pika62221
Senior Member
Quit making systems and go full-on back to 3rd party in America! Okay, I really don't want to see that. I've collected far too much of their hardware the last near 30 years! I remember when they were 3rd party in the early-80's, and how well they dominated the market in the late-80's and early-90's. I watched Sony trounce them a decade later, and rise from the forgotten maker to being number one again. Why do I want them to continue to make consoles? Because their hardware is so perfectly matched to their software, and vice versa. Think of the way New Leaf has been so brilliantly paired with the 3DS. It features aspects of the game the Vita just couldn't do. Same with smartphones- what's that StreetPass thing everyone's talking about? Something only a Nintendo handheld device can do!
The good thing about Nintendo is it's a Japanese company. It's not only Japanese, but based in Kyoto, a city known for its history, and retaining it. Should Nintendo abandon the console market would be like slapping a Buddhist monk in the face in a shrine in Kyoto. Can happen, but is highly disrespectful. Nintendo's plan is to stay the course, through all its systems. The GameCube stands as the lowest selling, but Nintendo didn't kill it in 2003, 2004 or 2005. It was given a full 5 years like Nintendo 64 was, and in 2006 the Wii debuted, and saved the big N's reputation.
Now, we're closing in on nearly 10 years to Wii returning Nintendo to greatness. It's apparent by this point Wii U will fail to live up to the Wii. What's more surprising is the Nintendo DS predecessor the 3DS will not only fail to live up to the DS, but chances are great it won't reach Game Boy Advance's lifetime sales. The Advance was given an 8 year life from 2001 to 2009, but tapered off drastically in 2005 after Nintendo DS was released in late 2004. Analysts claim this is due to smart phones. However, the DS ran from 2004 to 2011 before the 3DS debuted, and smartphones did exist in 2008 and the DS still managed better sales that year than the 3DS has in any year: http://www.cnet.com/news/nintendo-crushes-it-in-2008-console-sales/
What really is doing the 3DS in isn't smartphones, it's that people don't see enough distinguishing features to make them want to upgrade from the DS to the 3DS. They primarily see it as a 3D DS. Not bad, but more along the lines of the Wii with a tablet controller. The New 3DS has a better chance, but calling it a New 3DS? Sheesh, marketing director sick that day the name was decided?
When the DS came out, it was fairly popular, but didn't explode in sales until the DS Lite came out. Mimicking ipod's white color, and making it thinner and smaller was the perfect combination. Software that utilized the hardware was always there, but now consumers wanted this sleek, stylish new DS.
So, what Nintendo needs to do is what they've begun doing. The 3DS XL and 2DS along with the New 3DS XL will be the main handhelds. This leads me to believe the 3DS XL's days are numbers, because you can't have both a 3DS XL and a New 3DS XL without causing some major confusion. The 3DS has been discontinued, so expect the 3DS XL to be phased out this year too, replaced by the New 3DS XL. By this time next year, expect the stores to have just the 2DS and the New 3DS XL. That will easily distinguish between the 2- either a 2DS (some will call it DS) and New 3DS XL (some will call it 3DS others XL), and there won't be any confusion to which system they want.
On the Wii U side, they need more bundles, similar to what they've done with the XL, AND a price drop. They're the "weakest" in terms of processing power, so they need to be fairly cheap, like GameCube was in its era. They drop $100, and bundle the new Zelda, look for the Wii U to be hot! Amiibo bundles would be quite popular too. Both for the New 3DS and the Wii U.
Live by the video game, die by the video game, Nintendo has always lived and died by their games. Their games are easily the best and quite often develop quite the cult following, but their IP is their IP, don't expect to see it on smartphones anytime soon, because Nintendo has been doing the handheld market for 25+ years when they really created what it is today (MicroVision wasn't really much of a force in the 70's). Don't expect them to leave after establishing themselves as the kind of handhelds from Game Boy through the 3DS!
When it's all said and done Nintendo will live to fight another day, their games may not make them as much money this generation as the prior, but they innovated and created putting their name back on the map, look for them to develop and create some of the best games in the history of electronic gaming.
The good thing about Nintendo is it's a Japanese company. It's not only Japanese, but based in Kyoto, a city known for its history, and retaining it. Should Nintendo abandon the console market would be like slapping a Buddhist monk in the face in a shrine in Kyoto. Can happen, but is highly disrespectful. Nintendo's plan is to stay the course, through all its systems. The GameCube stands as the lowest selling, but Nintendo didn't kill it in 2003, 2004 or 2005. It was given a full 5 years like Nintendo 64 was, and in 2006 the Wii debuted, and saved the big N's reputation.
Now, we're closing in on nearly 10 years to Wii returning Nintendo to greatness. It's apparent by this point Wii U will fail to live up to the Wii. What's more surprising is the Nintendo DS predecessor the 3DS will not only fail to live up to the DS, but chances are great it won't reach Game Boy Advance's lifetime sales. The Advance was given an 8 year life from 2001 to 2009, but tapered off drastically in 2005 after Nintendo DS was released in late 2004. Analysts claim this is due to smart phones. However, the DS ran from 2004 to 2011 before the 3DS debuted, and smartphones did exist in 2008 and the DS still managed better sales that year than the 3DS has in any year: http://www.cnet.com/news/nintendo-crushes-it-in-2008-console-sales/
What really is doing the 3DS in isn't smartphones, it's that people don't see enough distinguishing features to make them want to upgrade from the DS to the 3DS. They primarily see it as a 3D DS. Not bad, but more along the lines of the Wii with a tablet controller. The New 3DS has a better chance, but calling it a New 3DS? Sheesh, marketing director sick that day the name was decided?
When the DS came out, it was fairly popular, but didn't explode in sales until the DS Lite came out. Mimicking ipod's white color, and making it thinner and smaller was the perfect combination. Software that utilized the hardware was always there, but now consumers wanted this sleek, stylish new DS.
So, what Nintendo needs to do is what they've begun doing. The 3DS XL and 2DS along with the New 3DS XL will be the main handhelds. This leads me to believe the 3DS XL's days are numbers, because you can't have both a 3DS XL and a New 3DS XL without causing some major confusion. The 3DS has been discontinued, so expect the 3DS XL to be phased out this year too, replaced by the New 3DS XL. By this time next year, expect the stores to have just the 2DS and the New 3DS XL. That will easily distinguish between the 2- either a 2DS (some will call it DS) and New 3DS XL (some will call it 3DS others XL), and there won't be any confusion to which system they want.
On the Wii U side, they need more bundles, similar to what they've done with the XL, AND a price drop. They're the "weakest" in terms of processing power, so they need to be fairly cheap, like GameCube was in its era. They drop $100, and bundle the new Zelda, look for the Wii U to be hot! Amiibo bundles would be quite popular too. Both for the New 3DS and the Wii U.
Live by the video game, die by the video game, Nintendo has always lived and died by their games. Their games are easily the best and quite often develop quite the cult following, but their IP is their IP, don't expect to see it on smartphones anytime soon, because Nintendo has been doing the handheld market for 25+ years when they really created what it is today (MicroVision wasn't really much of a force in the 70's). Don't expect them to leave after establishing themselves as the kind of handhelds from Game Boy through the 3DS!
When it's all said and done Nintendo will live to fight another day, their games may not make them as much money this generation as the prior, but they innovated and created putting their name back on the map, look for them to develop and create some of the best games in the history of electronic gaming.
