Topic: What's wrong with number 3?

[Dryden]

Do any of you remember the ads about eight years ago from Snapple?  They proclaimed their excitement and satisfaction to be third behind Coca-cola and Pepsi and drink manufacturers, selling juice instead of carbonated drinks.  It was a market they did very well in.  They were happy to be there.

Nintendo is out there selling juice, and Microsoft and Sony are selling soda.  From what little we know, The Revolution marks Nintendo's further departure from the soda market.  They've long run a juice market that has never really been challenged, one that they're kings of.  They are going to continue to develop the juice market, and in the event of a market shift towards juice over soda, Nintendo will reap the benefits.  In the meantime, Nintendo is happy to watch the soda giants battle for supremecy with extremely similar soda products.

I like juice.  I like soda too.  I think I'll get both an be an extremely happy consumer.

(That was all code for Nintendo fans to accept that Nintendo isn't #1 anymore, and if they don't like all of Nintendo's choices, broaden your horizons and buy two systems next launch, as I plan to do.)

[HereticPB]

So, from what I know, Nintendo is in 3rd place but Nintendo makes the most profit out of all 3. Based on profit, I would say they are number one but for rank I could careless.

[Arbok]

I used to be a two system person. I bought a Genesis, and much later got a SNES. I was one of the few who got a Dreamcast. However, I stopped. I got more into the handheld arena, and realized that nearly 80% of my game collection was games exclusive to the Nintendo systems anyway, and to me that didn't warrent slapping down another $200-300.

Maybe others are different, but I have a feeling between the Revolution and the DS I will have more games to play this generation then I could possibly hope to beat.

[Ian Sane]

Snapple may be third place but they're not LAST PLACE.  That's really what Nintendo is.  Winning the bronze in a race of three means nothing.  And this is bigger than drinks.  If I buy a Coke one day that doesn't mean I won't buy a Snapple tomorrow.  It's just a drink.  It's cheap and disposable.  I will buy many drinks in a year and have the flexibility to try out different stuff.  That flexibility doesn't exist in the console market.  Most people buy ONE console for five years and that's it.  Consoles are big ticket items and with big ticket items the choice for the consumer is either/or so being in last place if much worse.

Plus the consumer doesn't get screwed over by Snapple being in third.  They do if Nintendo is.  Last place console means worst third party support.  Imagine if car brands had to be supported by certain gas stations.  You buy the last place brand car and as a result only 1 in 5 gas stations support your car.  You can't use gas from other gas stations.  And it's major gas stations like Texaco not supporting your car. You're limited on where you can travel because small towns don't even have any gas stations that support your car.  That's what it's like to buy a console and that's why position in the market matters.

[vudu]

Dryden - that's a nice way of putting it, but there is a flaw.  Let's pretend that there's a company called Cherry Inc.  Cherry Inc makes cherry flavoring for beverages.  Cherry Inc is a small company and has only enough resources to work with one company.  Who are they going to pick?  Most likely, they'll pick whoever will make them the most moeny, i.e. whoever has the largest market share.

Getting away from the beverage analogy, if Nintendo is in third place, there's going to lose out on games.  Plain and simple.  And that means they lose out on revenue.  And that's never a good thing.

[Pale]

edited to avoid melodrama...

It was a stupid idea to begin with.

[TMW]

...maybe they're upset cause Reggie didn't break a PSP wth a sledgehammer...

...I know I was.  

[Dryden]

(**Hedorah - the DS and Revolution are two systems.  EDIT: Point made)

Okay, Ian - that's got to be the best analogy I've ever heard.  Awesome.  And good point, too.

But I disagree.  I don't look at the market the same way you do.  Yes, Nintendo is last in the marketplace right now (in the home console race only, but we'll ignore that).  Yes, third party support has wavered significantly (with the exception of Square-Enix who wavered back - and stayed there).  And yes, buying two home consoles is a significantly large investment, especially with memory cards and extra controllers.

But what I don't see is how Nintendo's market share has affected gamers negatively.  More choice and a larger market are good things - that's simple economy practice.  And Nintendo is promising everything that its fans love - more of the established franchises, new games from Square, Ubisoft, EA, and Shiggy, and progression into the online market.  They are number 3 - and they are delivering consistently.

You're right, market share matters, and if you buy the 'last place brand car', you are going to be punished.  So don't buy an N-Gage.  But Nintendo has some kickin' gas stations that I will go out of my way to frequent.  

[Pale]

Quote
Originally posted by: Dryden
(**Hedorah - the DS and Revolution are two systems.  PaleZero, calm down - his opinion is as valid as yours, and by your argument, then neither are worth anything)

Maybe thats the point.  But i took it away cause melodrama is definately what this board DOESN'T need more of...

[Dirk Temporo]

Yeah... But there aren't any other juice makers besides Nintendo, and no other soda makers besides Sony and Microsoft. You're trying to say "They didn't lose, they're just third out of three." or "They're first out of one."

[heinous_anus]

One example of Nintendo's market share "negatively" affecting gamers: multi-console games are NOT fully multi-console.  In other words, you see games released, or being prepped for release, on the PS2 and the Xbox that never reach Nintendo's home console.  The Godfather, Episode III, and the entire GTA series, to name a few, are on every console but 1: the one that I own.  Don't give me flak about those games not meeting anyone's superior standards for gaming, either - you may not like games that have been released for the other systems, but I'm pretty sure a good number of Gamecube owners do...or would, given the chance.  The non-inclusion of games like those in the GC library only serves to hurt, not help.  

[BigJim]

There's nothing necessarily wrong with being third, but if the market continues to squeeze Nintendo out by halving their marketshare each generation, reducing their relevance, and potentially no longer being a profitable company, that would be a problem.

That's not where Nintendo's at yet, but it could be in their future, unless they're waking up. That remains to be seen.

[jasonditz]

How about Cadbury-Sweppes as a better comparison. They're the third place in the carbonated soft drinks market, and last place amongst the nationwide companies. Everybody kind of laughs at RC cola and all, but damned if sometimes a 7-up doesn't taste really good.

Pokemon could be like those Cadbury Creme Eggs, and maybe the GBA could be like Ginger Ale...

[couchmonkey]

I'm with BigJim, the scary thing is that Nintendo keeps losing popularity.  It is getting to the point where the Cube doesn't have enough third-party support for me to buy Nintendo exclusively.  I think that the third party support may be rejuvinated at the beginning of next-gen, but I worry a little.  I may have to buy two systems next generation, and while that is not a big deal, it is kind of sad after years of being a "Nintendo Man"