Topic: Nintendo should partner with Apple

[Smash_Brother]

Here's why:

1. It took 2-3 years and several revisions for the iPod to become the trendy juggernaut of the MP3 player market, but even the iPod was just a replacement for walkmans and discmans. Thus, it had a preexisting market gap to fill.

2. Nintendo has set themselves up to undertake a task in marketing which could very well be impossible: sell a console (which cannot be "revised" like the iPod was) with a weird name to people who never thought to buy a console ever before. Nintendo is trying to push into a market which doesn't even know Nintendo ever intended to offer them a product in the first place.

3. The iPod is HUGE in Japan. Apple in general is huge in Japan, in fact.

4. The Wii's online store could include iTunes and, thanks to the USB 2.0 connectors on the Wii, could easily connect to all manners of iPod.

5. Apple has established the market mindset which Nintendo is already seeking. Rather than try to do this all by their lonesome, Nintendo would have a MUCH easier time selling Wii's to existing iPod owners. In fact, pushing the Wii as an iPod accessory alone would work to Nintendo's benefit.

6. They have common enemies: Sony (MP3 players) and Microsoft (software).

7. The iPod double's as the Wii's storage medium, making it the ultimate memory card. Even the cheaper iPods offer 5-10GBs of storage space which you can take to friend's houses and such. Plus, no need to buy any other memory card for iPod owners.

They're almost the same market: the crowd that Apple sold the easy and convenient MP3 player to would be the same crowd Nintendo seeks to sell the console for the non-gamer. If the iPod helps establish the Wii up as a trend, then that $100 million Nintendo doesn't need to spend on advertising.

I think it'd be the smartest move they could make. They're already trying hard to emulate Apple. Why not step it up and enter into a mutually beneficial agreement with them?  

[Pale]

I would hate it if Nintendo joined the iTunes fold.  In many ways iTunes is a very limited service that could create more problems than you think.  I don't want to plug an iPod into the Wii, I want to play games on it.

Basically, I don't see what apple can bring to the table besides their name, and I don't think their name is that beneficial.

[MaryJane]

also there are people like me who hate ipods. they aren't really the best mp3 on the market they're just the most popular ones, like ps2's for instance. and itunes is one of the worst programs i have ever worked with. it is so uneccesary and so backwards. what's wrong with click and drag?? no i have to have a stupid program update the ipod every time, and i can't connect it to a friends computer if they don't have the EXACT same playlist as me. no thanks on itunes on Rev. i just wanna play video games on my rev i have a stereo to play music on.

although your other points do make sense.  

[Mario]

I'm not a fan of Apple and I hate Macs, but if somehow Apple can help make the Wii a good easy-to-use multimedia device, it'll be everything the PS3 is* PLUS brand new games, a MUCH smaller system, and for a cheaper price (less than HALF the price), which would be HUGE.

minus BluRay, but noone cares about that

[Smash_Brother]

Quote
Originally posted by: Pale I don't want to plug an iPod into the Wii, I want to play games on it.

You don't have to, but implementing the ability to do so would be immensely easy since the USB port is already present on the console.

If Nintendo is going to have online downloads, then they've already left the "just games" section and opened the door for more than that.

Sony and MS both plan to have support for mp3 downloads. Nintendo could easily trump both of them by giving their console owners access to the most popular online music store in the world.

And let me put it this way: the Wii could probably sell more as an iPod accessory than it could as a gaming console, and that's not to sell its features short, but there are over 25,000,000 iPods sold. Getting any number of iPod users to consider it would be a huge benefit for Nintendo.

[BlackNMild2k1]

But what if you use your iPod as your portable HDD to store all your VC games, game saves & demo/videos on? Then would you want to hook up you iPod to your Wii?

WiiPod = games, music, and videos on demand. Sounds like a wiin wiin situation to me.

[Kairon]

I always thought that Apple should license micronized GBA technology from Nintendo and work that into the next iPod.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[Smash_Brother]

Quote
Originally posted by: BlackNMild2k1
But what if you use your iPod as your portable HDD to store all your VC games, game saves & demo/videos on? Then would you want to hook up you iPod to your Wii?

WiiPod = games, music, and videos on demand. Sounds like a wiin wiin situation to me.

I'll add that to the list.

[Pale]

But I could buy a portable HDD for half the price of an iPod...

My point is, I don't think Nintendo should make partnerships that could limit them in which services they could allow.  What's to say Apple wouldn't say that only iPod's could be used as an HDD?  What then?

[Smash_Brother]

Quote
Originally posted by: Pale My point is, I don't think Nintendo should make partnerships that could limit them in which services they could allow.  What's to say Apple wouldn't say that only iPod's could be used as an HDD?  What then?

That's not how Apple rolls. Trust me.

Apple's marketing approach is to let you download songs on to the Wii, then the decision to buy an iPod to carry them around follows logically. They always do that: make it good and workable but make the fact that it could be even better with another purchase plain and apparent.

Nintendo's angle is that iPod owners already have the best memory card/storage medium imaginable for the Wii.

I just can't see how making your product cross-compatible with another product which has over 20 million units sold is a bad idea.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

What about those of us who want freshly baked fudge brownies?

[Mario]

Buy a PS3.

[Smash_Brother]

Quote
Originally posted by: Professional 666
What about those of us who want freshly baked fudge brownies?

The Wiisy Bake Oven plugs right into the USB port.

(lightbulb not included)

[BlackNMild2k1]

I was more thinking of an iTunes compatible service. We all know Nintendo like to go proprietary with its software and hardware.

WiiTunes* could be able to tap into the iTunes services, yet be developed by Nintendo and designed from the ground up to work for the Wii. It would of course center around Virtual Console games & demo's, but would also give access to the music, TV shows and soon enough Movies.

*I don't actually like that name but used it to illustrate a point. I think WiiGames just didn't sound right at all.

[Smash_Brother]

Quote
Originally posted by: BlackNMild2k1
I was more thinking of an iTunes compatible service. We all know Nintendo like to go proprietary with its software and hardware.

I think a Wii version of iTunes would be necessary, but since it's software, the difficulty in doing so would be nil.

The way I see it, the Wii using iPods and the iPods using the Wii sweetens the deal for people who own one to own both and that's the end goal.

[Rhoq]

There is a potential problem with iTunes/iPod compatibility with the Wii...

MacOS-X uses the HFS+ disk format. An iPod used with the MacOS-X version of iTunes are formatted as HFS+

iPods used with iTunes for Windows is formatted as a FAT32 drive.

Will the Wii be able able to read HFS+ formatted hard drives?  

[Rhoq]

Quote
Originally posted by: MaryJane
itunes is one of the worst programs i have ever worked with. it is so uneccesary and so backwards. what's wrong with click and drag??

iTunes is click & drag (and has been ever since it was Casady & Greene's "SoundJam MP" back in the MacOS9 days), what's the problem?

Quote
Originally posted by: MaryJane
no i have to have a stupid program update the ipod every time, and i can't connect it to a friends computer if they don't have the EXACT same playlist as me.

Not true. If you turn playlist syncing off, you have complete control over the contents of your iPod, independant of iTunes playlists.

 

[Smash_Brother]

Quote
Originally posted by: Rhoq Will the Wii be able able to read HFS+ formatted hard drives?

Excellent question.

My guess would be yes, and the reason why is because, regardless of whether or not Nintendo and Apple partner, Nintendo mentioned that the Wii will be able to use the vast majority of USB storage devices out there and I'm almost positive that the iPod must have been considered in any format.

[Arbok]

Rhoq just publicly owned MaryJane...

Anyway, I don't see how this could possibly be a bad thing. It would likely mean a lot of good promotion from Apple for the Wii on their services to bring in a larger fanbase, while at the same time providing more incentive for some iPod users to pick up the system under the impression that "hey, if this works on a Wii, perhaps I should get that to maximize the dollar of this".

The only, only, way this could be bad is if it somehow punishes people for not owning an iPod.

[Smash_Brother]

Quote
Originally posted by: Arbok The only, only, way this could be bad is if it somehow punishes people for not owning an iPod.

Apple doesn't even punish people for owning PCs and they have no agreements with MS about not doing so.

With an agreement in place with Nintendo, it would never happen.

[Rhoq]

Quote
Originally posted by: Arbok
Rhoq just publicly owned MaryJane...

Not my intention, but I also happen to be an Apple fanboy.

[Renny]

Like all of Apple's PC software, it's bloated and makes no attempt at UI conformity (not unlike on their own OS...). The iPod is pretty, pedestrian junk. Karma 4eva.

[Artimus]

Apple's PC software doesn't conform to Windows because it looks better...

[Nick DiMola]

I personally was a big Apple hater up until about a year ago when I broke down and bought an iBook. Since then I see that Apple really has alot of good ideas and is more centered around making their customers happy over anything else. A partnership with Nintendo always seemed like a good choice to me and I think the Wii would be a success without question if somehow they could integrate iPod support. I don't personally own one(nor do I ever want one), but the iPod market is EXACTLY the market Nintendo is trying to appeal to. Not to mention, it would be pretty cool to have some variant of Mac OS X on the Wii.

Smash_Brother nailed down the exact benefits of this relationship, and I wish the situation would actually happen.  

[Rhoq]

Quote
Originally posted by: Mr. Jack
...I think the Wii would be a success without question if somehow they could integrate iPod support. I don't personally own one(nor do I ever want one), but the iPod market is EXACTLY the market Nintendo is trying to appeal to. Not to mention, it would be pretty cool to have some variant of Mac OS X on the Wii...

Mr. Jack, I had absolutely no interest in an iPod, either. I've been a Mac guy all of my computer-using life. I'm 30 now, so basically it's been a good 20+ years. I've always been a supporter of all things Apple, but I just couldn't get into the iPod craze.

Part of it has to do with the fact that I'm in the music industry (I'm a Freestyle dance music producer with Total Kaos Records). I've never been a fan of MP3s, besides for preview purposes (short clips to preview an album before you run out to the record store to buy it). MP3 "trading" has hurt the music industry, overall and it's something I'll never support.

However, a few months ago, a co-worker brought her iPod to me and asked if I could add some Old School Freestyle MP3s onto it for her. I agreed and it was at that point that I fell in love with the iPod. I had never played around with an iPod before, besides display units in stores. Just the idea of being able to store a lot of music on this small device as opposed to carring a 72-CD "wallet" and CD player with me was very attractive. So as a birthday present to myself, I bought a 5th generation 30GB iPod (black) back in January. The bag I usually carry with me is substantially lighter without all of those CDs weighing it down.

While I still don't care much for MP3s, it's hard for me not to support the iPod now.