Nintendo's next gen strategy for home & mobile

No, I'm saying the Wii U is exactly what you were suggesting for a future console: weak hardware for its release date with low investment in the online features.

But it comes with a very high sticker price for what you get. If the price were much lower, I don't think the situation would have been as dire (it still would not be good due to a lack of compelling software).
 
They lost me in the first line of specs:



A Cortex A53 with an Adreno 420?
So Nintendo would order a custom SoC from Qualcomm just to get an Adreno GPU?

Very unlikely.

....and since no-one else said it, what "Custom Adreno 420-based AMD GPU"?
Adreno's have been Qualcomm designs since 2xx or something (200 was AMD Z430), nothing to do with AMD unless you count the fact that they used to be AMD's before AMD sold the department to Qualcomm.
 
No, I'm saying the Wii U is exactly what you were suggesting for a future console: weak hardware for its release date with low investment in the online features.
The WiiU is not weak it sucks. Released 7 years after the 360 and it doesn't not beat it on every account. The cpu seriously lacks, it might lose to quite a few mid and high end mobile SoCs for example. Anyway what the WiiU could have been has been discussed extensively already.
For a system released in 2012, with 40nm widely available and 28nm freshly available, aiming at pushing 3d graphics, the WiiU was not low end it was lower than that.
For graphic cards low end for the time was hd 6670 for example.
 
Here it is, scheduled for release on fiscal year March 2015 -> March 2016, a new console:

http://kotaku.com/nintendo-will-release-new-platform-in-2015-but-its-ab-1512068419

All they say is that it will have non-wearable health monitoring abilities, so we can expect lots of Wii-Fits and cameras that can read our heart rate.

It seems they will go after a market based on health monitoring and active aging.
AFAIK, a market on active aging is an unstoppable boom in all developed countries, so this might be a very good idea for business - but a meh one for younger gamers.

They will also develop stuff for smartphones, but according to Iwata it seems they will just develop something akin to the Playstation App, where people can make purchases in the smartphone and set the Wii U to download it at home.

For the Wii U, they said the problem is that people still see it as a tablet controller for the Wii and not a new console, so they will push their marketing efforts to the tablet controller and its NFC capabilities (I know, it doesn't make any sense). They will try to optimize the firmware for faster startup and loading times, but a price cut isn't in the horizon
 
They will also develop stuff for smartphones, but according to Iwata it seems they will just develop something akin to the Playstation App, where people can make purchases in the smartphone and set the Wii U to download it at home.
That's not what was said. Nothing has been ruled out - it's basically an open project for devs to see what they can do with smartphones. The denial is that they are not official releasing mobile games yet and there are no plans to release Mario on mobile. That's an important message as the moment everyone knows Nintendo games can be bought on non-Nintendo consoles, Nintendo console sales will drop. But if they are serious about exploring mobile, they'll release some games (game IP is allowed) and gauge response. Maybe some Game&Watch stuff which would be a good fit? Or Pokemon match three.
 
Ninty could really consider to publish/develop on mobile but as you say Shifty the 3DS sales would most likely drop.
Still Mario on mobile could be a superb cash cow.
 
Ninty could really consider to publish/develop on mobile but as you say Shifty the 3DS sales would most likely drop.
Still Mario on mobile could be a superb cash cow.

I'm not sure a Mario game would translate very well at all. What make a Mario game so much fun, the accurate and responsive controls, would be completely lost on a touch screen.

At best I think we'd get traditional touch style games with Mario style artwork.
Would Mario Temple Run sell any better than the other temple run games?
 
Mario on mobile would be a different experience but it could still be fun.
Different doesn't mean worst.
 
Yes. I would actually trust Nintendo to take Mario or any other IP and make it work on mobile by designing for the platform, instead of shoehorning some existing mechanic onto a touchscreen. LoZ, for example, going back to it's early roots of a top down, would translate very well I think. And Pikmin would translate perfectly too. Mario would probably have non-stop walk with flick jumping or somesuch. Nintendo would design the game perfectly to the control limits.
 
That's not what was said. Nothing has been ruled out - it's basically an open project for devs to see what they can do with smartphones.

According to this statement:

Satoru Iwara said:
However, if you report that we will release Mario on smart devices, it would be a completely misleading statement. It is our intention to release some application on smart devices this year that is capable of attracting consumer attention and communicating the value of our entertainment offerings, so I would encourage you to see how our approach yields results.

Also, there is one more thing that I would like to mention about utilizing smart devices. With respect to services previously released on dedicated video game systems that are, however, capable of improving usability and consumer experience when they are implemented on smart devices, we will try to actively shift their focus to smart devices. This is to say that we will no longer spend an equal amount of resources toward providing the same service both on and off device, but will instead concentrate on the one that has greater purpose as well as room for improvement.

The environment in which our users can download paid software is one example of where we should aim to make more off-device improvements than on-device ones..


1 - Mario isn't coming to smartphones. At least, not side-scroller Mario or 3D Mario as we know it.

2 - Yes, the option to release games is open, however:

3 - They will definitely be focusing first at making software for smartphones that enhances their consoles' experience (PSN App look-alike), and not trying to get a substantial revenue flux from Google Play and App Store.
 
I'm not sure a Mario game would translate very well at all. What make a Mario game so much fun, the accurate and responsive controls, would be completely lost on a touch screen.

Forget Mario. People seem to forget that the DS didn't really become a runaway success until games like Nintendogs and Brain Age hit. They pioneered touch screen gaming and released lots of titles that could be played exclusively using the stylus on the DS. Those kinds of experiences would translate beautifully to smart phones and tablets. When financial analysts talk about Nintendo on iOS and Android they aren't just hoping for some bad Mario ports, they're thinking about how Nintendo could bend their talents to create brand new experiences like they did for the DS, and hopefully create the next Angry Birds.
 
Yes. I would actually trust Nintendo to take Mario or any other IP and make it work on mobile by designing for the platform, instead of shoehorning some existing mechanic onto a touchscreen.
This is what nintendo always has done, it's one of their core strengths, which despite everything I expect them to continue to leverage (hopefully, effectively...) Edit: LoZ:Ocarina of Time would not have been possible with a SNES-style gamepad, and Metroid Prime could only have been realized on the Gamecube controller for example.

LoZ, for example, going back to it's early roots of a top down, would translate very well I think. And Pikmin would translate perfectly too.
Can you imagine the mountain-sized piles of money nintendo would make from pokemon on iOS?

...Also, Mario has been featured in many many game genres over the decades, puzzlers and beat'em'ups and whatnot, not just side-scrolling platformers. A Mario Kart/endless racer-style mishmash could work well with motion controls and some nintendo magic sprinkled over it, maybe good old-fashioned Mario Bros could work, pounding crabs coming out of pipes from below? Or hey, (Paper) Mario RPG. Touch would work awesomely there.

There's countless opportunities to be had if ninty was but to seize them. But, they're too close-minded and rigid, with horsey blinders blocking off their field of view into a tunnel vision of a 30-year-old business concept that now has been faltering for them for several years but which they can't make themselves turn away from.
 
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Even if they released on mobile devices, Nintendo games may not be a big hit.

Either they price it high as Square has for its ports to mobile platforms or they try to shoehorn some kind of freemium structure.

But do Nintendo games lend themselves to hooking people in right away that the most popular mobile games do or is there a learning curve?

If they go with the Square strategy, they'll get sales but nothing like Candy Crush. Maybe the sales they get won't be enough to replace lost revenues from hardware.
 
Maybe the sales they get won't be enough to replace lost revenues from hardware.
Maybe, but their hardware sales are all in (for one product severe) decline, so they're not going to have a choice eventually. Better to be ready in time when you HAVE to jump ships than go under when the vessel you're standing on sinks from under your feet.

Countless are the (tech, or otherwise) companies that refused to adapt when their business models became obsolete and either disappeared or became crippled ghosts of their former glory. Look at ex-giants like kodak for example, nobody is immune to this.
 
Oh and I don't know about this emphasis on health.

So they'll have sensors that monitor your pulse and other vitals and have some Nintendo Fitness game?

It's a crowded field, the biometrics devices thing, already with things like Fitbit and all the rumors about wearables from bigger companies which could crush all other efforts.
 
I don't know about the emphasis on health either. Iwata didn't go into any real details other than a reference to 'non-wearables'. Kept repeating blue ocean meaning whatever it is they're planning they intend to carve out their own market without direct competition. It has nothing to to with gaming and game consoles though.

Have to see it first. Could be a failure, could be a success, could be somewhere in the middle. They have had experience and success in this arena before which was tied to video game console hardware and eventually their audience moved away from it as these devices aged and became more or less obsolete. This health thing, however, is device-agnostic. The way he talked about Nintendo as an entertainment company who began with cards and will focus on quality of life entertainment sounds like Nintendo is preparing themselves for a future other than strictly video games.
 
The QOL stuff might actually do well for them. But it basically makes them ever less of a gaming company going forward.

So far, their answer to the Wii U debacle appears to be "do nothing", at least for the gaming market. Truly they must feel there are no options, they must feel competing on power thus, is not an option (my idea has been an Android style micro console).
 
There's a full background ad on Eurogamer for Nintendo. "Something new every Thursday on eShop" it says, and then advertises Super Mario Bros 2, for £3.49.

A game from 1988 is considered new and reason to get a Wii U??

And they want $6 bucks for an NES game (not even SNES) in 2014.

They're really just incompetent, what are they thinking with this for example:

ninhealth.png


Or how they make a big deal about their Nintendo Network IDs, something both MS and Sony have been doing for ages.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/...ue-confusing-unfocused-vision-for-its-future/

And their blaming Sony for their 3rd party issues is hilarious.
 
How would that work if there's no wearable?

You'd have to prance in front of the console to let it scan you?

Lot of people don't use their consoles every day.
 
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