Nintendo Admits They Screwed The Pooch

[Malacite]

Re: Nintendo Admits They Screwed The Pooch

^ If Nintendo ever truly did go under you can bet your ass Sony would be all over that IP.

[Firewind]

Re: Nintendo Admits They Screwed The Pooch

TBH it would more likely go third party to someone like Sega

[Malacite]

Re: Nintendo Admits They Screwed The Pooch

I never said they'd win the bidding, but they're probably in the best position to snatch it up. I'd be surprised if a foreign developer picked up any of Ninteno's IPs.


Of course, they could always just have SEGA pick them up by default seeing as those 2 have been rather cozy since SEGA exited the console market.

[Icemage]

Re: Nintendo Admits They Screwed The Pooch

So the bad news continues.

* Batman: Arkham Origins DLC is cancelled for Wii U due to low demand (per Warner Brothers); Nintendo issues eShop refunds to for Wii U owners who purchased the Season Pass.
Wii U Batman: Arkham Origins season pass support killed because of low demand | Polygon

Original article at GoNintendo

Thanks so much for your support of Batman: Arkham Origins on Wii U.

We are contacting you today because you purchased the Batman: Arkham Origins Season Pass for Wii U. We hope you’ve been enjoying the content that has been delivered thus far. Based on demand for Downloadable Content on the system, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has made the decision to remove its offering of the upcoming new story campaign for Wii U. As a result, we will be crediting the entire $19.99+tax cost of the Season Pass back to your Nintendo eShop account. You will still be able to enjoy the content already released thus far.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your support of the game.

Sincerely,
Nintendo of America Inc.

How bad is the situation when a publisher won't even sell DLC on the platform?

---

* According to Nintendo-following blogger Emily Rogers, Ubisoft responded "No comment" when asked about the Wii U version of Watch_Dogs.

I was in contact with Ubisoft this morning. They won't comment on Wii U Watch_Dogs. Ubi Q3 results in Feb, hopefully we hear something then

---

At Nintendo's 3rd quarter results meeting, Nintendo talks about creating a third "pillar" for Nintendo aside from handheld and console gaming: "Non-wearable Quality of Life" products.

Corporate Management Policy Briefing / Third Quarter Financial Results Briefing For Fiscal Year Ending March 2014

We will also take on the challenge of expanding into a new business area.

We will attempt to establish a new platform business with which we can leverage our strengths, but which is independent from our video game platform business.

It will have been 12 years in May this year since I took office as president in 2002. What we have focused on in this decade is our basic strategy to expand the gaming population by offering products which can be enjoyed by everyone regardless of age, gender or gaming experience.

In order to cope with the challenge of consumers’ apathy, we adopted a means to extend the definition of video games and thereby focused on expansion of the gaming population as our strategy. I feel that we achieved tangible results with Nintendo DS and Wii.

Ever since I succeeded Mr. Yamauchi as the president of Nintendo, a company specialized in entertainment, I have deliberated on the meaning of entertainment and in this decade, I have run Nintendo with the belief that the raison d’etre of entertainment is to put smiles on people’s faces around the world through products and services.

In addition, as the business environment around us has shifted with the times, I am willing to redefine the meaning of entertainment. As the extension of the definition of video games gave new potential to video games, I think now is the time we need to extend the definition of entertainment.

This time, we decided to redefine our notion of entertainment as something that improves people’s quality of life in enjoyable ways, and take a step forward in expanding our business areas. Being an entertainment company, making “enjoyable improvements” is something that Nintendo excels at, and this definition provides us with a clear distinction from simply “improving QOL.”

Ever since Nintendo was founded 125 years ago as a manufacturer of Hanafuda, Nintendo has continued to transform itself into offering various propositions to consumers from toys, electronic toys, and then video games, improving, in my view, people’s QOL in enjoyable ways.

What Nintendo will try to achieve in the next 10 years is a platform business that improves people’s QOL in enjoyable ways.

This definition includes, of course, dedicated video game platforms. While we will continue to devote our energy to dedicated video game platforms, what I see as our first step into a new business area in our endeavor to improve QOL is, the theme of “health.” Of course, defining a new entertainment business that seeks to improve QOL creates various possibilities for the future such as “learning” and “lifestyle,” but it is our intention to take “health” as our first step.

Please note, however, that rather than simply setting health as our theme, Nintendo will also try to expand it in a new blue ocean.

...

My translation: "We screwed up, can barely figure out why we're getting hammered in the console space, and now have no idea how to fix it, so now we're going to try to break into a different market so that we don't have to compete to survive."


Icemage

[DakAttack]

Re: Nintendo Admits They Screwed The Pooch

You wouldn't want a digital scale that shames you with Mario sound effects?

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Nintendo Admits They Screwed The Pooch

At Nintendo's 3rd quarter results meeting, Nintendo talks about creating a third "pillar" for Nintendo aside from handheld and console gaming: "Non-wearable Quality of Life" products.

[snip]

My translation: "We screwed up, can barely figure out why we're getting hammered in the console space, and now have no idea how to fix it, so now we're going to try to break into a different market so that we don't have to compete to survive."

Sometimes, a desperate moonshot project could be good.

When Apple came out with the candy-colored Macs with the stupid 'i' in front of it, I thought it was its most silly idea ever. But, those iMac sold very well, and gave Apple time to come up with its next move--a push into the dangerously competitive consumer electronic industry--by selling an expensive MP3 player in a market already saturated with MP3 players of all ilk. I thought it was utterly stupid for a computer company, especially one with a history of uneven execution.

But, iPod not only make Apple bundles of money, it catapulted the brand to the forefront of consumer consciousness. Then the company followed up with that iPhone thing. "Serious? Apple wants to compete with Nokia? RIM?!" I thought to myself.

Well, the rest is history. (And Nokia and RIM are fast becoming footnotes of the cell phone history while Apple sits on billions of dollars of spare change.)

If Nintendo can take its creative energy and charge headlong into a new market (or create a brand new market), it could be something to see. Of course, at this point, I am very skeptical. But, since I was so wrong about Apple, I'm mindful to be skeptical of my skepticism as well.

[Icemage]

Re: Nintendo Admits They Screwed The Pooch

Sometimes, a desperate moonshot project could be good.

Sure, but it's difficult to imagine the same Nintendo that thought the Wii U would be a good idea producing something paradigm-shifting in the health and fitness market. The one thing Nintendo understands very well is the concept of fun, and that's a fantastic advantage. The trick is whether they can make that concept translate into something as normally boring as a fitness regimen without all the usual tools of a video game console. Personally I think that's about as likely as seeing an armless man juggle, but I suppose the possibility exists.


Icemage

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Nintendo Admits They Screwed The Pooch

Sure, but it's difficult to imagine the same Nintendo that thought the Wii U would be a good idea producing something paradigm-shifting in the health and fitness market.

I concur. Still, it may be fun to watch Nintendo try--just as Apple looks set to push into the market with a watch-like device for health and fitness.

[bikkebakke]

Re: Nintendo Admits They Screwed The Pooch

They should just stick to where they dominate... the handheld market.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Nintendo Admits They Screwed The Pooch

They should just stick to where they dominate... the handheld market.

If Nintendo had stuck to what it knew well, today it would be an obscure little print shop, making barely more than a hundred set of pretty, hand-crafted cards used in the yakuza's gambling parlors a year.

(Besides, smart phones are the real dominate platforms of the mobile now.)

* * *

Despite reputation for stubbornly clinging to tradition*, many big Japanese firms have morphed and transitioned to other industries over the decades. Take Toyota, a one-time mechanical loom maker. No, not robot doomsday squad--think textile instead.

Mitsubishi started as a shipping firm (that bought a coal mine for its ships), now has interest in banking, automotive, nuclear energy, and even optics and camera (as Nikon). Seiko/Epson was a parts maker for watches; today, it has all kinds of businesses, including the robots I use at work. Sumimoto, the banking/chemical/car (Mazda)/IT/insurance company, began as a humble copper smelter.


Anyway, the point is that if Nintendo truly wishes to transform itself again, it just may be able to do so, and do it well. (Mighty morphing Japanese-powered corporation!)



* Sumimoto is supposedly still using some "Founder's Precepts" doc as its core management philosophy. The thing was written in the 17th century; new executives probably have to take a class in ancient Japanese just to be able read it.

[Icemage]

Re: Nintendo Admits They Screwed The Pooch

^ My worry is that Nintendo seems to think health and fitness is an untapped market. There are a lot of players in the market already. This vague reference to "non-wearable" items means Nintendo is trying another Hail Mary attempt, this time in a market where they have basically no experience.

Gamification is a great tool, but Nintendo is deluded if they think gamification alone can keep people on the healthy living track just by making things more fun. We've got things like Dance Central and Just Dance that do a solid business along those lines, but that market is basically saturated (and shrinking over time as boredom sets in). We've got wearable things like the Pebble and new items from players like FitBit, but Nintendo says they're going to try to leapfrog wearable tech and make something "non-wearable". Which would mean some sort of external device like the Vitality Sensor or Balance Board (or implant/nanomachine... lol).

Wii Fit fizzled over time because it (a) wasn't very fun (b) didn't have a terribly slick interface or way to use it and (c) didn't actually work very well for helping keep you fit. If that's the direction Nintendo is heading in, all I can see coming are icebergs for their ship. They don't have the luxury of time to iterate and get things working properly; if they don't get it right on the first pass, people are going to write them off and never look back.


Icemage

[Malacite]

Re: Nintendo Admits They Screwed The Pooch

Nintendo Integrates Console and Handheld Teams, Next Architecture Inspired by iOS/Android | Side Mission | GameTrailers

Last week's Q&A session following Nintendo's investor briefing revealed that the company has integrated both console and handheld teams into one division. The integration will allow them to align architecture of both devices rather than having different systems for each as it is now for 3DS and Wii U.

President Iwata notes that currently it is difficult to port Wii games to the 3DS due to differing software development methods as well as changes in resolution. The same can be said when porting from 3DS to the Wii U.
"If the transition of software from platform to platform can be made simpler, this will help solve the problem of game shortages in the launch periods of new platforms," president Satoru Iwata said.
"Previously, our handheld video game devices and home video game consoles had to be developed separately as the technological requirements of each system, whether it was battery-powered or connected to a power supply, differed greatly, leading to completely different architectures and, hence, divergent methods of software development. However, because of vast technological advances, it became possible to achieve a fair degree of architectural integration. We discussed this point, and we ultimately concluded that it was the right time to integrate the two teams."

With systems architectures aligned, Iwata says that console and handheld devices will be more like "brothers in a family of systems." He uses examples of iOS and Android in how a number of devices can share the same architecture.
"To cite a specific case, Apple is able to release smart devices with various form factors one after another because there is one way of programming adopted by all platforms. Apple has a common platform called iOS. Another example is Android. Though there are various models, Android does not face software shortages because there is one common way of programming on the Android platform that works with various models."
Still, Iwata can't say for sure if Nintendo will release one device to serve as a hybrid between console and handheld.

"Whether we will ultimately need just one device will be determined by what consumers demand in the future, and that is not something we know at the moment. However, we are hoping to change and correct the situation in which we develop games for different platforms individually and sometimes disappoint consumers with game shortages as we attempt to move from one platform to another, and we believe that we will be able to deliver tangible results in the future."

[Carter]

Re: Nintendo Admits They Screwed The Pooch

I just hope that they bounce back from this and don't end up like Sega.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Nintendo Admits They Screwed The Pooch

I just hope that they bounce back from this and don't end up like Sega.

Sega had over USD$ 300 million profit in the last fiscal year, Nintendo had red ink exceeding USD$ 350 million.

Nintendo could do worse than having a profitable year.

[Firewind]

Re: Nintendo Admits They Screwed The Pooch

Bank balance means two things in Industry if you aren't investing and spending wisely:

Jack and Shit.