Rumormongering - Apple Could Buy Nintendo?

An anonymous reader writes "CNET wonders if 'Apple is about to frag the gaming community with a revelation that could shake Microsoft to its core: Apple will buy Nintendo. What could be more quintessentially left-field Apple behaviour than buying out the U.S.'s number three games console manufacturer?' The article goes on to compare the companies, saying 'both have followings whose brand dedication verges on the religiously devout' and design styles that are so similar that 'the Nintendo DS Lite practically looks like Jonathan Ive built it.' The writer says an Apple and Nintendo merger will 'penetrate the mainstream consumer market with Macintosh computers'. The possible outcome of a merger would be a console based around the Mac Mini. As for whether Apple have the cash to pull it off: 'Cisco was rumoured to be looking at a purchase of Nintendo earlier in the year, so the idea of Nintendo being bought is not outlandish in itself. Apple's market cap is $51.7bn (Nintendo's is $23.1bn)'"

Comments

Stupid.

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

Article is speculation of the stupidist sort. Check this:

A Nintendo purchase could potentially let Apple bring the success enjoyed by the iPod to the Macintosh computer.

That is quite possibly the stupidest sentence I've ever read.

I certainly hope that Apple doesn't buy nintendo (even if they could) because the reason nintendo are great is because the concentrate on games, games, games. No failed computer / pda / music player / whatever for them. They just concentrate on what they're good at.

Any dillution of that fervour would be sad.

Re:Stupid.

[Douglas Simmons]

"The reason nintendo are [sic] great is because the concentrate on games..."

And if Apple bought them, what would keep their Nintendo operation from continuing to do the same? Apple wouldn't be reinventing the wheel here, just buying the people who invented it first.

Re:Stupid.

[AKAImBatman]

Article is speculation of the stupidist sort.

Agreed. My first thought was, "Who let Dvorak out of his cage?"

While the white plastic designs of the current Nintendos and Macs may make them seem like a good match from a marketing perspective, this fellow's suggestions on technology integration show a distinct lack of understanding of the Game Console market.

Game Consoles are very good at what they do. They play games, and they support the graphics and sound of those games. Generally speaking, they are capable of providing a gaming experience far in excess of anything a general-purpose computer could do at a similar price point. The reason for this is the use of customized graphics, sound, and CPU hardware. Engineers who look at the specs of most game consoles tend to think, "but this would perform horribly under condition XYZ, which most computers see on a regular basis!" And they would, if they were made into general purpose computers. But they're not. They are focused gaming hardware.

Now the Mac Mini is NOT a piece of focused gaming hardware. All of its internals are all wrong. Its graphics performance would be slow, its bus bandwidth is poor, and its CPU is on a distinct bus from the GPU. Not a very good gaming machine.

Of course, all of this discussion is academic. Nintendo won't sell, and no vector exists for a hostile takeover. So it's a virtual certainty that Nintendo will not be bought off, even if Apple wanted to purchase them.

Re:Stupid.

[0biter]

"... great is because the concentrate on games, games, games."

Indeed. If Apple really wanted to get in on the "home digital appliance" market that MS and Sony are positioning to take over teh next 5-10 years, they would not do well by buying a self-identified "toy maker" like Nintendo. If anything, an Apple/Sony partnership would make more sense in this emerging sector since Sony has the hardware and penetration, and Apple has the software.

Re:Stupid.

[SatanicPuppy]

It always seems that way on the surface....But the temptation for cross-platform work is the only reason to really drive a buyout. The burning desire to have an iTunes compatible DS-Lite, or a wireless wii/mac one button mouse that you can wave around in the air would rear it's head pretty quickly.

They're both good companies, but I don't really see them getting together...It just wouldn't make sense unless they had some mutually envisioned killer app sitting in the wings.

A limited deal for game development/rights might be a good thing though...Of all computer lines, Macs are most similar to consoles due to their hardware homogeneity, so if they could make a deal for development, that might be a solid draw for the game-scarce Mac, and since Nintendo, like most console makers, doesn't really make much money on their hardware it could be a good deal for them as well...

Re:Stupid.

[CastrTroy]

Why would you go through 9? How? either you go through 2 or 3, decide they are crap because they keep breaking, and move onto something else. I therefore assume that you bought the warranty, and keep on having to send the back and get new ones when they break. I still don't see how you could go through 9 in 18 months. I know some of them end up bad, but there's got to be a bigger problem for you to go through that many.

Re:Stupid.

[Tim Browse]

So then play the game you already own on the console you already own.

That's not as convenient? Then guess what you're paying for.

Nintendo selling?

[Durinthal]

so the idea of Nintendo being bought is not outlandish in itself

Yeah it is. You think that a Japanese company with that much tradition would sell out at all, much less to an American company?

Wha?

[MachineShedFred]

Apple's successes lean heavily on not straying too far from their core market competencies - useable devices that people want.

Gaming has *never* been one of Apple's core competencies, and Apple has a knack for changing things around when they buy something.

The only way that a merger with Nintendo would work, is if they leave Nintendo the hell alone - and that won't happen.

Re:Wha?

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

Apple's successes lean heavily on not straying too far from their core market competencies - useable devices that people want.

Nonsense - in 2000, I would have said:

Apple's successes lean heavily on not straying too far from their core market competencies - PCs.

But I would have been wrong, because inspite of the failure of the pippin & newton, Apple's wildest success was going out & making a music player - completely outside their core market.

Difference between that & buying nintendo however, is that:

1) Apple did that on their own.
2) They expanded into a new, emerging market (like the newton should have).

Apple should continue to look to new markets, rather then try to get in to an already overcrowded market using a brute-force approach (like one of their O/S competitors).

Interesting idea...

[__aaclcg7560]

I like both Apple and Nintendo. But I'm not sure if I could get used to an Apple logo on a GameCube or Wii, or my game console color limited to black or white. Of course, if it would help Apple get more game titles for the Mac, that would be a good thing.

Smells of straight up stock manipulation

[martinbogo]

What is -with- all these merger suggestions? "Company X should by company Y!" It smells to high heaven of stock manipulation by the article writers. I bet, with disclosure, that each time one of these articles is published, that the author has some sort of vested financial interest in one or both of the companies.

Noooo!

[sammy baby]

Please, no! After the incredible sticker shock of the XBox 360, followed by the news that the PS3 wasn't going to be any better, I was poised to snag the Wii just to stick it in the eye of the other console manufacturers. "See? Half the cost of your previous systems! Nyah!"

If Apple were to by Nintendo, the Wii will double in price overnight, and likely catch fire if left on a carpet. Woe betide me!

(Joking. Mostly.)

So it's *Apple* now. Well, that makes a difference

[barawn]

This sounds familiar.

What is it people in the tech industry don't understand about Nintendo?

Nintendo is a 117 year old company. The analogy I used last time when someone mentioned Microsoft is still apt - this is the equivalent of a 15 year old kid coming over and saying "here's $500, can I buy your house?"

For 113 years of its life, Nintendo was a family owned business. It only passed the reigns on to someone not in the Yamauchi family when Hiroshi Yamauchi named Satoru Iwata his successor, and it's not like the Yamauchi family just up and sold all of their shares.

You can't buy a company if they're not willing to sell the shares.

Don't forget the Steve Jobs/Disney&ABC connect

[metoc]

Rumours are fun.

Remember that Steve Jobs is a majority shareholder in Disney. This means access to content!! Remember that Apple is a 'serious computer company' and is not interested in games. Buying Nintendo would allow it to access to a less serious market without diluting the Apple brand. Lets not forget the iPod & ITMS. Imagine being able to connect your iPod to your Wii console, or playing videos (and photo slideshows) on your Wii. Best wait until WWDC and see if a PVR capability becomes available on Macs.

Personally Apple should buy Sun (or vis-versa). Sun has a lot to offer, but needs someone like Jobs to give it a will to live and produce some interesting products with all that technology they have.

Re:everyone mod this article down!!!!

[Anthony Boyd]

I agree. When are we going to be able to filter on tags, like we can filter out authors? I'm dying to filter out all the stories tagged as "stupid," "slownewsday," and "dupe."

-T

Re:Would kill them in the Japanese market

[skribble]

Ummm... yea, and nobody uses macs in Japan?!

Your post inadvertantly highlights yet another..

[Anonymous Coward]

..annoyance of the /. UI; not only is the text a headache-inducing shade of Sans Serif (many complaints already on that score), but also there appears to be an overlooked consequence of styling the LI & UL entities - people using them normally in comments and them looking absolutely shite. The grey corner lines make no design sense whatsoever looking at them as they are in this post. I'm (mildly) sorry to be posting OT as A/C.

And how.

[cryptochrome]

I think anyone that has ever submitted a perfectly good verifiable story here only to see it rejected within minutes must be pulling their hair out when they see incredibly idle speculative obvious bullshit like this on the front page.

And they wonder how digg grew so fast...

Re:Would kill them in the Japanese market

[w00master]

This is such a myth. Maybe the Japanese are racists. Maybe their not, but ultimately what sells best there (much like anywhere else) are GOOD products. If you don't believe that, then WHY IS THE iPOD (created by an AMERICAN company) the number one MP3 in Japan? Hugely beating out Sony and the like.

Need a digg lame reporting feature

[reaktor]

I wish we could incorporate Digg style feature to mod articles down.

Horrible logic

[tooyoung]

Cisco was rumored to be looking at a purchase of Nintendo earlier in the year, so the idea of Nintendo being bought is not outlandish in itself.

So the fact that there was a similar, entirely unfounded, story earlier this year makes this new story not outlandish???????

If I make a claim similar to anything Dvorak already predicted, does that make it more sound?