I'm still not sure practically what a unified platform does for nintendo from a sales perspective. Their console business is kaput IMO unless there is very serious design reinvention (which is very possible). The handheld market is in irreversible and undeniable decline. What does a unified platform do except reduce nintendo's cost base? They are going to be facing revenue pressure for the foreseeable future. If the core idea is that one platform means nintendo can pad out the lineup a little easier--making it more feasible to "go it alone" as it were--then I think the long term objective should be dramatic investment to grow top line, not ebitda margins.
I don't really get the strategy but I am struggling to visualize the product. I am sure it will be great when it does come out.
But what they are doing with the 3ds is baffling to me. That thing wouldn't vroom if you put 60,000 volts in it.
I'm actually imagining a product that's effectively a palliative ease of their discomfort with dropping hardware while moving them into a position that better prepares them for a future where they might actually have to give up hardware and focus on designing games that work on a range of devices.
It wouldn't be very different than the Vita and Vita TV as they currently stand, or how an Android phone, Android tablet, and Android set top box can use the same content.
Now, obviously we've seen the home versions of those struggle, but you're essentially offering more options to customers for similar devices. Like if someone wants to play Mario Kart on a TV instead of a handheld, they have that option in this scenario.
Nintendo isn't acting in a way that to me indicates they actually have an aggressive concern for their top line growth or long term strategy, but rather trying to bandaid a bad situation while holding on to a business model that is no longer working. This is essentially a plan that works within the confines of that mindset.
