Author Topic: Nintendo lowers profit expectations... again (Read 18864 times)

almondblight · « **Reply #50 on:** April 10, 2003, 05:55:36 AM »

Yeah...the Zelda series would be a lot better if link was a homocidal maniac and zelda was a prostitute he frequented...or if mario smoked a cigar and swore all the time for no reason-THAT would make an good game...

Seriously-no one here finds it amusing that the things that make up a "mature" game are things that most people would find immature? I'm glad that Nintendo doesn't have games where random sex and violence, or poor drama is thrown in just so some teens with low self esteem can feel like they aren't playing a kiddy game. I liked Conkers Bad Fur Day, that was a fun game, it was juvenile though. Rogue Leader didn't have sex and violence, but it was by no means a kiddie game. Good games stand on their own, I fully support nintendo for having integrity and not just make random "M" rated games to appease some 11 who can't get access to pronography.

NWR_Lindy · « **Reply #51 on:** April 10, 2003, 06:16:09 AM »

EXACTLY. I totally agree Perfect Cell. The Gamecube has become the Dreamcast in terms of mainstream appeal. Much like the Dreamcast appealed mainly to Sega fans, the Gamecube is so quirky and has such a limited variety of games that it appeals mainly to Nintendo fans.

The GBA SP, on the other hand, is a huge mainstream success. The other day, a co-worker of mine that couldn't be a more casual gamer walks into my office, shows me his brand-new GBA SP and says, "Look what I got". It really amazed me. While the GBA SP has buzz all over (I've seen it written up in Maxim, Wired, MSN.com, CNN.com), the Gamecube is an afterthought.

Sadly, what really needs a makeover is the Gamecube. People can't take it seriously when it looks like a lunchbox, no matter what color it is. For its next console Nintendo needs to color it black, and design it so that it looks like a slick piece of stereo equipment. The public would eat that up.

As for GTA not having a deep plot...sure, it wasn't War and Peace, but it least it was a refreshing change of pace. It touched a genre that hadn't really been explored before and presented it in a unique way. You gotta admit that nobody had even come close to the "immersive real world" stuff on a console before GTA 3. Sure, it was done on PCs long ago, but it was always with D&D/fantasy content that just doesn't appeal to the mainstream.

silks

PIAC · « **Reply #52 on:** April 10, 2003, 10:16:49 AM »

no, i dont want nintendo have just black, i would prefer a choice, makes more people happy that way, redesign the style of it, but have a number of choices

or perhaps... have a number of designs? say a mainstream style then a diehardNfan style, you see what im driving at (i dont think it should happen, but its an idea)

thecubedcanuck · « **Reply #53 on:** April 10, 2003, 10:57:56 AM »

Why not appeal to both sides?

They have the hard part covered already, the loyalist who loves their 1st party games.
The easy part would be having a mass amount of 3rd part games regardless of what the 1st party fans thought of them. Games with mass appeal.

Why is this so much trouble for them?

You cant build a product based on the minotities wants and expect majority sales, it just isnt realistic.

NWR_Lindy · « **Reply #54 on:** April 10, 2003, 11:29:01 AM »

Yeah cubedcanuck, I don't get it either. Nintendo seems to make everything look so difficult these days. They try to be so different that they're slowly turning their consoles (consoles, not the GBA SP mind you) into niche products.

PIAC - Howsabout this...sell the next console in default black, but have a detachable outer casing that you could replace with new "shells" only sold on Nintendo.com. That'd be brilliant. You could have any color of the rainbow. Nintendo could release new shells to commemorate key game releases, like a solid gold shell with a TriForce symbol on it to commemorate the release of the next Zelda game. Just like the Metroid Prime emblems that were packaged with the Prime bundle in Europe, only taken to the next level.

Now THAT would be cool.

silks

Luciferschild · « **Reply #55 on:** April 10, 2003, 11:43:13 AM »

I was thinking a crimson ish colored console would be cool. Shells is a good idea. I didn't mind that the gamecube was a little square but the handle thing made it kinda like a luchbox which goes back to the kiddie perception. Link being a homicidal maniac that hooks up with zelda? I'd take that over link being a bug eyed deformed cartoon creampuff.

mouse_clicker · « **Reply #56 on:** April 10, 2003, 01:11:15 PM »

Whoa whoa whoa- still remember, guys, that the Gamecube IS a very popular console. It's not unpopular by any means. I can see how it mgiht be compared to the Dreamcast on some levels, but sales-wise it's doing pretty darn good. Just maybe not as good as it should be donig and nowhere enar as good as the PS2. Just remember that.

Perfect Cell · « **Reply #57 on:** April 10, 2003, 01:53:16 PM »

My Preference would be silver actually... and no handle regardless of its use.

The Gamecube is popular but its not popular enough.... The Common gamer says its kiddy and discards it, and just doesnt give it a chance... If Nintendo doesnt gain an increase soon, then they will have problems eventually.... You do this by doing more "violent" games, and less enfasis on the General Audiences games, and changing your advertisements to emphasise more on the Mature titles and less on the general ones.

kennyb27 · « **Reply #58 on:** April 10, 2003, 02:01:03 PM »

My point is that they need look at it with a "go-get-'em" mentality. They need to attack their problems. They can't stand around and say "oh this isn't our fault, we're going to blame it on them." Either make the next Mario game more "mass-appealing," if you like that idea; or start a few new "mature" (I absolutely hate using that word) franchises with 2nd parties (don't expect EAD to do any GTA's and what not).

Perfect Cell · « **Reply #59 on:** April 10, 2003, 03:28:41 PM »

They could make companies like Silicon Knights and Retro bigger, and able to produce more than 1 game at a time.... and please market them much better!

NWR_Lindy · « **Reply #60 on:** April 11, 2003, 08:25:40 AM »

Really, if Nintendo had all the EAD titles AND games like Metal Gear Solid, Halo, GTA and some killer RPGs, who could stop them? Really? A racing game to rival Gran Turismo would be nice too.

It would also be nice if Nintendo designed their controllers to be more amicable to fighting games...one of the strengths of the PS2 is their standardized controller design. Sure, Nintendo's controllers are always ergonomic marvels, but their wacky layouts are too geared towards 3-D platformers.

MOUSE_CLICKER - Sure, the GameCube has sold alright, but since the market is so large now the popularity criteria has changed a little bit. The GameCube is in third place behind PS2 and XBox, consoles from two companies that didn't have anything to do with video games prior to 1995. That's pretty sad. Nintendo has definitely fallen behind the times and it's really hitting them hard now. Saying you're going to sell 10 million GameCubes and then only selling 5.6 million is embarrassing.

silks

NiteWalker · « **Reply #61 on:** April 12, 2003, 08:37:28 AM »

Does ANYONE judge games by their gameplay and not boob/blood/violence content anymore? I love mario sunshine for the gameplay. The graphics are nice as well, but not the reason I purchased a gamecube. I bought it for Nintendo's games. Every Nintendo game I bought so far gave me a very unique experience. Luigi's Mansion: Kiddie, yes, but nothing else like it on any system. Mario Sunshine: Kiddie, sort of but this game is the reason I bought a Gamecube. It is the first Mario game in 6 years and I am pleased with it. 8 of my 12 GC games are made by Nintendo. That's why I have a GC. 3 of the other 4 are exclusives. The last is Vexx. I bought it for GC because I like the Wavebird. Even with N posting lower profit expectations I doubt it will be the last N console. N learns from its mistakes which is why it is now disc based. Next gen maybe nintendo will look back and do more for marketing and audience targeting. Right now they can sit comfortable at a fluctuating 2nd or 3rd place waiting out the current system war planning their next attack(GC2?). Mind you they are STILL making money, just not as much as expected. Keyword there "Nintendo lowers PROFIT expectations again". Nothing to worry about. The day Nintendo pulls out of the games industry is the day it ceases to exist.

NiteWalker · « **Reply #62 on:** April 12, 2003, 08:45:29 AM »

I don't know about anyone else, but with My GC on the shelf with all my other systems I CAN'T even SEE the handle.

NiteWalker · « **Reply #63 on:** April 12, 2003, 08:46:26 AM »

*sigh* This is an appearance driven world...

thecubedcanuck · « **Reply #64 on:** April 12, 2003, 08:53:19 AM »

Quote
*sigh* This is an appearance driven world...

or maybe some people just dont like Nintendo games?

Has anyone ever thought of that?

Maybe they dont think Zelda is a fun game to play, or sunshine or prime. Maybe they really enjoy GTA vice city, or DOA vollyball, maybe they think these games are fun regardless of what you think?

Why is that fact that some people dont like what you like such a stumbling block around here?

NWR_Lindy · « **Reply #65 on:** April 12, 2003, 11:03:40 AM »

I don't really know what people have against GTA 3...that's a REALLY fun game. Its gameplay is as good as anything Nintendo has ever released. Everyone tends to get hung up on its content, but if the gameplay sucked it wouldn't be the hit that it is. If GTA is selling just because of its content, why didn't games like Postal sell like crazy?

silks

thecubedcanuck · « **Reply #66 on:** April 12, 2003, 11:23:10 AM »

silks

I agree 100%

GTA 3 is a great game.

Mingesium · « **Reply #67 on:** April 12, 2003, 11:42:58 AM »

"Saying you're going to sell 10 million GameCubes and then only selling 5.6 million is embarrassing."

The funny part is Microsoft is also going to probable miss their forcast by a lot.

mouse_clicker · « **Reply #68 on:** April 12, 2003, 01:54:55 PM »

Perfect Cell: It's popular enough to net more money for Nintendo than Sony or MS. Now I'm not saying that'll hold out, but a system that isn't "popular enough" does bring in droves of money for it's manufacturer. As for coolness factor, I didn't buy my Gamecube to be cool, I bought it to play great games.

Silks: I'm not saying the Gamecube shouldn't be MORE popular, just that a lot of people are really painting out the situation a lot more dire than it is. We shouldn't be discussing why Nintendo's doing bad, because they're most certainly not doing bad, not with the Gamecube- we should be discussing why they're not doing BETTER.

"Saying you're going to sell 10 million GameCubes and then only selling 5.6 million is embarrassing."

I'm fairly certain that Nintendo meant they sold 5.6 million Gamecubes *last year* and they forcasted *total* Gamecube sales to be 10 million by now. I think total sales are actually like 9 million so far (which is still pretty far from their prediction).

AlphaDragoon2002 · « **Reply #69 on:** April 12, 2003, 04:12:34 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: thecubedcanuck
Quote
*sigh* This is an appearance driven world...

or maybe some people just dont like Nintendo games?

Has anyone ever thought of that?

Maybe they dont think Zelda is a fun game to play, or sunshine or prime. Maybe they really enjoy GTA vice city, or DOA vollyball, maybe they think these games are fun regardless of what you think?

Why is that fact that some people dont like what you like such a stumbling block around here?

First off, nobody could actually like DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball for the gameplay. If somebody said so I'd call them a liar.

Anyway, people may not like Nintendo's games. But more often than not, it's not because of the actual game rather the fact that it's Nintendo and it's not "cool" to play their games. And that, my friends, is sad. Besides, anybody who liked stuff like Halo and other FPS games should love Metroid Prime. BTW, I have a PS2 as well, so I'm not just trashing the games on it.

mouse_clicker: You're right, Nintendo's actualy sold somewhere in the 9 million range for GC.

greenwood · « **Reply #70 on:** April 12, 2003, 07:53:21 PM »

Yeah, their fiscal numbers are 9.4 million.

Fiscal year ending March 2003- 5.6 million
Fiscal year ending March 2002- 3.8 million

I don't think there's any doubt that Nintendo meant 10 million total. Look at all the money MS lost trying to sell Xbox's and, according to that report, they're on pace to sell 8 million (their fiscal year ends June 2003). 8 million is a great number but they lost a lot of money getting there.

NWR_Lindy · « **Reply #71 on:** April 13, 2003, 08:19:09 AM »

So what if Microsoft lost a lot of money. They can afford it, and they're now beating Nintendo. And just like Nintendo, they're a healthy company - because they make some much money they have a larger margin of error.

For the fiscal year ending March 2003, Nintendo wanted to sell 10 million GCs. They only sold 5.6 million, missing their target by 44%. So they've sold 9.4 million total when they really wanted 13.8 million.

Overall, Nintendo definitely isn't in dire straits. GBA is making money hand over fist and they're still making profits. It's just really frustrating to watch them sit there and scratch their heads about why their consoles aren't selling when they're supposed to be the industry veterans that know how to make games better than anybody else.

silks

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Author Topic: Nintendo lowers profit expectations... again (Read 18864 times)