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Nintendo - Money, Announcements, Comeback?
Thanks to GameSpy for their new 'Sole Food column, which discusses Nintendo's recent announcements and their prospects for the future. They point out that "Despite the large number of 'Nintendo-is-doomed' articles written over the last few years, the company still has a ton of cash (around six-billion USD by most reports)", and speculate on the 'big announcement' Nintendo are promising early next year ("Initially, the buzz was that it will be announcing a new console to be released in 2005. Lately, the buzz has shifted to a new handheld announcement.") Finally, the opinion piece ends on an upbeat note: "If any company is capable of making a comeback, it's Nintendo. It has the money and the talent. It just needs to strategize better to ensure that its future consoles appeal to a broad audience."
I wish these guys the best of luck. I've wanted to see a rad new console from them since they axed the SNES. The N64 and GC just dont' have the software I want right now, If they start to attract the developers that the PS2 and Xbox have then they will be a player in the console arena again.
Irrelevant!
Even if Nintendo's consoles tank, they will still be around for years to come because they know how to design games. They'll just pull a Sega and we'll all be playing Animal Crossing 3 on our Playstation 5 Mega-Media Centers in a few years.
"Lawyers are for sucks."
- Doug McKenzie
Mandatory Nintendo needs to drop "kiddy image" comments in 3....2....1....
"If any company is capable of making a comeback, it's Nintendo. It has the money and the talent. It just needs to strategize better to ensure that its future consoles appeal to a broad audience."
I really don't understand the mindset of people when it comes to Nintendo. They have a great line of products, loyal fans, and ca$h in the bank. Even though their sales are far behind Sony in the home console market, they are still turning a decent profit on the GameCube. Why do people seem to have the obsession that Nintendo must have the #1 selling console, or that this should even be Nintendo's goal? I don't see the local flower shop strategizing over how to overtake all of their competitors and rise to the top flower distributor in the nation. Sometimes a company is content just to make a great product and turn a profit. Not that I really know if that is Nintendo's mindset, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised.
Do not read this sig.
A couple years ago (E3 2000 or 2001 I think), Nintendo showed off a holographic display for the gamecube. They mentioned it's future consumer availability several times, and with all their PR speeches about this upcoming announcement and how it will change the face of gaming (or some such nonsense), I woulnd't be surprised if this were it.
Personally I don't believe gaming is ready for holographic projection. It's a great gimick, but until it's widely available in homes as a standard viewing medium, I don't think it will grow past its "cool gadget" stage.
I truly hope this isn't Nintendos big announcement, because a more innovative product at a more affordable price would be far better to bring in more customers for the cube.
Nintendo has been working on a true sequel to Mario 64 (called Mario 128...imagine that) for close to 3 years now. Rumor is, is that Mario Sunshine was originally suppose to be for the ill-fated 64DD added for the N64, but was retooled as a GameCube game when they realized the 64DD was toast.
Miyamoto said back in E3 that they were ready to show some clips of the game in action, but backlash from showing Zelda early taught Nintendo to not show anything until they were ready.
Nintendo DOES NOT MARKET TO KIDS. They market to EVERYONE. Seriously, I'm amazed at how people confuse a game playable by everyone to a game playable by only kids. A kiddie game is something like Elmo's Letter Adventures. It's made ONLY for kids to be played. A game like Super Mario Sunshine is made for EVERYONE. It's made to be enjoyable by kids, teens, AND adults. Just like Mario 64. Little kids played Mario 64, and they had fun, just like the millions of teens and adults that also played Mario 64. Anyone who considers Nintendo to be kiddie really needs to open their eyes, because Nintendo makes games for everyone. When a game doesn't have a serious topic, or blood, gore, and swearing, it does NOT mean the game was made for kids. It just means that it was made for not ONLY teens and adults. Seriously, I'm sick of hearing the "Nintendo is kiddie" thing. Metroid Prime, Eternal Darkness, and resident evil are all hardly games meant for kids to play. Especially Eternal Darkness, which is the most mature game I've ever played. Rather than relying on violence to sell and appeal to a "mature" audience, the game rather uses a deep story and a system that messes with your head. Oh, and just so you know, even though Eternal Darkness was made by Silicon Knights, mainly, Nintendo had huge amounts of input on the project, and the game was also published by Nintendo. Nintendo also owns a 49% stake in Silicon Knights, I believe, so anyone who still calls Nintendo kiddie is just plain ignorant. Open your eyes, people. The amount of "mature" content that is absent from a game does NOT determine the target audience. Nintendo makes games for everyone. It isn't Nintendo that's branding themselves with the kiddie image. It's the gamers. And the gamers need to open their eyes up.
As in the GBA SP EX?
I'm the guy with the unpopular opinion
Believe it or not, Nintendo knows EXACTLY what they're doing in the handheld market and are probably best served by "staying the course" in that area. While Sony's plan for the PSP is ambitious and interesting, the truth is that it's not going to sell like the GBA does unless they slice the price to the marrow (just cutting it to the bone won't be enough). People like me, who have good jobs and plenty of disposable income, will probably buy one...but most people (particularly parents) are going to see it sitting next to a Nintendo product (either GBA SP or its successor) at 50-75% of the price and just get that and use any extra cash to buy games.
29 year old heavy machinery operator here (and game reviewer/newsie on the side). I have no problems picking up Nintendo first party games. Neither do most of my friends who are of similar age, if not similar working enviroments.
This is what Nintendo never got. Adults don't feel silly watching action movies and thus don't feel silly playing action movies. Adults do feel a little silly watching peter pan cartoons, and thus do feel silly manipulating a little guy with his green hood and tights.
Maybe it's you who has a slight problem dealing with the things you mention, and not the whole world?
You say that the M-rated games on the PSOne marketed the PSOne to the 20+ crowd....yet the fact is the real 20+ crowd buys games from any rating, from E all the way to M.
You do know where the M rated games sell the most, though, right? The 12-16 crowd. Yep, teenagers, most barely old enough to shave or look at a girl without thinking about 'girl germs'. The real kiddies of the video game market.
And they flock to blood and polygonal boobie filled games like flies to shit. And, while the oogle over the game and say how cool it is and beg mommy and daddy to buy it for them (because they aren't old enough to have a job), they'll scoff at the Nintendo stuff as 'kiddie'.
Irony, your face is pimply.
Thursdae
Buyer Demographics: Ninety-two percent of those who purchase console games are over the age of 18, and 98 percent of computer game buyers are over 18. Forty-seven percent of console game buyers and 57 percent of computer game buyers are women.
Computer Player Demographics: Fifty-eight percent of computer game players are male, while 42 percent are female. Thirty percent are under 18 years old, 29 percent are 18 to 35, and 41 percent are over 36.
Console Player Demographics: Seventy-two percent of console game players are male and 28 percent are female. Thirty-eight percent are under 18, 40 percent are 18 to 35, and 22 percent are over 36.
Types of Games Played Most Often: Console game players say that they most often play: action games (51 percent); driving/racing games (50 percent); sports games (47 percent); and role-play/adventure games (35 percent). Computer game players say they are most likely to play: puzzle/board/card games (36 percent); action games (36 percent); driving/racing games (34 percent); and sports (32 percent).
Number of Games Owned: Console game players report that they own an average of 16 games, while computer gamers report that they own about 12 titles.
Online Games: Thirty-seven percent of game players say they play games online, up from 31 percent last year and 18 percent in 1999.
Type of Game Played Most Often Online: puzzle, board, game show, trivia or card game (56 percent); action, sports, strategy or role-play game (20 percent); persistent multi-player universe (7 percent); or none of the above (7 percent).
Mobile Gaming: More than one-third (39 percent) of Americans who own consoles or computers report that they also play games on mobile devices like handheld systems, PDAs, and cell phones. Eighteen percent play games on cell phones, up from 14 percent a year ago.
Sixteen of the top 20 best selling games in 2002 were rated ?E? for everyone or ?T? for teen.