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Nintendo's return to dominance

B

borghe

Loves the Greater Toronto Area
So I was thinking about this as I eat my lunch. What would a return to dominance by Nintendo mean for the game industry? Note this isn't a Nintendo fanboy post. I am asking this question specifically because we already know what the Sony answer to that question is, and even the sanest person has to agree that the Microsoft answer would be pretty damn near the Sony answer (both companies have similar goals and approaches). I also ask this because during the SNES era, it is very apprent (to me at least) that Nintendo was all about going after the existing gamer market, vs. Sony who with the PSX went directly after the non-gamer market.

Would things even change? Would status quo remain? Would we see a shift in behind the scenes action (the way licensing is done, release patterns, etc). Would we see a shift in software content and makeup?

Obviously the one part that sticks out to me is the focus on western gaming. *IF* Nintendo returned to dominance, being an eastern company you would have to believe that two eastern leaders in the industry (assuming PS2 #2) would cause a shift in development and "what's popular". At least I would think so.

Another possibility would be Nintendo taking up the role that Sega tried claiming with the Dreamcast. Pioneer. They are already doing this with the DS and Revolution, but most believe that is a result of their falling to third place worldwide (and a distant third place in the west). Would they maintain that same pioneering spirit they have now? Or would they sit relatively content like they did during the 8- and 16-bit eras (again, in the west at least).

Just some thoughts on my part. How about you?
 
Nintendo's mind is not to return to dominance but to stay profitable, and therefore be able to stay in business for a long long time.
 
koh8.jpg


ASSEMBLE THE ARMY

Seriously I'm as excited as anyone that Nintendo is possibly back on track, but this is a little presumptuous.
 
Hey Sega did say no home ports for their arcade titles and have that fancy new Lindberg hardware and Sammy's deep pockets. The plot thickens!
 
Just because Japanese companies dominate doesn't mean Japanese content will. Just looking at sales data, the ammount of representation of Japanese-developed or Japanese-style games is less than 30%. For the mass-market (and this includes Japan too) tastes are regional and cultural.

One would wonder, had Sony not taken such a HUGE chunk of the marketshare, would Nintendo bother to have made such a radically different control system for their new console?
 
For those who haven't even bothered to read the first post, I am NOT saying Nintendo IS returning to dominance. I am asking what it would mean IF they did.

monchi-kun said:
Just because Japanese companies dominate doesn't mean Japanese content will. Just looking at sales data, the ammount of representation of Japanese-developed or Japanese-style games is less than 30%. For the mass-market (and this includes Japan too) tastes are regional and cultural.
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eh.. I don't entirely agree with this. Tastes were VERY east dominated PSX and before. Tides didn't shift to the west in a big way until Microsoft entered the fray. If MS was shuffled to third place, I have to wonder (again just wondering) if western tastes would remain as is.
 
evilmario90.gif


Whoa, nice! Got a larger version of that?


Oh, right. Nintendo dominance.

I can't ever see them dominating like they did in the NES days, obviously, but if the Revolution really catches on, they might be able to split the market with Sony.

If they did, I assume Eastern games would become more popular again. Not among the current crowd of gamers, as they're satisfied with that they have, but perhaps among these so-called 'non-gamers' that Nintendo is trying to reach out to.
 
SantaCruZer said:
Nintendo's mind is not to return to dominance but to stay profitable, and therefore be able to stay in business for a long long time.
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Not just a long time ... indefinitely. What many people fail to grasp is that Nintendo is still at the top overall (including consoles, handhelds and software sales). They're the second-largest games publisher worldwide (behind EA), they have a huge installed base with their GameBoy offerings, and they're obscenely profitable.

While they've lagged in the home console market, it hasn't been as dramatic a blow to the company as many believe. Consider, too, that Nintendo's hardware offerings are little more than trojan horses to sell their software (and boy does their software sell -- even in the west).

My point is that dominance is how you define it. While many people see Nintendo as niche (especially in the West), the truth is that Nintendo remains a dominant force in this industry. Considering the relative success of the GBM and the DS (and the likely crossover appeal of the Revolution), that's not gonna change anytime soon.
 
borghe said:
For those who haven't even bothered to read the first post, I am NOT saying Nintendo IS returning to dominance. I am asking what it would mean IF they did.
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Shh...this doesn't matter :p Some people see the word Nintendo and they either have to troll or just laugh at the poster without thinking or even reading what was said
 
borghe said:
For those who haven't even bothered to read the first post, I am NOT saying Nintendo IS returning to dominance. I am asking what it would mean IF they did.
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That they deserve it? and that they will dictate the new trends....
that applies to every competitor imho
 
I have a hard time guessing, becuase Nintendo dominence woudl mean that they woudl *have* alter their marketing. There's a reason they've lost mindshare/marketshare.

Woudl they do it by being more like Sony? Then not much change.

Would they do it by tapping some new market? Well, it woudl depend on what that market was like.

One thing I am sure of-- if the situtaion were like 1989 all over again, it would play out the same way.
 
They need to get much more involved with western developers for this to happen. Xbox's biggest strength was how friendly the system was for PC developers and companies that normally would not have built a game around a console. I think Sony realizes this which is why Epic was given stage time during their E3 conference, and they're going to great lengths to help push games from their SCEA studios (although technically I think SCEA was rolled into their "worldwide" studio or whatever).

Nintendo has lost Factor 5 to Sony and Silicon Knights to Microsoft. I'm not particularly fond of either developer but it's not a good sign that they decided to jump ship after being vocal supporters of Gamecube. I think the idea of a new control method is good, but like I said in another thread, who is going to be developing the first person shooters that suppose to work so well with it? They'll mostly be focused on Xbox 360 and the PC, and port to PS3 when it benefits them to do so. They're going to have to do more than rely on Japanese development support, because even a game as good as RE4 didn't do much to help hardware sales ealier this year.
 
SantaCruZer said:
Nintendo's mind is not to return to dominance but to stay profitable, and therefore be able to stay in business for a long long time.
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perfectly said. Nintendo have said time and time again that their main goal is to be a profitable company, so as long as they are making money on every system sold, they dont really bother about much else. Some people forget that Nintendo is a company and its main purpose is to make money. Im sure that marketshare is important to them ,but profit comes first.

This is the oppsoite to Sony and MS, who lose money on each system sold to gain a larger fanbase and a greater marketshare. MS are known to have been taking a loss on Xbox, but in return they have gained a decent amount of marketshare which will help them gain even more next gen and they will have a greater chance of fighting Sony

Because of Nintendo's philosophy, they will never become dominant. In order to gain the most marketshare, a sacrifice in profits is needed. Nintendo dont seem to want to do that. Their focus is to bring new experiences to gamers instead of directly competing with the big PS3 and Xbox exclusives.
 
don't you have...like...coworkers to fantasize about? we all daydream about stupid things, but surely you can do better than NINTENDO'S RETURN TO DOMINANCE. :/
 
Smiles and Cries said:
I would think dominance in business is "He who makes the most profits..." :D
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In that case Nintendo has been dominating all along and this thread is pointless. I don't think that is what the thread starter was talking about.
 
NINTENDO WILL RETURN TO THE TOP SPOT NEXT GEN!, ALL THE OTHERS ARE JUST DOIGN THE same boring!!!! stuff agin and agin and maybe stealing an idea here and there from Nintendo!
 
JesusMario said:
NINTENDO WILL RETURN TO THE TOP SPOT NEXT GEN!, ALL THE OTHERS ARE JUST DOIGN THE same boring!!!! stuff agin and agin and maybe stealing an idea here and there from Nintendo!
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jesus, mario.
 
borghe said:
eh.. I don't entirely agree with this. Tastes were VERY east dominated PSX and before. Tides didn't shift to the west in a big way until Microsoft entered the fray. If MS was shuffled to third place, I have to wonder (again just wondering) if western tastes would remain as is.
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It was still "us" as it the gamers who grew up with Japanese games. There's an entire "playstation" generation who don't have fond memories of nihon-gaming.
 
How can so many people fail to address a hypothetical question? Are you all retarded or do you have an obsession with dissent?
 
Smiles and Cries said:
I would think dominance in business is "He who makes the most profits..." :D
Click to expand...

I disagree. Profit is more important to Nintendo than it is to Microsoft at this point. MS is after mindshare, and they've been very successful in earning it so far. So profits are a poor measure of performance for MS. Sony is an anomaly to me: They don't have the overall corporate health of MS and they don't have the profits of Nintendo: What are they trying to accomplish by losing money on hardware? If they can't rake in the massive profits by being No. 1, how long are they gonna last if their marketshare slips, considering their debts elsewhere?

Any expert analysts out there?
 
ghostlyjoe said:
I disagree. Profit is more important to Nintendo than it is to Microsoft at this point. MS is after mindshare, and they've been very successful in earning it so far. So profits are a poor measure of performance for MS. Sony is an anomaly to me: They don't have the overall corporate health of MS and they don't have the profits of Nintendo: What are they trying to accomplish by losing money on hardware? If they can't rake in the massive profits by being No. 1, how long are they gonna last if their marketshare slips, considering their debts elsewhere?

Any expert analysts out there?
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Sony has crazy mindshare, and they're always looking to expand upon that. Their name is practically tied to consumer electronics in people's minds. As long as they have that, they can't really fail.
 
Ha, Nintendo was as much if not more of an iron-fisted company back in the 80s/early 90s than Sony or MS is now. A return to dominance will never EVER happen again for them, sorry :lol

They'll continue doing their mantra which is profitability.
 
Mooreberg said:
They need to get much more involved with western developers for this to happen.
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If they were to become dominant again in the console market (especially worldwide), I agree this is how it would happen. I don't think tastes have changed so much because of console manufactures like Sony and MS but instead from the expansion of western developers into prominance in the console market in the 90s and through the 2000s (as opposed to when they were more PC oriented years ago). I don't think much would change because I'm not convinced that just because two "eastern" console manufacturers led the market that tastes would shift. Third parties still make the vast majority of games....

psycho_snake said:
Because of Nintendo's philosophy, they will never become dominant. In order to gain the most marketshare, a sacrifice in profits is needed. Nintendo dont seem to want to do that. Their focus is to bring new experiences to gamers instead of directly competing with the big PS3 and Xbox exclusives.
Click to expand...

I agree with this as well.
 
ghostlyjoe said:
I disagree. Profit is more important to Nintendo than it is to Microsoft at this point. MS is after mindshare, and they've been very successful in earning it so far. So profits are a poor measure of performance for MS. Sony is an anomaly to me: They don't have the overall corporate health of MS and they don't have the profits of Nintendo: What are they trying to accomplish by losing money on hardware? If they can't rake in the massive profits by being No. 1, how long are they gonna last if their marketshare slips, considering their debts elsewhere?

Any expert analysts out there?
Click to expand...

The Playstation line makes up nearly half of their money at times, it's usually Sony's other divisions that holds them back, hence why they are so willing to invest so much money to Playstation endeavors in the first place, they have to go with the mindset that they are going to be on top.
 
Mooreberg said:
In that case Nintendo has been dominating all along and this thread is pointless. I don't think that is what the thread starter was talking about.
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They have been dominating all along, that's the thing. Sony has the console market in thei pocket, but their profits are pathetic for such a huge installed base. And even with the PSP on the market, Nintendo is still right at the top overall (I think Sony may have overtaken them in overall marketshare with the PSP, but it's close). They sell boatloads of software, they make tons of profit and they sell handhelds like they're crack.

So define dominance: What are we really talking about here? Marketshare? Profits? Mindshare?
 
Mihail said:
Sony has crazy mindshare, and they're always looking to expand upon that. Their name is practically tied to consumer electronics in people's minds. As long as they have that, they can't really fail.
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The 360 must have them shaking in their boots. You look at handheld performance in Japan and the hype the 360 is garnering ... is their mindshare safe?
 
Mihail said:
How can so many people fail to address a hypothetical question? Are you all retarded or do you have an obsession with dissent?
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Guys, how hard is it to say, "I think it's a ridiculous idea, but if it were to happen, I think the industry would look like this..." and then just add what you think would happen.

I never understand the Internet's inability to discuss hypotheticals. broghe is not asking the question out of his excitement of Nintendo becoming king; he's asking it as an exercise in analytical thinking. Then again, thinking around these parts is in short supply.
 
The pathetic Nintendo fanboys would become even more insufferable than they are already?

Seriously, don't you guys have anything better to hope for?
 
ghostlyjoe said:
The 360 must have them shaking in their boots. You look at handheld performance in Japan and the hype the 360 is garnering ... is their mindshare safe?
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No, but it's nicely paded with 90 million PS2s rolling right into next generation. The ball is in Sony's court they just don't have to drop the ball.
 
HomerSimpson-Man said:
The Playstation line makes up nearly half of their money at times, it's usually Sony's other divisions that holds them back, hence why they are so willing to invest so much money to Playstation endeavors in the first place, they have to go with the mindset that they are going to be on top.
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I thought they accrued a ton of debt when they acquired MGM, and we know the Ipod just about killed the Walkman line ... They've got a lot of eggs in one basket and more viable competition than they've yet had in this market. I could be way of base here, but I get the impression that of the three companies vying for the home console market, Sony is on the shakiest ground right now and simply has the most at stake.
 
AssMan said:
There should an official "Nintendo will be #1 next gen" thread. Every fecking week, I swear. :lol
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Minotauro said:
The pathetic Nintendo fanboys would become even more insufferable than they are already?

Seriously, don't you guys have anything better to hope for?
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learn to read. no one is hoping for or predicting anything. I already said why this thread is targetted specifically at Nintendo and not the other two, and fanboyism has nothing to do with it.
 
Minotauro said:
The pathetic Nintendo fanboys would become even more insufferable than they are already?

Seriously, don't you guys have anything better to hope for?
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Think about what you're saying. This is the most insufferable post in this thread thus far. Ironic? Hmm ....
 
HomerSimpson-Man said:
It took like 2 generations of debt for that to happen to Sega, it's going to be a while for Nintendo considering they aren't in debt and is profitable.
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yeah but their profits are slipping and since that is their main priority they're unlikely to be willing to endure losses like Sega did before deciding to go 3rd party
 
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