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Apple Is Nintendo's "Enemy of the Future"
Pickens writes "The San Francisco Chronicle reports that video game industry revenue fell by 26 percent in April, adding more concerns about the health of the industry in the worst year-over-year decline since July 2009. But the big news is that the decline in portable sales makes up 61 percent of the overall monthly decline, suggesting that the Nintendo DS platform is losing steam but also reflecting the growing clout of the iPhone platform as the iPhone and iPod Touch continue to draw in more casual gamers, the iPad offers a bigger screen experience, and Apple announces the 'Game Center' — a social gaming hub with console-like online gaming features. Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata is understood to have told his senior executives recently to regard the battle with Sony as a victory already won and to treat Apple, and its iPhone and iPad devices, as the 'enemy of the future.' 'If Nintendo's future mobile platforms are to be any kind of success, the company will have to figure out how to take on the ease of use afforded by the App Store,' writes Nicholas Deleon. A large part of Nintendo's faith in reviving its efforts hinge on the 3DS, which may ship in the fall, the first truly major handheld introduction for Nintendo since the original DS in 2004. He adds, 'Maybe Nintendo should just release a phone?'"
I disagree with the premise of the article.
I believe the lack of video game sales is due to the crappy economy overall, not because of things like the iPhone/iPod/iPad.
I could be wrong, but I feel their view is too shallow.
Sent from your iPad.
Well maybe Nintendo could release a phone. I'm not against that. I guess. I don't know how I feel about that.
But what I'm really noing to is WHY the sales are dropping. Its not because of the iPhone.
It's because the DS is almost 6 years old. Nov 2004 was its release. Anyone who has wanted a DS, already has one. Nintendo foolishly tried to enhance the sales with the DS Lite and DSi. How shocked am I to find that nintendo fans who purchased a DS, don't feel the need to buy a DS lite, or a DSi. So how much money went into those two projects, and really what benefit did they expect to see? Did they expect a resurgence of sales? They merely expanded the market of the DS by small margins. And so only those who didn't wants a DS for various reasons would be so inclined to buy a DS lite or DSi, hoping those reasons would be resolved.
I'll stick my neck out and make this claim: If Nintendo decided to launch a new handheld - and it was different than the DS or Gameboy, it would sell well. Problem is that Nintendo has started to fall apart on their innovative ideas. The Wii has also been out for 4 years now, and the only innovation they've added to it has been the Wii Fit board 2 years ago, and the DS gets rehashes.
So, when Apple releases a new phone, and it sells, Nintendo isn't losing because its a threat in any sense, its more or less that Nintendo's sales have already plateau'd and started to have fallen, and Apple sales just happen to be on the rise.
Correlation != causation.
It seems like there are all kinds of things competing for the attention of gamers nowadays. I can't really see 'bejeweled' or whatever the hell the kids are playing on their iPads competing with WoW or whatever. But what about huge timesinks like facebook, twitter, youtube, and even internet news/chat/etc?
I can't say... I just hit 35 and I've damn near lost my ability to sit still in front of a video game. It just feels like a giant sucking waste of time - then again I'm posting on /., so what does that say about me?
Even when I did game, I'd put down $40 for half-life and get... 4-5 years out of it. So I guess I'm not a typical gamer.
http://www.masturbateforpeace.com/
Gee a few months ago, they were not taking Apple seriously... Apple "...is not having an impact on Nintendo... I’ve seen data that suggests that while consumers are constantly downloading apps, they play with them for a few times and then they are moving on to the next thing,” Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America’s president, told Kotaku. “Clearly it doesn’t look like their platform is a viable profit platform for game development because so many of the games are free versus paid downloads.” "iPhone and iPad not viable gaming platforms", "Apple games are not even a mouthful" A year ago, Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo was argued that iPhones and Nintendo products were not competitors because they appealed to different people.
I would buy a Nintendo phone. In a heartbeat.
If you're a parent with 2+ kids, which would you rather do?
Buy a DS, along with a copy of a game cart for each kid (or a download for each DS, not just now but in the future also), or purchase an iPod Touch + 1 copy of the game to sync with all of them?
Add in Nintendos HUGE lack of ability to replace hardware (go search for people needing to replace Wiis and DSs and trying to keep their purchased DLC ... here's a hint at the conclusion "Good Luck!").
Seems like Nintendo SHOULD be concerned. Heck, SquareSoft is even releasing titles on the AppStore. If Apple added a button or two, it would be that much easier, but they still have dual stick shooters (that are personally "okay", but not great), and a HUGE potential for game developers.
If a few major developers jump on board and accept it as a First Class gaming platform (which they MIGHT since they don't have to worry about used carts being resold and the install base is huge), then Nintendo could be in for a huge awakening.
This space for rent. All reasonable inquiries will be entertained at proprietors discretion.
This story is eerily similar to the previous "Oh NO! Nintendo sales are down!" article about the Wii. Nintendo is the dominant player of the market, and sales are down, BECAUSE ALMOST EVERYONE POSSIBLE ALREADY HAS A DS.
Market saturation, mixed with the usual mid-year games lull, and the anticipated rollout of a new platform combine to lower sales numbers. Does that mean competitors are taking over the market? No, no it doesn't.
I'm not crazy about "does this mean that...?" style of journalism. Speculation is fine - but it isn't news. Yet, this style of "journalism" seems to be rising as other forms of journalism are going out of business. It's fine for arguments, but annoying when there's too much of it, too often.
Ryan Fenton
I thought that was Skynet.
Skip one lousy meeting...
That's simple, Nintendo would produce a pair of systems like Apple did (iPhone/iTouch) one with a phone and one without, with the latter targets at the kids (or at least kids who's parents won't pony up for a phone for them)
Who the heck is going to have a kid with an expensive iPhone on an expensive data plan.
iPod Touch.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
As far as the buttons, Apple is not trying to get existing gamers. Apple is targeting the younger people, who want to game, who want to use facebook, who want to watch movies, and will not make a choice. They have hot spots at school. These are kids who can take a DSi to school, and guarantee that it will be confiscated, or an iPhone or Touch with they can defend as having a semi-legitimate value. The main problem most marketers make is seldom looking at the emerging market. The market that has not been trained with buttons.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
IGN: I know you're probably sick of Apple questions, but here we go. The company is positioning its hardware more and more as gaming devices -- iPod Touch, iPhone, and now iPad, which became available for pre-order today.
Reggie Fils-Aime: What are you going to do with your iPad?
IGN: Honestly, I don't know yet, but I'm buying one.
[Reggie laughs]
IGN: In your recent Forbes interview, you said Apple's products hadn't resulted in any sales impact on DS yet. But it's just a matter of time before Touch drops to $149 or maybe even $99. Then you've got a real competitor in the handheld space. What're your thoughts on that?
Reggie Fils-Aime: All of our competitors need to be worried about what we're going to do. I don't worry about what they're going to do. We're going to continue to innovate. If things get to a point where their pricing comes down, my pricing probably has come down as well. Chances are I've innovated in a whole new way that they haven't thought of before because that's what we do at Nintendo. And so, the fact of the matter is, in the here and now they're having no impact on our business.
IGN: You're not seeing any impact on current sales then.
Reggie Fils-Aime We sold 600,000 DSs in the month of February. Best ever handheld month on record. I don't think they're having an impact.