their hardware and platform is generations behind the competition. There's like 3-4 Nintendo games I would buy every generation but I'm never going to buy their hardware just for those games.

We need ASUS to make a handheld PC that's durable for kids, and maybe Valve to make a Big Picture Mode that's simplified for kids, and the problem is solved.

 

[Effigenius]

What an interesting take. Is it every year since 1998 again?

You didn’t read the OP at all, did you?

 

[LordOcidax]

I think Switch was in a way their safest and most conservative console. After Wii U it seemed like all the Nintendo fans and pundits were saying Nintendo should make a console/handheld hybrid. It was surprising to see Nintendo give gamers exactly what they were asking for after many years of pushing gimmicks.

What???? Where did that happened?

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

What???? Where did that happened?

I hung out on the 3DS and Wii U GameFAQs boards back in the day and it seemed like everyone was saying Nintendo should make a hybrid.

Either a dock-able system, or else have separate handheld + console that both played the same games.

 

[RoboFu]

Yes ... coming off the most successful console of all time. This is the ONLY take one could calculate.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Taul Passi had an awful take? Shocking…

That's his entire brand: awful, stupid takes so he can shill for Microsoft/Xbox.

Maybe at one point very early he was a credible journalist, but that hasn't been the case for at least the past five years, and apparently, much longer.

Nintendo released games for iOS. They are not only first party. It's a start.

Those are spinoff games farmed out to 3P mobile studios and built with planned obsolescence/limited shelf life by design. Mainly, they're ways to advertise the IP to mobile gamers and entice them to get a Nintendo system to play the "real" installments, or at least more games in that IP exclusively on Nintendo's own hardware.

It's a smart strategy, and I think SIE should've done something similar with PC & mobile. But, well, they didn't :/.

 

[LordOcidax]

I hung out on the 3DS and Wii U GameFAQs boards back in the day and it seemed like everyone was saying Nintendo should make a hybrid.

Not at all. Some rumors about the hybrid concept started to circulate and some people liked the idea, but before the rumors nobody was asking for that…

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Proprietary hardware will eventually disappear. It’s only a matter of time. Nintendo isn’t immune to it, it’ll just take longer than Xbox, even PS is multiplat to a large degree, and continually moving in that direction.

 

[Gamerfan81]

Nintendo is known to have a large amount of cash reserve, to even suggest they were close to being bankrupt or needs to go 3rd party because of a bad console is idiotic. The Gamecube didn't put them out of business back then.

 

[LordOcidax]

Proprietary hardware will eventually disappear. It’s only a matter of time. Nintendo isn’t immune to it, it’ll just take longer than Xbox, even PS is multiplat to a large degree, and continually moving in that direction.

Are you telling me that Nvidia, Samsung, Apple, Sony, Etc etc are going to disappear too?? Only Software companies are going to survive… We are doomed…

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Nintendo is known to have a large amount of cash reserve, to even suggest they were close to being bankrupt or needs to go 3rd party because of a bad console is idiotic. The Gamecube didn't put them out of business back then.

GameCube made them money. But whether or not it did is mostly irrelevant, since most of their money during that time came from Game Boy Advance and then right into DS. Now they have so much money it’s not even comparable to any of the high points under Yamauchi or Iwata.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Are you telling me that Nvidia, Samsung, Apple, Sony, Etc etc are going to disappear too?? Only Software companies are going to survive… We are doomed…

I said proprietary hardware, not chips. Read a book! Dunno what to tell ya

 

[Synastry]

This was a Forbes headline back in 2013… 12 years later Xbox is already a third party company and it looks like Sony is going to follow the same route launching their games multi platform, and Nintendo is the only company that keeps their IPs on their own platform. What other Nintendo is doomed prediction do you remember from that era?

It May Be Time For Nintendo To Make Games, Not Consoles

It's a little worrisome, writing this post. The opinion I'm about to put forth is one that can get you laughed out of game journalism, and one few people in the industry will even entertain. It's the idea that Nintendo has lost their way when it comes to the home [...]

www.forbes.com

Yeah and Ferrari is gonna sell there division to Lamborghini.

A car analogy since I love cars.

 

[LordOcidax]

I said proprietary hardware, not chips. Read a book! Dunno what to tell ya

Apple doesn’t make Chips or Sony…

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Nintendo is known to have a large amount of cash reserve, to even suggest they were close to being bankrupt or needs to go 3rd party because of a bad console is idiotic. The Gamecube didn't put them out of business back then.

All the cash in the world doesn’t matter if they can’t sell consoles. If their follow up to the Wii U had flopped even worse, you really think they would kept going with another console generation? They’re not a charity, it’s not like they’re going to keep flushing money down the toilet until it’s all gone.

 

[HogIsland]

Are you telling me that Nvidia, Samsung, Apple, Sony, Etc etc are going to disappear too?? Only Software companies are going to survive… We are doomed…

If they're smart Samsung, Apple and Sony will make gaming PCs for the living room and handheld.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

All the cash in the world doesn’t matter if they can’t sell consoles. If their follow up to the Wii U had flopped even worse, you really think they would kept going with another console generation? They’re not a charity, it’s not like they’re going to keep flushing money down the toilet until it’s all gone.

Yeah. If the Switch hadn’t dramatically turned around their fortunes, they’d be gone by now. At best, a Sega-like third party software maker.

 

[GHG]

Paul Tassi gonna Paul Tassi:

All of this leads me to the conclusion that Nintendo simply cannot keep up in the hardware game. If the justification for their underpowered, gimmick-reliant systems generation after generation is that “well, they have good games,” then why the hell doesn’t Nintendo just focus on what they do best? Making games?

“Nintendo’s games sell millions of copies because it makes hardware, not in spite of that. The idea that Mario on Xbox would sell Call of Duty numbers is a pipe dream.”

I couldn’t disagree with this more, and I don’t understand where this notion comes from. Nintendo’s hardware is consistently worse than that of its competition. Outside of the obvious performance and graphical issues, their recent gameplay gimmicks like motion control and the gamepad often make their games worse than they would be otherwise, while driving the price of the system up. It’s why Kohler himself says Nintendo should rid itself of the Wii U’s gamepad to move more units.

Every time this is mentioned, the conversation always turns to SEGA. After struggling to be competitive in the console market in the Dreamcast era, SEGA went software only. Though they’re still around, after being a former titan of the industry, they’re barely relevant anymore, content to pair Sonic with his former rival Mario in Olympic-themed Wii games.

Considering the author and where we are today, this is all hugely ironic. Talk about egg on one's face.

 

[Hookshot]

So, this is justified then…

I'd love to see that updated.

 

[LordOcidax]

Yeah. If the Switch hadn’t dramatically turned around their fortunes, they’d be gone by now. At best, a Sega-like third party software maker.

My try… If the Playstation 1 had failed, we would never have had the PlayStation 2... At best a third party peripheral maker.

 

[drganon]

Proprietary hardware will eventually disappear. It’s only a matter of time. Nintendo isn’t immune to it, it’ll just take longer than Xbox, even PS is multiplat to a large degree, and continually moving in that direction.

Source: Trust me bro

 

[Gamerfan81]

All the cash in the world doesn’t matter if they can’t sell consoles. If their follow up to the Wii U had flopped even worse, you really think they would kept going with another console generation? They’re not a charity, it’s not like they’re going to keep flushing money down the toilet until it’s all gone.

The narrative was that Nintendo was close to being bankrupt and should go 3rd party was floated around in 2013-14. I'm challenging that assertion. They were nowhere close to being bankrupt. They could weather the storm with another failed console. Could they do it forever, probably not. But this notion that they were close to being bankrupt was false.

And this hybrid console thing you mentioned in the other post and you knew it was going to be some rousing success is some johnny come lately analysis. The gaming forums said it was dead on arrival and predicted another failed console including this forum.

 

[Generic]

This was a Forbes headline back in 2013… 12 years later Xbox is already a third party company and it looks like Sony is going to follow the same route launching their games multi platform, and Nintendo is the only company that keeps their IPs on their own platform. What other Nintendo is doomed prediction do you remember from that era?

It May Be Time For Nintendo To Make Games, Not Consoles

It's a little worrisome, writing this post. The opinion I'm about to put forth is one that can get you laughed out of game journalism, and one few people in the industry will even entertain. It's the idea that Nintendo has lost their way when it comes to the home [...]

www.forbes.com

Agree, having to buy a specific Nintendo hardware just to play Nintendo games sucks.