Nintendo Console Profitability Hinges on Games Sales

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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Following the trend set by several manufactures of everything from smartphones to gaming consoles, Nintendo is selling the Wii U at a loss to get it into the hands of the gamers. You might think the tactic is a little bit crazy, but it’s working in a big way.

According to Fils-Aime, “as soon as we get the consumer to buy one piece of software, then that entire transaction becomes profit positive.”
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Only makes sense considering the best games for Nintendo consoles are normally Nintendo games.
 
Vicinity said:
Only makes sense considering the best games for Nintendo consoles are normally Nintendo games.
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That's not how the console industry works. Game developers pay a licensing fee to publish games on consoles. Otherwise Nintendo could just make games for other consoles and skip the huge hardware investment.
 
I think this is the first time that Nintendo is using this tactic. They've always sold their systems for a profit.
I think Nintendo is in trouble.
 
face2palm said:
I think this is the first time that Nintendo is using this tactic. They've always sold their systems for a profit.
I think Nintendo is in trouble.
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You are correct! Lets face it when i was in the stores i dont think i saw one person leave with a Wii U that didnt have Mario also. Everyone knows there will be a Mario Kart, Zelda,Starfox,Smash Bros, Mario Party etc. eventually its all money in the bank for them. I must admit im 38 years old and a group of friends and my older brother were over and we playen Mario and Nintendoland for hours, everyone left my house wanting one ( i cant say that happened when PS3 or Xbox 360 launched )
 
Selling a console at a loss is a new tactic for Nintendo, but Sony and Nintendo have been doing it for over 10 years since the original Xbox and Playstation 2.
 
JohnleMVP said:
That's not how the console industry works. Game developers pay a licensing fee to publish games on consoles. Otherwise Nintendo could just make games for other consoles and skip the huge hardware investment.
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They make more profit on 1st party games vs licensing fees.
 
Vicinity said:
Only makes sense considering the best games for Nintendo consoles are normally Nintendo games.
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Nintendo knows their niche, but this pad/controller is kind of too far out there this time IMO. Like Win8, I don't really see this selling anything near the numbers of their predecessors. Launch day software selection has been lackluster to say the least for both.

They both desperately need killer apps this time, because competition seems seems so thick this gen, that I fear another Sega style hardware bankruptcy might be inevitable. Keep in mind this is heavily based on the reactions I've witnessed from the majority in my family who fall in the target audience for this and have completely lost interest in mostly under a week.
 
face2palm said:
I think this is the first time that Nintendo is using this tactic. They've always sold their systems for a profit.
I think Nintendo is in trouble.
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They aren't in trouble yet, they could very well be in trouble though. Its scary to jump a business tactic that you have been running for years,
 
Historically, Nintendo made hardware because they always turned a profit on it. Now that they aren't, they need to do what Sega (albeit more successfully) did and just become a software company. I would like to continue to play Mario and Zelda, but I will NOT buy another gimmicky, non-developer-forward, old-tech hardware product from them ever again.
 
inbedwithhomer said:
Historically, Nintendo made hardware because they always turned a profit on it. Now that they aren't, they need to do what Sega (albeit more successfully) did and just become a software company. I would like to continue to play Mario and Zelda, but I will NOT buy another gimmicky, non-developer-forward, old-tech hardware product from them ever again.
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Have you even tried the WiiU?
Your response is not normal for someone that has played one. Gimmicky..... thats a good one man.... Not even close.
 
inbedwithhomer said:
Historically, Nintendo made hardware because they always turned a profit on it. Now that they aren't, they need to do what Sega (albeit more successfully) did and just become a software company. I would like to continue to play Mario and Zelda, but I will NOT buy another gimmicky, non-developer-forward, old-tech hardware product from them ever again.
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Where's the gimmick?

Handheld device as a controller? PSP - PS3 Compatibility and (possibly) Surface - 360/Next Xbox compatibility
Some sort of motion control? PSMove/Kinect.

One thing I want to know, is the WiiU's drive BD-compatible, or did Nintendo not want to pay the royalties again.
 
JMccovery said:
Where's the gimmick?

Handheld device as a controller? PSP - PS3 Compatibility and (possibly) Surface - 360/Next Xbox compatibility
Some sort of motion control? PSMove/Kinect.

One thing I want to know, is the WiiU's drive BD-compatible, or did Nintendo not want to pay the royalties again.
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The only thing I've read about this is the discs are basically BD, but burned/read in reverse. Similar to the Wii I think? And the Wii has been hacked to read DVDs, but knowing Nintendo they'll never allow reading BD movies officially due to:
1. Paying fees
2. Not what they have in mind for the system
3. They're Nintendo

The second is a little dubious, as they've sure pushed streaming watching on the WiiU, so I put more stock in number 1 and 3.
 
Considering the price of the WiiU,and it's less than impressive specs,I think Nintendo may have blown it this time. The Wii was a success because it was low enough in price to appeal to the family market,I'm not sure that's the case this time around.
 
michael.pa2 said:
Considering the price of the WiiU,and it's less than impressive specs,I think Nintendo may have blown it this time. The Wii was a success because it was low enough in price to appeal to the family market,I'm not sure that's the case this time around.
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WHAT?
Did you see what comes in the box of the deluxe? You also get a free $60 game.

What are you smoking? This is the best deal on a launch console ever. Remember FIVE HUNDRED NINTY NINE DOLLARS, with RCA cable included? Hell, PS3 STILL does not come with an HDMI or component cable. Why don't we wait and see how much PS4 and X720 is going to cost on release. You sure aren't going to have a pack in game.

Additionally, you are completely wrong about the appeal. Its sold out everywhere, and everyone that comes over leaves wanting one. You do understand they had 2 million sold before release day, right? Double the Wii presales.
 
CaptNumbNutz said:
Selling a console at a loss is a new tactic for Nintendo, but Sony and Nintendo have been doing it for over 10 years since the original Xbox and Playstation 2.
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I think you meant to type Microsoft in there after Sony. :D

I also don't think the loss the WiiU is as great as the loss on say the PS3 at launch time. Sony was losing a LOT of money on the PS3 when it first launched and selling a single, first party game title wasn't enough to offset that price, much less turn a profit on it.
 
Skillz said:
I think you meant to type Microsoft in there after Sony. :D

I also don't think the loss the WiiU is as great as the loss on say the PS3 at launch time. Sony was losing a LOT of money on the PS3 when it first launched and selling a single, first party game title wasn't enough to offset that price, much less turn a profit on it.
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Also IIRC, this is the first time Nintendo has released their system in North America BEFORE Japan. Usually it's a simultaneous release or Japan gets it first.
 
Skillz said:
Also IIRC, this is the first time Nintendo has released their system in North America BEFORE Japan. Usually it's a simultaneous release or Japan gets it first.
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Probably due to release time and the holiday season over here in America. I personally will not be buying this console but I do see people at stores waiting in line to see if they can get a WiiU ticket at the stores.
 
I don't plan on buying the console either, not a console gamer anymore. That doesn't mean I want them to go away though; they have their place. I just wish stupid developers would look beyond consoles sometimes.
 
Marcdaddy said:
Everyone knows there will be a Mario Kart, Zelda,Starfox,Smash Bros, Mario Party etc.
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The thing I hate about Nintendo consoles is that all it is is more Mario/Zelda with whatever suffix. There is barely anything original just more godamned plumber. He must be like 900 by now and sick of rescuing the same person from the same guy, why doesn't he just cut his limbs off or just not care or something? :p
 
DeathPrincess said:
The thing I hate about Nintendo consoles is that all it is is more Mario/Zelda with whatever suffix. There is barely anything original just more godamned plumber. He must be like 900 by now and sick of rescuing the same person from the same guy, why doesn't he just cut his limbs off or just not care or something? :p
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Nintendo makes franchises. It's what they do. The originality is the game play they implement into the games with the iconic icons they've created over the years. It's what they are known for.

With that being said, I wish they would make a fully 3D, adventure/rpg Pokemon game in a world the size of Skyrim.

I would be in line RIGHT NOW waiting for the WiiU.
 
Skillz said:
Nintendo makes franchises. It's what they do. The originality is the game play they implement into the games with the iconic icons they've created over the years. It's what they are known for.
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But, If you don't like Mario and his cohorts, there isn't really anything for you to buy other than the seemingly rare third party games. I couldn't give a crap about Mario or Zelda, probably because I don't have this weird nostalgia, and they're boring 1 dementional characters, so there's 0 reason to buy anything Nintendo. It's a very limited scope. :D
 
DeathPrincess said:
But, If you don't like Mario and his cohorts, there isn't really anything for you to buy other than the seemingly rare third party games. I couldn't give a crap about Mario or Zelda, probably because I don't have this weird nostalgia, and they're boring 1 dementional characters, so there's 0 reason to buy anything Nintendo. It's a very limited scope. :D
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Pretty sure Mario has done many things in his career to be considered "one" dimensional, but to each his own.

I'm not a fan of Mario/Zelda as much as I was when I was younger; simply because they cater to the younger crowd still, which is fine. Let them have them.

I do wish Nintendo had better developer support for their consoles, as history has shown that the development side of Nintendo consoles hasn't always been easy and Nintendo never seems to really help third party developers in that sense.

Maybe that will change now with the WiiU, since they claim to be targeting not only the casual gamers but core games as well. Only time will tell.

I'd still be in line for a 3D version of Pokemon though. Something like an all out open world, as large as or bigger than Skyrim where the player is free to roam around, catch Pokemon and interacting with other real players in the same world.
 
Skillz said:
Pretty sure Mario has done many things in his career to be considered "one" dimensional, but to each his own.
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I mean the characters not the company. I mean how many Mario games have there been and how much depth does that character have? He's a robot that just goes and does stuff because "he must". He doesn't break down and think 'what the fucks the point' he just happily jumps along commiting mushroom genocide without a thought in his head. Same with any of the Nintendo characters. Not that that makes the games playable/less playable. :D
 
What's killing Nintendo is their target market is being killed by iOS and other casual gaming options. Nintendo needs to make their games and characters available to other platforms.
 
Nintendo is only losing a little bit but not much most likely compared to the 360 and ps3 at launch. I bet Microsoft and Sony are going to be conservative with the specs just like Nintendo to cut down on their losses with launch hardware.
 
LeviathanZERO said:
iOS? R U serious?
Hahahahaha!

http://www.itechpost.com/articles/4545/20121121/nintendo-3ds-boasts-22-million-sales.htm
Notice how mobile gaming is not mentioned anywhere.
No dude, thats a completely different market.

Is PC gaming dying because of flash games? Where is Zygna

Mobile "on the go" gaming is growing exponentially. To deny this new trend is naive. Not sure why you are laughing like a donkey when the data is clear.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/08/data-suggests-ios-may-be-the-most-popular-gaming-platform-of-all-time/
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fdiaz78 said:
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/08/data-suggests-ios-may-be-the-most-popular-gaming-platform-of-all-time/
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And?
Like I said SEPARATE MARKETS. Dedicated handheld gaming isn't dying at all, just like PC gaming hasn't died because of flash games. And why Nintendo is still selling 3DS like whoa.....

iOS taking away from Handhelds? Phones have their own market. It's only big because everyone has a phone. Why do I even have Angry Birds on my phone? Its free and easy to get. Dedicated Handhelds are for dedicated gamers, not for the free and easy to get crowd. Phones also reach markets that handhelds don't exist in.
 
LeviathanZERO said:
And?
Like I said SEPARATE MARKETS. Dedicated handheld gaming isn't dying at all, just like PC gaming hasn't died because of flash games. And why Nintendo is still selling 3DS like whoa.....

iOS taking away from Handhelds? Phones have their own market. It's only big because everyone has a phone. Why do I even have Angry Birds on my phone? Its free and easy to get. Dedicated Handhelds are for dedicated gamers, not for the free and easy to get crowd. Phones also reach markets that handhelds don't exist in.
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How are they separate markets? If a kid wants to play angry birds on a mobile device and spends all day with it, he/she is using limited gaming time and dollar on that platform. This gaming time/dollar IS the market, not the platform.

I only allow my son limited game time regardless of platform. Fact is kids are playing games more on mobile devices like smart phones and this is eating into both console and dedicated mobile gaming markets. I myself fire up a few cheap games on my iPhone waiting on some PC games to come down in price.
 
fdiaz78 said:
How are they separate markets? If a kid wants to play angry birds on a mobile device and spends all day with it, he/she is using limited gaming time and dollar on that platform. This gaming time/dollar IS the market, not the platform.

I only allow my son limited game time regardless of platform. Fact is kids are playing games more on mobile devices like smart phones and this is eating into both console and dedicated mobile gaming markets. I myself fire up a few cheap games on my iPhone waiting on some PC games to come down in price.
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I showed you the sales numbers and you still don't get it?
That those 22 million 3DS's have sold FASTER than DS, which was the most sold handheld ever. Please explain how they are doing worse, when in fact, they are selling their new product faster than anything thats ever come before it.

SEPARATE MARKETS.
Phone gamers are not the same as PSP/3DS gamers. 500 million phones vs 150 million DS's. Kids/young adults vs grandma and salary men. What are you not understanding here?
 
Considering how weak the specs are, I didn't think they were losing money on them.
 
DeathPrincess said:
The thing I hate about Nintendo consoles is that all it is is more Mario/Zelda with whatever suffix. There is barely anything original just more godamned plumber. He must be like 900 by now and sick of rescuing the same person from the same guy, why doesn't he just cut his limbs off or just not care or something? :p
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If you consider that maybe Mario was 17 and an apprentice plumber or some shit back in 1985, he would be 44 by now. You can still kick ass at that age.
 
Quicksilver_ said:
If you consider that maybe Mario was 17 and an apprentice plumber or some shit back in 1985, he would be 44 by now. You can still kick ass at that age.
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No way was he 17, he had a giant bushy moustache! More like early 40s. :D

He's also kind of obese and has a giant head.
 
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