A Perfect Storm: Is Nintendo Burning Next?

[eklipz330]

[citation][nom]rooket[/nom]I have to agree with this. I thought I'd come back here seeing a lot of thumbs down on my posts and people ranting about how I am wrong But I, too, have preordered the 3DS and it is awesome. You don't see me standing in line at an iPhone launch, let alone buying one later. $600 for what? It barely has any full games and it has no controller besides the tedious touch screen. 3DS has a touch screen, a D-Pad, and an analog thumb stick. Shoulder buttons and right hand buttons are still there.I don't need a phone that plays apps labeled as games. If the iPod touch was $120 and looked like an iphone, sure I would have bought one. But doesn't...and it costs more than $120.. and imho it is a rather stale device.3DS plays MP3s too. And it more than likely is simple drag and drop to the included 2GB SD card.I think the bottom line here is that Tom's Hardware editors are as sold and biased on Apple products as engadget. LOL![/citation]
engadget is pretty fuckin bad. but nothing beats gizmodo.

 

[Guest]

WTFH I'm a 14 and I already have my mind up that I would rather have Nintendo with no online play then play online with YOU idiot hackers. The Xbox fails, I like Sony's PS2 way better then the PS3 because the third partys tried too much with online gaming and your saying Nintendo fails. Excuse me but why don't you go out and buy it before you start speculating about how it fails. Online playing is what ruins the game, we play online and it clouds our judgement on the true aspect of the game. Thumbs down as much as you want it will show how many idiots this website has!

 

[greenskye]

I'm not sure that they would need to do this, but if Nintendo ever makes a phone or ports their games to a phone, they will kick butt in the mobile gaming market. I think they're missing out on a lot of revenue by letting the emulators have their way. Just think of all the money they'd make by selling android/iPhone based versions of mario or zelda! I kinda want to get a Playstation Phone so I can have a good nintendo emulator phone with a game pad.

 

[TheViper]

Greenskye, you do realize they have already made approx $20 billion in profit (not revenue, profit) this generation? They don't need to go the phone route and lose all control over their IP's in the process just to make a few extra bucks.

Why get a Nintendo emulator when you can just get a Nintendo? Of course, other than to steal their games, I mean.

 

[blackjellognomes]

This article created the "perfect storm": lots of hits and feedback in response to prematurely definitive statements. A clever scheme, whether deliberate or not.
These articles are getting much too subjective.

 

[Guest]

ROFL, content not hardware is all that matters, Nintendo's fortunes have always depended on its software, if it continues to produce compelling software, it will never fail

 

[Guest]

Um, this is a VERY poor article. 6 consecutive months? Nintendo just dropped another 2.3 million in Wii console sales and another 2.5 in Nintendo DS sales in January. Microsoft sold 1.86 million Xbox 360s...not even close. Did you hear about pre-orders in the UK for the 3DS? They are outpacing Wii pre-order sales numbers. UK retailers are asking Nintendo to manufacture more units so that they'll have some ready for launch (http/www.vg247.com/2011/01/28/report-3ds-pre-orders-outpacing-wii%E2%80%99s-total-number-of-advance-orders-says-uk-retail/).

But nah. Despite this, Nintendo is doomed like Nokia. Stay away from all things Nintendo, please. It's clear you don't know what you're talking about. Thanks.

 

[Guest]

Gaming phones have no buttons (apart from xperia), noone in their right mind sees a phone or ipad as a replacement for a psp or ds...
It's gimmicky shit and flash games (that you can play for free on the pc) that only gets attention because the hardware has advanced a lot to show prettier graphics.

It's like baking a delicious looking cake then lacing it with poison.
Pretty and enticing looking but useless.

 

[mayankleoboy1]

the kids of 90's grew up and got a PC with 5970.
the kids of 2000's [i ]already have [/i] it.
so the 3ds is kinda fail

 

[hoofhearted]

I wish the Wii would have tried to attract devs moreso. Presently, the game offereing is pretty lame compared to the competition. Not sure why there hasn't been much development for it. Maybe they should give away an SDK or some sort of plan to increase their title base. As far as their DS goes, I don't get into it much, but all 3 of my kids love it. Pokemon, Zelda, square enix titles. And I waould have thought Sony would have dominated this RPG sector.

 

[qwerr]

Nintendo still is better than apple and sony because the 3ds will beat all game systems cause of the 3d feature it will even beat the dsi

 

[theshonen8899]

Tom's, for the love of God, please stop with the "burning" bullshit. It wasn't that great of a metaphor to begin with an now everytime you use it I feel like a giant block of stale cheese has been hurled again my skull.

That being said, Nintendo isn't going to die by one slip up. 3DS too expensive? Big deal. Nintendo makes some of the most timeless games in existence, and every gamer worth a rupee knows that. I understand you guys are probably paid to push these bullshit articles out from god knows where, but really, they are as interesting as a grandparent's ramblings.

 

[Lamiel]

Tom's, please start adding the initials of the author next to the article's link on the main page. That way, I'll know better than to click on anything with a "W.G.". Every one of his articles that I've read is ridiculous. He reminds me of a tabloid writer - always trying to make a mountain out of a molehilll.

 

[nottheking]

[citation][nom]hoofhearted[/nom]Not sure why there hasn't been much development for it. Maybe they should give away an SDK or some sort of plan to increase their title base.[/citation]
Personally, I'd be inclined to agree here: Microsoft has shown just how much you can make when you so aggressively court potential developers: developing a downloadable game for the XBL Marketplace is largely a sweet deal: some of their kits are downright free, and they offer a flat, pretty fair deal to sell games. (giving the developer 60% of the sale price in return for handling all the backend, support, and marketting)

Nintendo somewhat missed the boat by first being a bit hostile toward the homebrew crowd. Given the weaker specs of the Wii, I could see it quite reasonable for them to make a software-only SDK and environment that they could give out. Given the sort of existing fanbase they have, I imagine they'd only stand to gain a LOT of development for it.

[citation][nom]theshonen8899[/nom]That being said, Nintendo isn't going to die by one slip up.[/citation]
This more than anything. One'd have to have a rather poor memory to forget the sequential slip-ups that made Nintendo fall from grace, first with the developer-scaring N64 and its cartridge format, which had developers scared was a recipe for the next E.T.. The Game Cube likewise was lackluster, primarily due to its lack of then-important DVD support, and more importantly, due to Nintendo's then-weak outreach to developers. (which allowed Sony and even Microsoft to snag them up in droves)

In the end, success in the console wars boils down to one phrase: "It's all about the games." This applies whether it's competition between the big three, or even against other formats. Against phones, phone games simply won't ever match up to handheld console games.

 

[sleeace]

Hardware for December 2010 NPD

DS - 2.5 million
Wii - 2.36 million
360 - 1.9 million
PS3 - 1.21 million

Period.

 

[rantoc]

So how much did Toms Hardware get paid to publish such subjective articles based on little to no facts, and more interestingly - who paid for the attempt to discredit Nintendo as being a viable entertainment company? If none of the above, then it might be time to review the journalist pool of the site or at least try to make the painfully obvious dirt talk convincing!

 

[swamprat]

Another point on the sales side is that, as far as I'm aware, more people own working Wiis than the other consoles and by a fair margin. If I'd sold something that had 100% market penetration I'd not be upset if the hardware sales hit a wall (with purchases only being for replacements or by well-meaning but ill-informed relatives). The lack of interesting titles and the level of usage the system gets should be a worry though.
We bought a Worms title for the Wii recently, but just to replace the PC version we had that wasn't overly stable and needed a cable to be plugged in. Before that, I can't remember when we bought something for it.

 

[rhino13]

I don't like that this article jabs Sony.

Nintendo has been successful in making casual gamres regret spending money on a console. Something that is going to hurt the gamer base in the long run.

Sony has remained true to the core gammer. They haven't drawn in new players the way the Wii has, but I feel like more than Microsoft or Nintendo Sony has shown that it is concerned with making games that appeal to gamers!

So take your gaff somewhere else Wolfgang, don't attack the companies that care about us and praise the ones that ignore us!

 

[dark_lord69]

"which is stunning, given the fact that the Xbox is the older console."
Not if you look at the hardware IN the console. Nintendo Wii's hardware is equalled to VERY old hardware. Back when everyone had low definition TV's. Plenty of people still do but they are becoming more rare. Generally people are finding it hard to get RID of thier old cluncky CRT based TV's have you seen how many old TV's are being given away on craigslist OR people will pay to recycle them with they places they bought the new TV from (like best buy, they have a recycling program for old TV intake of old TV's have gone up DRAMATICALLY in the last 3 years.)

"It is just now that Nokia had the guts to admit that it failed and needs to abandon ship to survive."
Nokia? Portable Gaming? You mean games you play on a phone? Portable gaming and games you play on a phone are two completely different worlds. Real portable gaming is done on devices like Nintendo DS Lite/3DS or Sony PSP/PSP2. These are GAMING SYSTEMS that are portable. A phone is typically a sorry excuse for portable gaming. Maybe Nokia has a dedicated gaming device and if they do then excuse my ignorance but gamers like myself should know about real gaming devices. If I don't know about it then it's NOT popular.

I think Nintendo should move into the cloud or create the Wii 2. The Wii is ancient low def hardware and the only reason hardcore gamers like myself even buy a Wii is for the highly rated Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Donkey Kong (first party games by Nintendo that seem to always be of excellent quality) Third party games on that system are just not too appealing. Not when you have a PS3 and you can get the same game in high definition with real Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround instead of the simulated surround called "Dolby ProLogic" and "ProLogic 2". The jagged edges of the low resolution picture is not very appealing on high definition TVs. I've seen playstation 2 games that look better than some Nintendo Wii games. It is true that it's the games that make the system but when you can get the same game in HD with about the same price tag you aren't going to buy the one for nintendo wii are you? Plus, look at the games being made for Wii. Too many have been gimmicky little kids games.

Nintendo has a history of making mistakes.
1. The Nintendo 64 should have kept it's original name "Ultra 64"
2. That system should have accepted CD based games, instead they stuck with cartridges that were more expensive to make and much less storage capability. Final Fantasy 7 was too big to bring to the N64 so it was sold on Playstation ONLY. That is the reason I bought a playstation. (it took 3 CD's which is a LOT more data than those cartridges can handle.)
3. The controllers have been odd. Nintendo and super nintendo aside thier controllers have been an odd mix of buttons all over the place for both the N64 and the GameCube. The wii "classic" controller is the first design that seems to make sense to me. As for the motion sensing Wii controllers they are unique and I will not judge them negatively.
4. Virtual Boy - I won't even talk about this train wreck
5. For FAR too long they focused gaming tward kids. Perhaps it was kids that picked up the controller to play nintendo but what they didn't realize until the making of the Zelda: The Twilight Princess is that most gamers are adults. The average age is in the mid to upper 30s and going up. They did a study and when they found this to be true the redsigned the game to dipict link as a young man rather than a little boy again.

I think nintendo is treading on thin ice and the only thing holding them up is thier own software (games). If they want advice they should listen to suggestions from hardcore gamers like me but still try to keep an open mind as to when more casual gamers (like my sister) might like as well.

 

[pozaks]

It will be much more important for Nintendo to have a successful mobile gaming platform that can tie multiple life aspects for its customers together. Entertainment, traditional computing aspects, social life and communication.

So the 3DS has got:

- 3D games
- augmented reality games
- 3D movies
- 3D TV
- Facebook/Twitter integration
- A 3D video camera
- Several different local multiplayer modes (streetpass, etc.)
- Online multiplayer with friends list and sleep mode notification of when they are online
- A web browser, notes, animation studio, calendar
- Texting (not detailed yet)
- A camera that lets you play with your photos (now in 3D)
- An audio player that lets you play with your music (now with MP3)
- Possibly a video player that lets you play with your videos
- An in-device store for apps and games
- A wealth of enthusiastic 3rd party support out of the gate
- Is the follow up to the most successful console in history

And the Wolf thinks that it only has Nintendo's staple franchises, but in 3D. I don't want to speculate on why he came to the totally wrong conclusions by ignoring so many facts. I'll just accept that he did.