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Nintendo faces 'path to irrelevance', says Atari founder
By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News
Nintendo, whose latest console has sold poorly, could be on a "path to irrelevance", the founder of legendary games company Atari has said.
In an interview with the BBC, Nolan Bushnell said the Japanese firm was left in a "very difficult position".
Games analysts have drawn parallels between Atari's doomed Jaguar console in 1993 and the struggling Wii U.
Mr Bushnell said Atari had been "abused by corporate charlatans" after a "glorious beginning".
The 70-year-old had been speaking at Campus Party, an event held at London's O2 Arena in which thousands of developers, staying in tents, worked together on various collaborative technology projects.
Founding father
Mr Bushnell, who gave a keynote speech at the event, now runs an educational software company called Brainrush.
"It's about taking game technology, mashing it up with brain science, and creating some pretty powerful software towards learning," he said.
"We have some really powerful engines right now that are knocking it out of the park. You'll hear a lot about it in the next few years."
Mr Bushnell is famed in the computer games industry and beyond for being a "founding father" of video games. But equally as famous as his early success was Atari's dramatic fall, something he warned may face Nintendo.
"I don't think handheld game-only devices make sense anymore," he told the BBC. "Not when you have an iPod or an Android microtablet.
"When it comes to the console market, I think the market is truncating.
"Nintendo always had a soft spot for young people - they sort of did the 12-and-under pretty well, and the other guys did the 12-and-over.
"And now I think the other [consoles] are good enough on those things, and the rush to upgrade from the 12-and-under is not nearly as important."
'Motion sickness'
Atari's Jaguar console was released in 1993, but was effectively discontinued three years later. The console's release date was seen as its critical flaw - while more powerful than existing consoles at the time from Sega and Nintendo, it was soon eclipsed by newer consoles from Sega and Sony.
Similarly, the Wii U, released ahead of Christmas last year, has had slow sales - and is soon about to come up against more powerful machines in the shape of Microsoft's Xbox One and the PlayStation 4.
The Wii U's poor sales have led to it no longer being stocked by some key retailers, such as Asda, while several games publishing companies have either stopped making titles for the platform, or made it a low priority.
In modern gaming, Mr Bushnell said he is most excited by the possibilities of the Oculus Rift - a virtual reality headset that has been backed by several influential figures in the games industry.
"The problem with virtual reality has always been motion sickness," he said.
"If they're able to really get the reality and the image right, with low latency, I think they'll get it.
"With most motion sickness you can build up immunity - and I believe that will represent a brand new, really powerful gaming system."
By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News
Nintendo, whose latest console has sold poorly, could be on a "path to irrelevance", the founder of legendary games company Atari has said.
In an interview with the BBC, Nolan Bushnell said the Japanese firm was left in a "very difficult position".
Games analysts have drawn parallels between Atari's doomed Jaguar console in 1993 and the struggling Wii U.
Mr Bushnell said Atari had been "abused by corporate charlatans" after a "glorious beginning".
The 70-year-old had been speaking at Campus Party, an event held at London's O2 Arena in which thousands of developers, staying in tents, worked together on various collaborative technology projects.
Founding father
Mr Bushnell, who gave a keynote speech at the event, now runs an educational software company called Brainrush.
"It's about taking game technology, mashing it up with brain science, and creating some pretty powerful software towards learning," he said.
"We have some really powerful engines right now that are knocking it out of the park. You'll hear a lot about it in the next few years."
Mr Bushnell is famed in the computer games industry and beyond for being a "founding father" of video games. But equally as famous as his early success was Atari's dramatic fall, something he warned may face Nintendo.
"I don't think handheld game-only devices make sense anymore," he told the BBC. "Not when you have an iPod or an Android microtablet.
"When it comes to the console market, I think the market is truncating.
"Nintendo always had a soft spot for young people - they sort of did the 12-and-under pretty well, and the other guys did the 12-and-over.
"And now I think the other [consoles] are good enough on those things, and the rush to upgrade from the 12-and-under is not nearly as important."
'Motion sickness'
Atari's Jaguar console was released in 1993, but was effectively discontinued three years later. The console's release date was seen as its critical flaw - while more powerful than existing consoles at the time from Sega and Nintendo, it was soon eclipsed by newer consoles from Sega and Sony.
Similarly, the Wii U, released ahead of Christmas last year, has had slow sales - and is soon about to come up against more powerful machines in the shape of Microsoft's Xbox One and the PlayStation 4.
The Wii U's poor sales have led to it no longer being stocked by some key retailers, such as Asda, while several games publishing companies have either stopped making titles for the platform, or made it a low priority.
In modern gaming, Mr Bushnell said he is most excited by the possibilities of the Oculus Rift - a virtual reality headset that has been backed by several influential figures in the games industry.
"The problem with virtual reality has always been motion sickness," he said.
"If they're able to really get the reality and the image right, with low latency, I think they'll get it.
"With most motion sickness you can build up immunity - and I believe that will represent a brand new, really powerful gaming system."
While I personally think that Nintendo could survive the Wii U going the way of the Dreamcast, the article does have a point about the corporate side running things into the ground. Plus there is also the fact that Nintendo refuses to progress or innovate. They have always seemed to have been stuck in that "Okay this works so why change it?" set of mind, without considering what gamers really want and if it's really relevant. The 2DS and the fact that they are screaming about a Zelda WW port are great examples of this. People are waiting for good first party stuff to come out to actually justify buying a console that seems to be constantly sabotaging itself, but the only exciting things this year have been Third party games on the 3DS, the majority of them being made by Atlus.
Then you have to look at the Wii U itself and the current decision to cut prices even more. The Wii U is already being sold at a loss and slashing prices further will just make it worse if there are no games to make people to want to buy your shit. Nintendo are doing the equivalent of chainsawing off your legs to shed weight while crossing the fucking Mojave Desert. And staying with the desert analogy, they seem to be that guy tho is gasping for water next to a broken down and sand clogged car, but refuses to take your water and insists on eating salted crisps until he keeps over.
They are basically like Sony 6 years ago. Every time I hear a news story about them I just feel myself facepalming.
. The second console mindset that they have put themselves in with the Wii U was a stupid idea and they started admitting that they were becoming less relevant outside of Japan when they pulled out of E3. 
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