Anyone still think Wii U will "win" "next gen"?

[Cyan]

Nintendo posted a loss last and this year: http://mobile.theverge.com/2013/4/24/4260062/nintendo-2012-earnings

Thanks for that link to a chart for visual learners. My mistake then.

Back on topic, having Sony or Microsoft joining forces with Nintendo is highly unlikely. Nintendo have a lot of money they don't need them?

Sony and Microsoft have learnt from the past that claiming 20 million consoles sold and blah blah.... isn't the way to go.

How good is that if they were still taking losses on consoles sold. At the end of the day, it is all about the money and Sony and MS were losing it. I can understand this on MS to some extent, because they had a *long term strategy*, but heck do the years fly.

Nintendo, otoh, are pretty good on the profit front and then have always been. I guess the reason is they go with simple technology in their consoles/handheld machines, which aren't expensive to manufacture.

Perhaps 'cos that's what it is? :neutral:

 

[eastmen]

wonder if sony or ms could offer Nintendo a royality free deal where Nintendo can release games on the platform and not pay anything.

That way Nintendo can still make a lot of money and sony or ms would get a lot of market share due to those exclusives.

 

[dagamer]

Thanks for that link to a chart for visual learners. My mistake then.

Back on topic, having Sony or Microsoft joining forces with Nintendo is highly unlikely. Nintendo have a lot of money they don't need them?

Sony and Microsoft have learnt from the past that claiming 20 million consoles sold and blah blah.... isn't the way to go.

How good is that if they were still taking losses on consoles sold. At the end of the day, it is all about the money and Sony and MS were losing it. I can understand this on MS to some extent, because they had a *long term strategy*, but heck do the years fly.

Nintendo, otoh, are pretty good on the profit front and then have always been. I guess the reason is they go with simple technology in their consoles/handheld machines, which aren't expensive to manufacture.

Perhaps 'cos that's what it is? :neutral:

Lets also be clear, even though the Wii U sold horribly, they only lost $100 million. They have $10 billion in the bank. At that rate, it would take them 100 years to go bankrupt. And if they get out of the console business and go pure handheld, they probably stop losing money. And of they really wanted to make money, they'd sell their games on non-Nintendo platforms. So Nintendo being sold because of financial losses is a fairytale. I can only see an attempted hostile take over happening but Japanese shareholders are too proud to sell out.

 

[wco81]

Do Nintendo games really transfer to high resolution with complex shaders?

Does Mario need to be rendered with more visual fidelity or is there a chance that a 1080p Mario won't look that much better than the N64 Mario?

The blocky world with flat-shaded textures benefit as much from better graphics?

 

[Deleted member 13524]

Do Nintendo games really transfer to high resolution with complex shaders?

Does Mario need to be rendered with more visual fidelity or is there a chance that a 1080p Mario won't look that much better than the N64 Mario?

The blocky world with flat-shaded textures benefit as much from better graphics?

Mario wouldn't, but Zelda, Metroid and StarFox would.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Stubbornness would keep an actual merger from happening. Besides, their handheld division is in far better shape than Sony's. That's a serious clash right there.

That's why you merge, playing to each company's strengths. I even suggested Nintendo could be given the reigns of the handheld division. Nintendo makes the handhelds, Sony makes the home console, and IP is shared between both. You'd combine the success of PlayStation with the success of Mario, which has to be good for both companies. Well, Nintendo has done very well as a business in contrast to Sony and MS gaming divisions, but if Wuu flops and there's no successor, with Nintendo being unable to get a hardware foothold again, it'd put both companies in a stronger position than competing against each other.

Do Nintendo games really transfer to high resolution with complex shaders?

Does Mario need to be rendered with more visual fidelity or is there a chance that a 1080p Mario won't look that much better than the N64 Mario?

The blocky world with flat-shaded textures benefit as much from better graphics?

Does Toy Story really need fancy rendering to make it look better? You betcha! CGI movies show there's a lot more that can be added to simple scenes to make them look better.

 

[Cjail]

wonder if sony or ms could offer Nintendo a royality free deal where Nintendo can release games on the platform and not pay anything.

That way Nintendo can still make a lot of money and sony or ms would get a lot of market share due to those exclusives.

Every publisher would then want that treatment as well.
Not a desirable situation for MS and Sony.

 

[Silenti]

Isn't this the same discussion which has happened for years and last hits its peak post-Gamecube and Pre-Wii era? The argument always is that Nintendo doesn't need the risks associated with proprietary hardware and should go software only. While I would agree with that it hasn't happened to this point. There hasn't ever even been any serious discussion around that option to my knowledge. Everyone always points to this having been a disaster for Sega. I'm not opposed to the idea, I would even think that if Nintendo wished they could put out a proprietary peripheral if desired, but Nintendo doesn't seem to have ever been interested in the concept.

 

[Grall]

SEGA just hasn't been able to produce (m)any good games, that's why they've been languishing/losing money. The vast majority of software developers and/or publishers are NOT making their own proprietary hardware, and most of them are doing fine (EA, not so much lately, but some would argue that is a good thing.)

 

[Rodéric]

Given the number of game studios closing yearly I wouldn't say they are doing fine, no.

Nintendo makes hardware for its software, it's both a strength and a weakness, it all depends on the people hired in the company, new blood would likely be less risk averse...

 

[Johnny Awesome]

Why not a merger between Sony and Nintendo? Bring Nitnendo IP to Sony branded handhelds and PlayStation Mobile. If the only place to play Mario et al is on a VitaDS or mobile PSM certified handset, or Nintendo SmartPhuun, that'd do wonders as a USP to drive adoption in a very competitive marketplace. It'd also keep the business in Japan which I presume would be preferred. So if Nintendo are to give up, that makes most sense to me. Give Nintendo control over the mobile software division, with a PSM engine on PS4 allowing cross-device compatibility, and allow Nintendo to choose the fancy gimmick hardware they want in the next console which Sony will pair with a decent spec machine and craft something with more consumer allure than a Fisher Price toy. (That's a bit rude, but let's be honest, the WuuPad looks completely out of place alongside iPads and Xperia Z's and the fashion of thin, glossy devices. Nintendo need some suave and sophistication).

Because Sony and Nintendo compete in the handheld space. MS could keep 3DS going. It's a better fit, IMO.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Because Sony and Nintendo compete in the handheld space.

But they wouldn't if they were merged.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

Here's one for you: Nintendo could buy a controlling interest in Sony for $11.5 billion as their market cap is only $22 billion.

 

[BRiT]

Please pardon the intrusion while we clean up some posts by spammers...

 

[Grall]

Spammer eh? Guess I should have seen that one coming. You should deduct his vote in the poll also then...

 

[Sonic]

I do believe Nintendo's window of opportunity has passed to capture mindshare for WiiU. The new systems have been revealed and the market is anxiously waiting for them. If Nintendo had their big guns out at launch they could really have made an impact. I don't necessarily think Nintendo is down for the count if the machine is a complete flop but they'd need to take a serious stab at the market and do it properly. They can still be innovative while having powerful hardware to back up their new innovations. For a new console I'd estimate 2015 at the earliest. Release both a home and mobile console and continue to use the mobile as the tablet type controller, make both relatively powerful and have AAA big name software from day 1. Build a competent online network, you can charge for it as per the competitive rules of the game, and make some damn awesome online games that you know would be awesome. I think Nintendo could do it, but they'd have to really change their design philosophy.

I'm interested to see how the WiiU will sell this holiday season as a price drop has got to be in the pipeline. Price cut + killer Ninty games could equal a few million units.

 

[Cyan]

Given the number of game studios closing yearly I wouldn't say they are doing fine, no.

Nintendo makes hardware for its software, it's both a strength and a weakness, it all depends on the people hired in the company, new blood would likely be less risk averse...

The rather rigid Iwata is falling out of favour with investors and his approval rating has dropped from 90% to 77.26 percent. I can't emphasize it enough how antiquated he is.

The thing is that everyone else at the company scored over 90% however. What Sonic says sounds like a good plan to me.

If Nintendo don't rescue the WiiU from ostracism with their software, what will?


http://www.nintendo-insider.com/2013/07/02/satoru-iwata-losing-approval-of-nintendos-investors/

 

[BRiT]

Wii Vitality Sensor reports Dead

Not directly related to Wii U winning, but this seems to be the doom-and-gloom thread for Nintendo. Their Vitality Sensor is Dead. VG 24/7 reports:

In a recent question-and-answer session with investors, Nintendo prez Satoru Iwata gave a few reasons why the Wii vitality sensor was never actually released. For one, in testing it didn’t work on everyone, just 90 percent of folks. That, apparently, was not good enough.

Iwata: Wii vitality sensor canned because it “was of narrower application than we had originally thought”

 

[BRiT]

Nintendo security breach - Nintendo Club Hacked

Club Nintendo was hacked in June and July.

According to Nintendo's investigation, there were 23,000 unauthorized log-ins (with 15 million attempts) between June 9 and July 4 on Japan's Club Nintendo site. This does not seem to apply to Club Nintendo sites in other countries.

In Japan, it's possible that Club Nintendo members' full names, home addresses, phone numbers, and mail addresses were compromised.

Credit cards, however, are not used with Club Nintendo, so thankfully, that's not an issue.

Currently, Nintendo is strengthening its security. Old passwords are currently invalid, and Nintendo is asking Club Nintendo members to change their passwords via email.

.

Seriously, it took them over 15 million failed attempts to realize they had an ongoing hack attack?

 

[dagamer]

There is a reason why Nintendo and online are like oil and water.