Can Nintendo Survive?

[Summermute]

Nintendo has been around longer than most of us here. They've had a lot of experience in competition in the market; I think they're gong to be just fine.

Nintendo has been around far longer than anyone here, unless there's any 130 year olds lurking around.
Nintendo died before, and resurrected itself in far worse circumstances, I really can't see it going anywhere now. If it chooses to stay in the casual gaming market (and why wouldn't it,) with computer games becoming more socially accepted and the industry growing larger every year, I doubt they'll die.
I suspect it'll still be here in a hundred years, crawling its way up into Zaibatsu territory.

 

[PhantomCritic]

Family friendly games have always been Nintendo's strong point. Even though I hate to admit it, I think Nintendo will still have a place. They just won't feel the same to normal gamers who played their games in the early years.

 

[DaMan1500]

Yes.

 

[Tourette]

I just wish they introduce a proper next gen console (when the next wave hits the shelves in a few years time) and go head to head with Sony and Microsoft. Now that will be a truly great console war.

 

[hagaya]

With the motion controls and a variety of other things, Nintendo has dug itself into a hole with the Wii. The next console requires motion control or sacrifices backwards compatibility with Wii games. That's a big hit for their either the core or family market. Their next console is probably the true testament to their survivability as a console developer. They should hold a little more exclusivity to the seal of approval to have a better reputation.

Nintendo has proven itself incomparable to Sony or Microsoft in the gaming market. For one, they are the only of the three to be dedicated to gaming. More importantly, they are also the only one of the three with a major (otherwise legitimate) family-focused market. They can always make money as long as their games are good (first party games, anyway). They release a new Mario or Zelda game to please their longtime fans, and they usually please. The problem with Sony and Microsoft is that they have no old IPs to rely on. If they screw up something (as Nintendo has inadvertently done), they are in trouble. Nintendo has the advantages of more or less capturing the casual market and having classic franchises, and they will continue to survive because of these. The casual market prints money; they may not be the favorite, but they will be madly successful.

 

[IanBrazen]

Nintendo hasn't always had it as well as they have it now. They battled fiercely with Sega during the Genesis / SNES days. The N64 was not nearly the success that they had hoped, and the Gamecube couldn't touch the PS2 juggernaut. In addition, it had to contend with Microsoft's Xbox thrown into the ring.

Now, the Wii is flying high, ahead of the competitors in both hardware sales and first party sales (third party is debatable).

But can it hold it? The Wii, though initially priced far lower than its competitors, no longer holds a major price advantage. It's motion technology is being copied by both Sony and Microsoft, and the novelty of it may be wearing thin among many. This is, after all, the console that has been called the 'most expensive board game on earth' http://nintendo.joystiq.com/2008/11/07/wii-is-most-expensive-board-game-on-earth/

So the question is, do you think that Nintendo can find some way to survive? It's sitting on a pile of money now, but can they come up with a way to hold on to their market share?

Nintendo is a multibillion dollar company, i think they will find a way.

 

[Alphavillain]

I think they'll survive because development costs of things like Natal are so high and companies like Sony and MicroSoft, whilst extremely rich, do not infinite resources to pursue projects which are not absolutely core to their businesses: Sony especially cannot afford another PS3 experience.

 

[D-Cypher]

I used to be a diehard Nintendo fan. I bought a N64 while all my mates got Playstations, I loved my GameCube and it's sublime (and imo) superior 1st party games but as soon as I saw the Wii I knew exactly what their plan was and all the love just drained away.

I haven't touched a Nintendo game since Metroid Prime 2 and until they start actually catering for gamers again dont plan to in the future. I really hope Miyamoto does leave and joins a studio like Square or Capcom, his genius is wasted at Nintendo right now.

 

[LeonLethality]

The Gamecube and N64 did bad? I remember them kicking all kinds of ass.

also why did you fail to mention their unbreakable domination of the handheld gaming market?

 

[MGlBlaze]

They can survive but they'll probably be the first to bring out a new console, however since their Wii already occupies most households it won't be replaced from one day to another, right now their course for casual gives all the money they could ever dream of but costs them the sympathy of many hardcore gamers, rumor is they're going to change it soon but that has been said many times now.

I think Nintendo will just head the way which they are headed now, fun games for everyone, ignored by the hardcore market. Ah well, times change.

I think a lot of people use 'family friendly' and 'kiddie game' interchangeably. I'd like to consider myself a Hardcore gamer and I still own a Wii for the occasional titles that appeal to me. I guess I'm a sucker for most of Nintendo's main franchises, Metroid especially.

Plus, the Nintendo consoles themselves have a habit of being made of adamantium or something.

 

[vodkainferno]

Nintendo hasn't completly abandon its fanbase.

Nintendo used to give 2 cookies to its loyal fanbase and a cookie to the casuals.
Nintendo now realized it can make more money buy shoveling cookies down the casuals throat, and give a cookie every now and then to its fanbase...

But as someone pointed out, it seems like they realized they are starving there fanbase, and is giving them cookies for now...

 

[GamingAwesome1]

They'll survive, I'll just continue to be really pissed off at them for not making a game this generation that wasn't crap or gimmicky.

 

[JaredXE]

Nintendo will fall once Kirby is done eating all of them.

No, despite some of my wishes, Nintendo will live on. I am pretty unhappy with the Wii, the only current gen console in my house that I actually own. The controllers are just too gimicky, and the only reason to have one is because it plays Gamecube games....a MUCH better console.


Two words though: Virtual Boy.

 

[Lord George]

The real Question is can Microsoft and Sony both exist in the gaming climate that the Wii has created, now that its been shown that the huge casual gaming mass can be far more lucrative and easier to produce for, why should they try to produce games for the hardcore when the casual market is larger and more profitable, Microsoft seem to be trying to grab some of this pie with Natal, and they already appeal to some of the casual market with MW2, Sony though doesn't seem to be doing much towards this(though you never know) and so might end up fading away, especially with MS buying up all their exclusives.

Hope that doesn't happen though

 

[SomeBritishDude]

Apsolutely it will survive. The Wii may fall behind it's competitors, but the DS is still one of the most popular consoles with good reason.

That being said, 2010 looks like it may be a good year for the Wii, at least as us people are concerned. They have No More Heroes 2, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid Other M and possibley the next Zelda game on the horizon. For me that's a brilliant line up.

 

[ChromeAlchemist]

-snip-

In order for any console to pass them before the gen's end, Wii would have to stop selling consoles. If it stopped selling consoles now it would take over a year to catch up to it. Sony will gain significant market share and that's obvious, but coming "first" is very doubtful.

Nintendo this generation have to do nothing but produce good games. You say the "novelty" is wearing thin, but I and I imagine others are not playing the games solely because they have motion control, but because they are good too. And Nintendo aren't just releasing quality-starved titles and saying "oh look! We have motion control! Play it!" that would make it a novelty. They EyeToy is a novelty, if you need to compare it to something.

With 2010 looking like it's going to be everyone's year (Sony with God Of War 3 and Heavy Rain, Microsoft with Alan Wake and Splinter Cell: Conviction, Nintendo with Other M and possibly new Zelda) no company is going to be doing badly. Nintendo's third party support is improving, but it still needs to be better.

The question is, what are they going to do with all of that money they've got stockpiled up? New console, or The Alan Parsons Project [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Duj2oZIC8U]?

They are now in the position to take risks, so I'm interested in their next move. And to be fair, the SNES was 15 million clear of the MegaDrive, and neither the Xbox nor the GameCube were successful in the eyes of the PS2 (they were around 2 million apart).

 

[ChromeAlchemist]

The Gamecube and N64 did bad? I remember them kicking all kinds of ass.

also why did you fail to mention their unbreakable domination of the handheld gaming market?

My theory: No one gave a shit about game sales before 2006. We just played the games that were fun.

Reason: Companies never told them to.

Solution: None.

 

[NickCaligo42]

Uh, hello? Last I checked Nintendo was one of the biggest companies in Japan, somewhere behind Toyota and Mitsubishi. They're not going anywhere just because a few stupid third-party developers make lousy shovelware.