Topic: RUMOR: Nintendo management unhappy with Iwata

[Ian Sane]

I find it very annoying that the concepts of firing Iwata and Nintendo moving to smartphones are so entwined.  Now I understand how that could be a realistic possibility of Nintendo getting new management.  What I find strange is that there appears to be a small group of Nintendo fans that seem to want Nintendo to go to smartphones.  How would any fan benefit from that?

Though the whole scenario stinks.  "Put up with this bullshit Wii U or things will be EVEN WORSE!!"  My Nintendo fandom is totally in a lose-lose scenario.

[marvel_moviefan_2012]

I wouldn't want them to go smart phones I never play any games there, I bought ONE Sonic game and I played it for five minutes, and I had to force myself to play it that long because I paid money for it. I would be OKAY with them going full third party in console and PC arena but keeping their handhelds exclusive but realistically that won't work either. I would also be okay with them doing what Atari and Sega do by releasing a couple retro consoles for the retro crowd who aren't into buying full on consoles, hell a system that just played Virtual Console games would be fine by me I would buy it in a heartbeat if the price was right.


The way they horde their very lucrative IP is what bothers most people I don't think its so much they just want their games on cell phones as they don't want to have to spend $300 bucks on a new console just for a few games, especially those who are just interested in the retro games I think Nintendo really needs to pay better attention to the retro scene and throw something out there to rake in the money or else they will sink. I know lots of people who might pick up one of those retro style consoles that looks like a classic SNES but has built in flash and can play VC games, they would make a **** tone of money off that, it would still be their hardware and they would still sell their games to the people who want them but aren't interested in the NEW stuff as much.


Atari and Sega might not be making a killing off their Retro stuff but a look at ANY used video game store, ebay, or amazon will tell you that Nintendo's retro stuff is in fucking insane demand. Not enough to get people to run out and buy a $300 dollar console but they could make lots of money selling a $50 retro themed machine that only  plays the old games, it should theoratically also play carts too like some of the Sega Retro machines but flashed based loaded with access to the Virtual Console would satisfy most people and shut up the majority of the smartphone crowd and might put some much needed money in the bank to subsidize the losses Wii U is racking up.

[Phil]

Which anti-Nintendo neckbeard was rubbing his hands together and getting sweaty while writing this fan-fiction-esque slop?


That was overly mean, and I apologize.

[marvel_moviefan_2012]

Which anti-Nintendo neckbeard was rubbing his hands together and getting sweaty while writing this fan-fiction-esque slop?


That was overly mean, and I apologize.

Was that directed at me? How am I anti Nintendo? I love Nintendo when did I ever come off as anti-Nintendo? I had major issues with Wii U and how they handled that and I lost interest in Wii but I never said anything to come off as hating Nintendo, why the hell would I be here if I hated them?

[Phil]

Which anti-Nintendo neckbeard was rubbing his hands together and getting sweaty while writing this fan-fiction-esque slop?


That was overly mean, and I apologize.

Was that directed at me? How am I anti Nintendo? I love Nintendo when did I ever come off as anti-Nintendo? I had major issues with Wii U and how they handled that and I lost interest in Wii but I never said anything to come off as hating Nintendo, why the hell would I be here if I hated them?

No! No! No!


Talking about the original rumor!


I'm not mean to users here! So sorry!

[marvel_moviefan_2012]

I was confused no worries your still cool.

[Ian Sane]

I like marvel moviefan's idea about Nintendo offering some product for the retro gaming scene.  Since old NES's are a huge bitch to get to work right I would love it if Nintendo released a new top loader.  There are lots of machines that play old games but they do so with emulation which I'm not interested in.  I would instantly snatch up a Nintendo produced system that used legit hardware and supported NES and SNES games (and if I'm being greedy lets throw in a Famicom slot or include N64 support).  Hey and why don't they make it connect online to also support the VC so you can buy downloads or play with old legit carts?  I can see a disapproval of "used games" (as if 20 year old out-of-print carts are eating into Nintendo's bottom line) but if they had VC support with it then they can't complain that such a product would eat into VC sales.  If anything it would encourage it.

Of course retro console clones exist and they sell and Nintendo currentlys gets absolutely no revenue from it at all.  The old carts will continue to sell with Nintendo not getting a dime unless Nintendo lobbies to change the law on used sales or Nintendo starts buying the old copies themselves to remove them from the market.  There is a demand and there is a product that's making money off the demand.  Nintendo could either make it their product or they can continue to make nothing from it.

[nickmitch]

I read that Kim Kardashian's game raked in 200 million.

That's not gonna help our situation.

[lolmonade]

I don't think any gamer should take issue with Nintendo releasing games on mobile phones, provided the following:
1)  It doesn't affect their ability to release games on their own platforms in a timely manner.
2)  They're not microtransaction filled time/money sink versions of classic games
3)  They don't stop making their own dedicated handhelds to get the meaty game experiences.
 
I just assume they're incapable of providing mobile offerings without breaking at least one of these conditions.

[marvel_moviefan_2012]

I don't think any gamer should take issue with Nintendo releasing games on mobile phones, provided the following:
1)  It doesn't affect their ability to release games on their own platforms in a timely manner.
2)  They're not microtransaction filled time/money sink versions of classic games
3)  They don't stop making their own dedicated handhelds to get the meaty game experiences.
 
I just assume they're incapable of providing mobile offerings without breaking at least one of these conditions.

I would expect Nintendo to break Rules number 1 easily. 2 I am not so sure and 3 doesn't sound like them at all.

[NWR_insanolord]

Microtransactions are pretty much the only way anybody's had success with in terms of making real money in that arena, so if Nintendo weren't going to employ them it wouldn't make sense at all to jump into the mobile market.

[Ian Sane]

I was concerned about Nintendo expanding their audience to include casuals and damn near everything I was concerned about came true.  So, yeah, I don't trust that Nintendo would do phone games right.  I don't see how the fans could come ahead.  If the concept failed Nintendo would be in worse shape than they are now.  If it succeeded, why would they bother to make "real" games for us if the smartphone market was where the money was?  That was my big concern with the Wii - if the casual audience, who has considerably lower standards than we do, makes them more money why would they bother to continue to cater to us?  While the Wii was selling big, Nintendo seemed to have almost no interest in improving their product because they didn't have to and a lot of the Wii's flaws carried over to the Wii U because they assumed the casuals would transition to it.

So if they're making smartphone money, with "games" that are a whole lot shittier and take a whole lot less money and effort to make, why are they going to bust their ass to make some great Zelda game for a smaller audience?  Cheap half-assed product selling in high volume to an audience that doesn't give a **** about quality is a dream scenario for any company.  You shouldn't want any company you like to make money with a sub-standard product.

The whole idea is pretty idiotic anyway since so much of Nintendo's strategy is in hardware and they would lose that if they went with phones.  Unless they made a Nintendo phone that is the exclusive platform for their smartphone games but would you honestly expect them to get something like that right?  Smartphone development would only make sense if they went third party.

[NWR_insanolord]

Mobile games would cost less to make, but also only bring in, at most, a few bucks a pop, at least without microtransaction bullshit. Zelda's a lot more expensive to make, but they can also sell it for 30 times the price of a mobile game.

I think it would be possible to do both, but it'd be an extremely fine line to walk. They'd need to be complementary to the meatier console/dedicated handheld titles, but not so much that it'd turn people off from buying the dedicated hardware. It would be really tough to pull off, and I don't think I'd bet on any company doing so, especially Nintendo.

[pokepal148]

Mobile games would cost less to make, but also only bring in, at most, a few bucks a pop, at least without microtransaction bullshit. Zelda's a lot more expensive to make, but they can also sell it for 30 times the price of a mobile game.

I think it would be possible to do both, but it'd be an extremely fine line to walk. They'd need to be complementary to the meatier console/dedicated handheld titles, but not so much that it'd turn people off from buying the dedicated hardware. It would be really tough to pull off, and I don't think I'd bet on any company doing so, especially Nintendo.

That sounds like square enix's final fantasy mobile strategy, would likely work about as well also.

[nickmitch]

I don't want Nintendo making games on smartphones because that's not the kind of company Nintendo is, nor the kind of company I like to support.  Nintendo makes some of the best games money can buy.  Smartphones aren't the platform for the best games.  Nintendo systems are designed to make the best games, phones are designed for twitter and text messaging.  I know I sound really fanboy-ish right now, but seeing Nintendo make smartphone games would really bother me.

[lolmonade]

Microtransactions are pretty much the only way anybody's had success with in terms of making real money in that arena, so if Nintendo weren't going to employ them it wouldn't make sense at all to jump into the mobile market.

Let me rephrase my point then, provided it's not something like the old arcade system where you had to pay for more lives, and more like "pay $0.99 for the spare mushroom power-up 3 pack" on a mario game, I wouldn't be against it.
 
That said, I wouldn't bother to buy a Nintendo mobile phone game, unless they were strategy games or something that lended well to the platform, like Advance Wars.

[lolmonade]

I don't want Nintendo making games on smartphones because that's not the kind of company Nintendo is, nor the kind of company I like to support.  Nintendo makes some of the best games money can buy.  Smartphones aren't the platform for the best games.  Nintendo systems are designed to make the best games, phones are designed for twitter and text messaging.  I know I sound really fanboy-ish right now, but seeing Nintendo make smartphone games would really bother me.

You see, I get the argument you're making, but the Wii U and 3DS reek of Nintendo making a first effort into a console/handheld as a multimedia device, falling flat on their face, and instead of fixing the issues and offering what the customer expects, retreating back into their cave while yelling "WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN JUST ABOUT THE GAMES, GUYS!".
 
3D gaming has limited appeal, Wii U's gamepad has been touted for the off-TV play feature, but let's be honest that they beat their chest quite a bit about TVii and how it would change the way you interact with not only your cable subscription, but your streaming services.  Hell, 3DS has that Nintendo video app where they stream random music videos and Dinosaur Office episodes.
 
Nintendo is great at video games, provided you don't expect robust online features for them outside of MarioKart.  The Wii U and 3DS probably have my favorite games of the generation so far.  That said, despite all their vocal statements that they won't be entering the mobile market, don't be shocked when they decide it's too alluring and start releasing NES games and specific mobile minigame collecions on iOS & android devices.

[nickmitch]

3DS and Wii U have been missteps in terms of designing hardware specifically to make games.  I can totally agree with that.  But Nintendo needed to enter the 21st century, and I'm hoping this are just growing pains.  Sony and MS both learned a lot from their first forays into the HD realm, and I'm sure  Nintendo will too.

[marvel_moviefan_2012]

I don't think Nintendo should be getting into Mobile, MS and Sony are moving away from that market so unless Nintendo thinks they can claim it all to themselves they need to stay out of it. I DO think they would make a killing on a low cost Retro themed console that was basically just a Virtual Console machine that could connect to the internet or something similar to the Sega/Atari retro consoles, not the knock off ones the official ones.

Wii U had a lot of problems going in and so far they have failed to address the most obvious ones. The best they can do now is release the best software they can make and hope that is enough. It is too late to re-do the hardware and they don't even know what mistakes they made with it based on what they say about it.

They could get away with releasing their top retro games on mobile markets and even Steam if they cared to but they would have to spin off the Virtual Console separate from Wii/Wii U and I don't realistically see them doing that either so that is why people are upset they want the classic games but don't want to have to pay for the new console just for the classic games and classic hardware is getting harder to come by.

[Ian Sane]

Part of what makes the phone stuff so idiotic is that smartphones are the main competitor of the 3DS.  Putting games on smartphones would be like releasing games on the PS4 and expecting people to still buy the Wii U.  Nintendo exclusivity is a big selling point for the 3DS.  Imagine if they put Pokemon on smartphones.  It would kill their handheld market almost single-handedly.

[Nile Boogie Returns]

I want an eShop console where I can play Shovel Knight on cartridge with a wired controller on a CRT with an rf adapter and drink Tang.

"My future is only in the past."

[NWR_insanolord]

I don't know that I'd call mobile phones their main competitor; the 3DS library, at least from Nintendo, is predominantly made up of larger, more substantial games, compared to the simple stuff on phones. The realities of how money is made in the mobile arena wouldn't allow Nintendo to throw real, full support behind that platform.   

Honestly, I'm not sure the 3DS has any real legitimate competitor right now. I love my Vita, but I'm under no illusion that it's on the same level as 3DS in terms of software support. Still, Sony's strategy there, while different from Nintendo's, is a lot closer to Nintendo than smartphones are,

If Nintendo does support mobile phones at some point it'll most likely be smaller, complementary things that are primarily designed to say "Hey, this is pretty good, right? Well if you go buy this dedicated hardware you can get an even better version of it."

Apple only made the iTunes Store in the first place to make the iPod more desirable. Phone games/apps would be a means to an end, convincing people to go out and buy a Wii V or a 6DS. As I said earlier in the thread, though, it's a fine line to walk.

[marvel_moviefan_2012]

there are two discussions going on simultaneously about mobile and that is why Nintendo can't do it right. I would hate for them to go all in or even release current made for mobile games unless they were just to promote the big stuff. BUT I think most people just want them to put out stuff like Dr. Mario, original DK, maybe some stuff like that the classics people are all dying for but not wanting to spend a fortune on.

[NWR_insanolord]

You can't make games with the scale and level of polish most of what Nintendo puts out have, there's no way you could make your money back. Going all-in doesn't make sense, and doesn't seem to have worked out especially well for the major traditional publishers who've tried it.

The kind of thing Nintendo should do is have an official Nintendo Pokedex app on there with all the detailed info on everything. There are already things like that on there, but in this case Nintendo would have the marketing advantage and the ability to get the other ones taken down of they wanted to.

To be effective, they need it to be something that expands upon their console/handheld games, but not so much that people feel like they can just get the mobile games without the bigger stuff.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I didn't read anything on this page other than the 1st post which I will quote and then reply to.
sorry if anything has already been said.

I find it very annoying that the concepts of firing Iwata and Nintendo moving to smartphones are so entwined.  Now I understand how that could be a realistic possibility of Nintendo getting new management.  What I find strange is that there appears to be a small group of Nintendo fans that seem to want Nintendo to go to smartphones.  How would any fan benefit from that?

Though the whole scenario stinks.  "Put up with this bullshit Wii U or things will be EVEN WORSE!!"  My Nintendo fandom is totally in a lose-lose scenario.

$0.99 VC games? what the majority of them should really cost.

and speaking of that. The only games Nintendo should be bringing to mobile in these here technological times of 2014 is a self contained (but shared) VC service.
The VC games would be official from Nintendo, and would expand the audience by so much, that it would justify lowering the game prices down to $0.99-$4.99 with occasional $0.10 game deals $4.99 game bundle packs.
Nintendo could be the Steam of old ass console games from generations ago.
everything from Atari, NES, SNES, Sega MS, Genesis/Nomad, N64, Saturn, NeoGeo/P, GB/C/A, 3DS, DS/i, GameGear, TG-16/e, PCE, 3DO, Jaguar, (GC & Wii)*, Arcade and indie PC games.

*only playable on home console

Even sell a bluetooth gamepad that clamps around your phone, and you are golden. $1B in earnings on 100+M users within the 2nd year from launch.
You can play your games from any compatible cell phone or Nintendo Device when logged into your universal ClubN account. This allows you to play games on the go, in the bathroom, on the couch or up on the bigscreen.

This is so fucking easy, I just don't get why it hasn't been done yet.
this money has been sitting on the table for so long, that I think most of it has blown down onto the floor as the idea keeps going over Nintendo's head like a warm summer breeze.
 
it's ridiculous.

Now the share holders are happy, and Nintendo can get back to making console specific games that can only be done on their consoles. win win situation. just do it already.