

Nintendo’s President Satoru Iwata Announces Online Gaming Network - profitbaron
http://www.flarevine.com/2012/01/27/nintendos-president-satoru-iwata-announces-online-gaming-network/

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natesm
Almost anything is a step up from "hi there, I'm AJ3F532FDSAD. In this game.
What's your name?"*

* you can't actually ask them that, since you can't talk.

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laconian
Sure you can, you can encode information as gestures/taunts. So for four
taunts, you have a base-4 encoding. It's great!

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evo_9
Is it simply hubris that makes a Japanese company like Nintendo _think_ they
cannot release their IP's on other platforms? Look at Sega, they were almost
done before they stopped developing expensive hardware to ultimately released
their games on all platforms. Nintendo's stash of IP's far exceeds Sega's and
everyone elses except Disney.

Nintendo should be raking in cash from all directions at this point, their
strategy makes absolutely no sense.

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Tiktaalik
These last two quarters are the only ones in Nintendo's long history in which
they haven't made a profit. Nintendo does rake in cash from all directions.
They're a very successful company and they have an excellent business model.

Sega going 3rd party was their only option other then to go bankrupt. The
situation is not comparable.

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InclinedPlane
The situations are very much comparable. Nintendo may have a lot more buffer
than Sega did but it is still fighting an uphill battle now.

The time to pivot is not when you've hit rock bottom, it's not even when you
have peaked, it's when you've past the inflection point, well before you've
peaked. And Nintendo is already well past that point. They are seeing
incredibly robust competition for every aspect of their business: casual and
party games, motion based games, mobile gaming, etc. The core strength of
Nintendo, which has aided them in past attempts at pivoting, is their 1st
party IP: Zelda, Mario, Pokemon, Metroid, etc. But that will only get them so
far, and won't save them if they make serious strategic blunders or fail to
keep up with the competition. Nintendo still has options now, but will they
still have those options in 5 or 10 years?

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chaostheory
They are really late to the game. Apple, Google, and Amazon are still on a
trajectory to eating Nintendo's lunch completely.

Until Nintendo announces specifics for developers as well as the percentage
take they'll get, it's hard to get excited. I'd be really surprised if they
even allow indy devs in like the App Stores, and also if they don't charge
4-10k per dev kit.

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peterb
Nintendo already support Indy games in WiiWare. My boys 7 & 10 love their 3DSs
& Wii and rarely use the the iPod touch or XBox. Nintendo is after a younger
market. There is lots of room for them. They have been pronounced "nearly
dead" many times.

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chaostheory
I don't feel that they'll ever die either. It'll just be another Gamecube
period that they're entering.

Their indy catalog pales in comparison to their competitor's catalogs. Not to
mention the pricing sucks in general

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ConstantineXVI
More accurate would be comparing to the N64. The [N64|3DS] came out using
overpriced, relatively low storage cartridges when [Sony/Sega|Apple/Amazon]
moved to [CD-ROM|cloud!] which is cheaper, more powerful, and allowed for
easier distribution; as well as their competitors being easier to write for.

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peterb
In Nintendo's market cartridges are an advantage. Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt &
Uncle want to give a tangible present, not a gift card or "points". It is not
about the technology, it is about the experience. I'm a dad, Nintendo has
nailed it.

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Alcedes
Talk about too little too late. 90% of my gaming is on iOS, with the remaining
10% reserved for blockbusters on 360 or ps3. Nintendo is the next RIMM in
terms of company direction. The Wii U will officially usher in the next
"Gamecube" era. Sad times for Mario fans.

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dgallagher
I think Nintendo has three advantages in the mobile-space (Nintendo 3DS vs.
iOS/Android). #1, Nintendo-branded games. They're the "Disney" of video games,
and have a large loyal following.

#2, dedicated gaming controls. Certain games need D-pads, analog sticks, and
tactile buttons. Hard-wired controllers allow for more accurate control, and
are essential in some "twitch-based" video games. Touchscreen's are
phenomenally good for some types of games like board games and Angry Birds,
but terrible for others like platformers and FPS's.

#3 is price. $40/$30 for a new game is extremely expensive for iOS games, but
not 3DS ones. This may attract bigger budget games to the 3DS since
developers/publishers could potentially make more on the 3DS than on
iOS/Android. This can be considered a disadvantage too, since consumers may be
deciding between one $40 3DS game, or 40 $0.99 iOS games. 3DS games will have
to offer more perceived-value to justify premium pricing.

Currently I see #2, controls, as the biggest problem in the mobile-phone
gaming space, which is why you're seeing 3rd-party solutions (iCade, 60beat
GamePad, etc). Since 3rd-party solutions are not widely adopted and will
result in high fragmentation, it'll probably require Apple or Google to design
and release an "official" controller of some sort (ideally built into each
device). If this never happens, there will still be a clear distinction
between "portable gaming system" and "portable mobile phone/tablet".

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InclinedPlane
They are the better part of an entire decade late on this. And now they have
to compete against entrenched competitors with that much more development,
improvement, and network effect accumulation in their favor.

To be honest, I sort of wish Nintendo would just give up making consoles and
stick to making and release games for other systems.

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schraeds
The Wii had much success in the market without much if any online presence.
Nintendo has always been precautions of online due to their younger user base,
but obviously they need to be in that space.

The good new for Nintendo is that its not Millions (xbox live or PSN) vs Zero,
Nintendo has millions of consoles out there, and Wii U will probably sell
millions of consoles as well, especially with the added value of an online
network.

All Nintendo needs to do to catch up in the online space is sell a bunch of
consoles.

I for one, am glad to see Nintendo fight the good fight. The world doesn't
need any more Nokia's or Palm's.

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InclinedPlane
_"All Nintendo needs to do to catch up in the online space is sell a bunch of
consoles."_

Selling consoles is not synonymous with people using their online service.
Moreover, there is no guarantee that even Nintendo will be able to sell a
significant number of consoles.

There are several huge competitors in online gaming currently, with more
competition arriving and maturing every day. XBox Live, Steam, and Battle.net
all have tens of millions of users and offer a robust set of features: social
networking (friends lists), online game purchasing and digital distribution,
online multiplayer and grouping with friends, text and voice based chat,
achievements systems, etc.

Digital distribution and selling of non-physical items have enormous profit
margins and low per-item operating costs. They are clearly the wave of the
future for all software, especially gaming, yet Nintendo is only just now
barely even flirting with the idea. "Catching up" to Steam and XBL doesn't
just mean achieving the same number of online users, it means achieving the
same level of revenue and the same level of brand credibility from the rest of
the industry.

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mkr-hn
All Nintendo has to do is add online play through this network to the next
Mario game.

