heidern said:

Wow, what a dramatic presentation. I guess with Microsoft and Sony having released their consoles and locked in for probably 7 or 8 years, Iwata thought it safe to spill the beans as there's no one to compete with what Nintendo are planning. If you have money, buy Nintendo shares, they'll absolutely skyrocket in the next 3-10 years.

Iwata knows Nintendo have limited resources, he's chosen to use those resources to just relentlessly trailblaze new ground for long term gain rather than consolidate what they already have. That has always been their strategy in a sense, they create a market with their first party games and hope third parties fill in the gaps and pay royalties in the process. Then they do the same with the next platform. Of course third parties are incompetent and failed to take advantage with the massive market Nintendo created with the Wii. But rather than fill the gaps themselves they continue to innovate.

They could have played it safe and released a profitable Wii 2 but they've taken the risk with the Wii U. It's not paid off yet, but it is a guinea pig really. They were likely hoping to leverage the success they had with the Wii and they got a bit complacent. It is overpriced for what it offers, but the reason is that Nintendo are all about dual screen and they were hoping to use the Wii as a trojan horse to get it into peoples homes.

But everything is starting to come together now and Nintendo have an ace that they've been waiting for years to be able to play and now they are going to be able to start using it. It is going to have costs, but they've decided they are prepared to pay those costs.

The biggest asset they have is that they make premium games and they have a premium library. Even today, the likes of Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Metroid are still good games. However the games have been tied to the console. They've started backwards compatibility with the Wii, but it's limited to only one generation back. It's costly to implement because of the pace of hardware and software development. It's also not convenient to have an ever expanding library of games taking up more space and suffering wear and tear. In that sense, backwards compatibility becomes a hindrance.

But games on a technical level are maturing and backwards compatibility will become easier to implement. And crucially network technology and speeds are maturing and becoming more ubiquitous. With Nintendo stepping out of the graphics race they are now in a position to aggressively start shifting towards digital. This means future platforms will be fully backwards compatible with all previous platforms and you will be able to take your library with you. Since Nintendo make so many premium games, the value of those games will hold up. You're not gonna want to lose them. Nintendo are great at getting new customers, but they've had a hard time keeping them. With each generation of hardware it's going to become easier for them now. Even if a person skips a generation, nostalgia can act as an incentive to bring them back since the library is still there.

Of course moving towards digital will also mean retailers are going to be taken out of the equation more and more. Nintendo will become the retailer and this will pretty much be a 20% software price cut. Nintendo are also taking advantage of this and will have a more dynamic pricing structure. The current business model is a legacy of the cartridges from the 80s. But now they can move to digital pricing which is better for smaller games and thus make it easier for Nintendo to offer a wide range of games rather than the game droughts they suffer.

This is all going to apply to the DS as well which will help their profitability there too. But the maturing technology is also going to allow convergence. The original DS was totally different to console hardware. But now the development environments and game engines are going to be more similar to those on the home console which will reduce costs.

The DS is also untouchable, particularly in Japan. Sony have failed in the handheld market. Microsoft won't bother since they have no chance in Japan(and the west is still relatively weak for handheld development) and it's too difficult to compete with Pokemon/2D Mario/Animal Crossing etc. Any company releasing a dual screen handheld will also just be laughed at for being a blatant rip-off. And again, getting a competitive software library is almost impossible since any successful third party games would just be ported to the DS.

Nintendo can now finally start using this as leverage since both have two screens(or you can at least split the gamepad screen). The latest portable games playable on the home console expanding its library. Playing 2 player competitive, one on the DS, one on the gamepad gives added value to the console. They can do this with one copy of the game and game sharing if they want. Any big hits can be more easily made into a big brother or little brother version to suit the platform but retain key elements(they can already do this with the Wii U but they haven't taken advantage yet, particularly 3rd parties). Full games that play directly on both won't be done probably(unless maybe there's microtransactions or something) but you could get DS games having console exclusive features and vice versa to give incentive to those with one platform to get the other.

There are sacrifices. Customers buying a new console and being forced to buy new games because their old library being obsolete is no longer possible. But the lower risk of losing customers is what they've decided to prioritise. Cash cows like old games being ported(such as SNES games that were ported to the GBA) are no longer possible. But that concept has been made redundant in a sense with the concept of remakes that really came to prominence with Dragon Quest remakes on the Playstation and more recently with the likes of Final Fantasy on the DS and now Windwaker HD. Forward compatible peripeherals might reduce spending there(but a greater diversity of peripherals could make up for that and peripherals having more lasting value might increase the take up of gimmick controllers in future)

The closed policies were from the old days where games were sold for the same high uniform price. But Nintendo have decided that Blue Ocean and digital is where it's at and have decided to go for maximum sales to maximise profit rather than trying to squeeze out every penny they can. In essence, they are shifting to more open policies.

They are looking at maximising exposure to do this. They want as many people as possible to play as many of their games as possible. So yeah, they let you keep your old library. They offer cheaper games to allow you build a bigger library. They give discounts for buying more games. They give discounts for recommending a game to your friend and him buying it. These things directly cost them money, but overall if they lead to higher sales they lead to more revenue overall.

This open approach also goes into how they are looking to put things on smartphones and how they are going to license their characters. I'd guess TV shows are likely. Maybe they could team up with Disney or something, a Pixar made Zelda would be the obvious kind of thing for them to aim for. They could get a lot of mainstream exposure if they take this seriously.

Then there's the third pillar. Global Weight loss market is expected to reach £220billion by 2017. Then there's all the other health related markets. A QOL platform could become one of the biggest products in the world.

People talk about Silicon Valley, but Silicon Valley can't compete with Nintendo. Yeah there's startups and bright ideas. But what does it lead to? A nice app? A nifty piece of hardware? Nintendo aren't releasing a gimmick. They're releasing a platform. Crucially, they will be innovating with both software and hardware. It's easy to copy Apple since they just use a standard touchscreen. But competing with Nintendo's QOL will be like competing with the Wii. And if Nintendo release highly polished software that takes them a year or two to develop it's unlikely that startups will match them in six months. And if there's multiple good pieces of software even harder. And even if you succeed, marketing a knock off usually leads to failure. That's if you can even get past the hardware barrier.

I also saw Stumpokapows massive paragraph about all the health options and it made my head hurt to read it. Yeah you could do that and search for all the options that you don't even know are there. Or you got Donkey Kong Weightlifting, Princess Peach Jogging, Walking Your Nintendog, QOL Fit and whatever else they have all on one platform. Which one would your average consumer go for? And that's the thing, many existing products are all kind of niche in a sense. Nintendo are going for the mass market. They don't need the hardcore product. It doesn't have to be best of breed. But if it does the job and it's more fun then it can succeed. Remember, this will all be backed up by hundreds of millions in marketing. Nintendo are going big time. No one can compete with this. It just depends on if it's good. It just depends on whether they can find the killer app. Wii Fit had a $40M marketing for its US launch. This will be much bigger.

Then you get this third pillar also being digital and benefiting the two gaming platforms. All with the same account. Going into the health niche means they can then look to licensing and marketing partnerships with sports teams and the likes of Nike.

Another point, with the Wii they went wireless so all of the peripherals benefit from backwards and forwards compatibility. Further adding value to their new hardware. In fact if Nintendo have their way Silicon Valley startups and Nike will be the ones developing their products for the QOL. The possibilities in all of this are just massive.

People have criticised Nintendo for not integrating with the world of the internet. But in a sense, there was no point. This past decade has been a time of massive innovation and whatever they did would have become obsolete and their efforts mostly gone to waste. However now everything is maturing and everything is converging so now is the time to invest in their network. And now is the time to try and get a touchscreen into the home and hope it becomes the hub of home entertainment. Internet browsing or watching films using a PS4 or Xbone controller isn't that great. But a gamepad touchscreen is perfect for it. And when it integrates with your console, handheld and your QOL device no tablet can compete. And no console without a touchscreen can compete.

Nintendo have done the hard work of trailblazing once with the Wii and again with the Wii U. There's so much differentiation it's ridiculous. And the fact that third parties failed to take advantage means the potential was untapped and remains untapped. If Nintendo think that new innovative hardware doesn't offer enough they can look at tapping the existing hardware for new ideas and consolidating what they already have. And with controllers being forwards compatible they could release the Wii Next at sub $200 without a gamepad(maybe just a Wiimote) for existing owners making it affordable for the casuals and younger gamers.

They messed up by launching their most expensive ever system with a relatively unspectacular 2D Mario game, and a year later their biggest game was another Mario game supported by a bunch of B grade releases like Luigi, Pikmin and a Wind Waker remake. But now that big games are going to start coming out and likely better marketing we should see where the Wii U really stands and how easy or difficult things will be for Nintendo going forward.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Stumpokapow said:

Jonathan Swift, is that you?

Click to expand...

heidern said:

I also saw Stumpokapows massive paragraph about all the health options and it made my head hurt to read it. Yeah you could do that and search for all the options that you don't even know are there. Or you got Donkey Kong Weightlifting, Princess Peach Jogging, Walking Your Nintendog, QOL Fit and whatever else they have all on one platform. Which one would your average consumer go for? And that's the thing, many existing products are all kind of niche in a sense. Nintendo are going for the mass market. They don't need the hardcore product. It doesn't have to be best of breed. But if it does the job and it's more fun then it can succeed. Remember, this will all be backed up by hundreds of millions in marketing. Nintendo are going big time. No one can compete with this. It just depends on if it's good. It just depends on whether they can find the killer app. Wii Fit had a $40M marketing for its US launch. This will be much bigger.

Click to expand...

amnesiac said:

"Enrich the value of the Gamepad"

Remember the last time they used the word "enrich?" LOL

Click to expand...

Stumpokapow said:

Jonathan Swift, is that you?

Click to expand...

heidern said:

Wow, what a dramatic presentation. I guess with Microsoft and Sony having released their consoles and locked in for probably 7 or 8 years, Iwata thought it safe to spill the beans as there's no one to compete with what Nintendo are planning. If you have money, buy Nintendo shares, they'll absolutely skyrocket in the next 3-10 years.

Iwata knows Nintendo have limited resources, he's chosen to use those resources to just relentlessly trailblaze new ground for long term gain rather than consolidate what they already have. That has always been their strategy in a sense, they create a market with their first party games and hope third parties fill in the gaps and pay royalties in the process. Then they do the same with the next platform. Of course third parties are incompetent and failed to take advantage with the massive market Nintendo created with the Wii. But rather than fill the gaps themselves they continue to innovate.

They could have played it safe and released a profitable Wii 2 but they've taken the risk with the Wii U. It's not paid off yet, but it is a guinea pig really. They were likely hoping to leverage the success they had with the Wii and they got a bit complacent. It is overpriced for what it offers, but the reason is that Nintendo are all about dual screen and they were hoping to use the Wii as a trojan horse to get it into peoples homes.

But everything is starting to come together now and Nintendo have an ace that they've been waiting for years to be able to play and now they are going to be able to start using it. It is going to have costs, but they've decided they are prepared to pay those costs.

The biggest asset they have is that they make premium games and they have a premium library. Even today, the likes of Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Metroid are still good games. However the games have been tied to the console. They've started backwards compatibility with the Wii, but it's limited to only one generation back. It's costly to implement because of the pace of hardware and software development. It's also not convenient to have an ever expanding library of games taking up more space and suffering wear and tear. In that sense, backwards compatibility becomes a hindrance.

But games on a technical level are maturing and backwards compatibility will become easier to implement. And crucially network technology and speeds are maturing and becoming more ubiquitous. With Nintendo stepping out of the graphics race they are now in a position to aggressively start shifting towards digital. This means future platforms will be fully backwards compatible with all previous platforms and you will be able to take your library with you. Since Nintendo make so many premium games, the value of those games will hold up. You're not gonna want to lose them. Nintendo are great at getting new customers, but they've had a hard time keeping them. With each generation of hardware it's going to become easier for them now. Even if a person skips a generation, nostalgia can act as an incentive to bring them back since the library is still there.

Of course moving towards digital will also mean retailers are going to be taken out of the equation more and more. Nintendo will become the retailer and this will pretty much be a 20% software price cut. Nintendo are also taking advantage of this and will have a more dynamic pricing structure. The current business model is a legacy of the cartridges from the 80s. But now they can move to digital pricing which is better for smaller games and thus make it easier for Nintendo to offer a wide range of games rather than the game droughts they suffer.

This is all going to apply to the DS as well which will help their profitability there too. But the maturing technology is also going to allow convergence. The original DS was totally different to console hardware. But now the development environments and game engines are going to be more similar to those on the home console which will reduce costs.

The DS is also untouchable, particularly in Japan. Sony have failed in the handheld market. Microsoft won't bother since they have no chance in Japan(and the west is still relatively weak for handheld development) and it's too difficult to compete with Pokemon/2D Mario/Animal Crossing etc. Any company releasing a dual screen handheld will also just be laughed at for being a blatant rip-off. And again, getting a competitive software library is almost impossible since any successful third party games would just be ported to the DS.

Nintendo can now finally start using this as leverage since both have two screens(or you can at least split the gamepad screen). The latest portable games playable on the home console expanding its library. Playing 2 player competitive, one on the DS, one on the gamepad gives added value to the console. They can do this with one copy of the game and game sharing if they want. Any big hits can be more easily made into a big brother or little brother version to suit the platform but retain key elements(they can already do this with the Wii U but they haven't taken advantage yet, particularly 3rd parties). Full games that play directly on both won't be done probably(unless maybe there's microtransactions or something) but you could get DS games having console exclusive features and vice versa to give incentive to those with one platform to get the other.

There are sacrifices. Customers buying a new console and being forced to buy new games because their old library being obsolete is no longer possible. But the lower risk of losing customers is what they've decided to prioritise. Cash cows like old games being ported(such as SNES games that were ported to the GBA) are no longer possible. But that concept has been made redundant in a sense with the concept of remakes that really came to prominence with Dragon Quest remakes on the Playstation and more recently with the likes of Final Fantasy on the DS and now Windwaker HD. Forward compatible peripeherals might reduce spending there(but a greater diversity of peripherals could make up for that and peripherals having more lasting value might increase the take up of gimmick controllers in future)

The closed policies were from the old days where games were sold for the same high uniform price. But Nintendo have decided that Blue Ocean and digital is where it's at and have decided to go for maximum sales to maximise profit rather than trying to squeeze out every penny they can. In essence, they are shifting to more open policies.

They are looking at maximising exposure to do this. They want as many people as possible to play as many of their games as possible. So yeah, they let you keep your old library. They offer cheaper games to allow you build a bigger library. They give discounts for buying more games. They give discounts for recommending a game to your friend and him buying it. These things directly cost them money, but overall if they lead to higher sales they lead to more revenue overall.

This open approach also goes into how they are looking to put things on smartphones and how they are going to license their characters. I'd guess TV shows are likely. Maybe they could team up with Disney or something, a Pixar made Zelda would be the obvious kind of thing for them to aim for. They could get a lot of mainstream exposure if they take this seriously.

Then there's the third pillar. Global Weight loss market is expected to reach £220billion by 2017. Then there's all the other health related markets. A QOL platform could become one of the biggest products in the world.

People talk about Silicon Valley, but Silicon Valley can't compete with Nintendo. Yeah there's startups and bright ideas. But what does it lead to? A nice app? A nifty piece of hardware? Nintendo aren't releasing a gimmick. They're releasing a platform. Crucially, they will be innovating with both software and hardware. It's easy to copy Apple since they just use a standard touchscreen. But competing with Nintendo's QOL will be like competing with the Wii. And if Nintendo release highly polished software that takes them a year or two to develop it's unlikely that startups will match them in six months. And if there's multiple good pieces of software even harder. And even if you succeed, marketing a knock off usually leads to failure. That's if you can even get past the hardware barrier.

I also saw Stumpokapows massive paragraph about all the health options and it made my head hurt to read it. Yeah you could do that and search for all the options that you don't even know are there. Or you got Donkey Kong Weightlifting, Princess Peach Jogging, Walking Your Nintendog, QOL Fit and whatever else they have all on one platform. Which one would your average consumer go for? And that's the thing, many existing products are all kind of niche in a sense. Nintendo are going for the mass market. They don't need the hardcore product. It doesn't have to be best of breed. But if it does the job and it's more fun then it can succeed. Remember, this will all be backed up by hundreds of millions in marketing. Nintendo are going big time. No one can compete with this. It just depends on if it's good. It just depends on whether they can find the killer app. Wii Fit had a $40M marketing for its US launch. This will be much bigger.

Then you get this third pillar also being digital and benefiting the two gaming platforms. All with the same account. Going into the health niche means they can then look to licensing and marketing partnerships with sports teams and the likes of Nike.

Another point, with the Wii they went wireless so all of the peripherals benefit from backwards and forwards compatibility. Further adding value to their new hardware. In fact if Nintendo have their way Silicon Valley startups and Nike will be the ones developing their products for the QOL. The possibilities in all of this are just massive.

People have criticised Nintendo for not integrating with the world of the internet. But in a sense, there was no point. This past decade has been a time of massive innovation and whatever they did would have become obsolete and their efforts mostly gone to waste. However now everything is maturing and everything is converging so now is the time to invest in their network. And now is the time to try and get a touchscreen into the home and hope it becomes the hub of home entertainment. Internet browsing or watching films using a PS4 or Xbone controller isn't that great. But a gamepad touchscreen is perfect for it. And when it integrates with your console, handheld and your QOL device no tablet can compete. And no console without a touchscreen can compete.

Nintendo have done the hard work of trailblazing once with the Wii and again with the Wii U. There's so much differentiation it's ridiculous. And the fact that third parties failed to take advantage means the potential was untapped and remains untapped. If Nintendo think that new innovative hardware doesn't offer enough they can look at tapping the existing hardware for new ideas and consolidating what they already have. And with controllers being forwards compatible they could release the Wii Next at sub $200 without a gamepad(maybe just a Wiimote) for existing owners making it affordable for the casuals and younger gamers.

They messed up by launching their most expensive ever system with a relatively unspectacular 2D Mario game, and a year later their biggest game was another Mario game supported by a bunch of B grade releases like Luigi, Pikmin and a Wind Waker remake. But now that big games are going to start coming out and likely better marketing we should see where the Wii U really stands and how easy or difficult things will be for Nintendo going forward.

Click to expand...

heidern said:

Nintendo are going for the mass market. They don't need the hardcore product. It doesn't have to be best of breed. But if it does the job and it's more fun then it can succeed. Remember, this will all be backed up by hundreds of millions in marketing. Nintendo are going big time. No one can compete with this. It just depends on if it's good. It just depends on whether they can find the killer app. Wii Fit had a $40M marketing for its US launch. This will be much bigger.

Click to expand...

Sir Garbageman said:

Did this meeting reveal whether it will be more likely or less likely that a cheaper, gamepad-less sku will happen?

Click to expand...

Randolph Freelander said:

Not happening.

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vinnygambini said:

I'm of the opinion that once sales results from Mario Kart 8 are not satisfactory, a new sku will be introduced (no Gamepad) at 199.99$ - profit.

An inventory markdown will be made or the Gamepads will be sold separately with a free game included.

Click to expand...

Mpl90 said:

Sir, you're a much better poster than that, don't do this. Especially considering how there are many good parts in the Investor Briefing ;_;

Click to expand...

Stumpokapow said:

Here's what I got from the meeting last night: long good post

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jvm said:

I think this is pretty straightforward from their point-of-view. They believe their core competency is in hardware and software design that is innovative and desirable. As the only major video game company making a move into this ill-defined QOL market, it will be blue ocean because no one else of their video game market peers is moving there. Since they won't be competing with their peers and the existing market players can't compete in the same way Nintendo can, it's all blue ocean.

It's all perfectly reasonable, except for the parts that are wrong.

Click to expand...

Mpl90 said:

...Wait, there was / is serious talent behind those titles and others like Wii Fit at the time.

Click to expand...

heidern said:

Then there's the third pillar. Global Weight loss market is expected to reach £220billion by 2017. Then there's all the other health related markets. A QOL platform could become one of the biggest products in the world.

People talk about Silicon Valley, but Silicon Valley can't compete with Nintendo. Yeah there's startups and bright ideas. But what does it lead to? A nice app? A nifty piece of hardware? Nintendo aren't releasing a gimmick. They're releasing a platform. Crucially, they will be innovating with both software and hardware. It's easy to copy Apple since they just use a standard touchscreen. But competing with Nintendo's QOL will be like competing with the Wii. And if Nintendo release highly polished software that takes them a year or two to develop it's unlikely that startups will match them in six months. And if there's multiple good pieces of software even harder. And even if you succeed, marketing a knock off usually leads to failure. That's if you can even get past the hardware barrier.

I also saw Stumpokapows massive paragraph about all the health options and it made my head hurt to read it. Yeah you could do that and search for all the options that you don't even know are there. Or you got Donkey Kong Weightlifting, Princess Peach Jogging, Walking Your Nintendog, QOL Fit and whatever else they have all on one platform. Which one would your average consumer go for?

Click to expand...

jvm said:

Pretty sure this paragraph is about the Wii U and was written in June 2012.

Click to expand...

Sir Garbageman said:

Did this meeting reveal whether it will be more likely or less likely that a cheaper, gamepad-less sku will happen?

Click to expand...

shinra-bansho said:

Ahhahahahaah. Oh. You're serious. :/ Silicon Valley can't compete with Nintendo, and people will buy a Nintendo QoL platform because of Princess Peach... Wtf am I reading.

Click to expand...

heidern said:

No it's not since with the Wii U Nintendo is competing with Sony and Microsoft. Although it is true that Nintendo failed to release any killer apps with the Wii U so far.



Not happening, the gamepad is key to their strategy going forward.



When has Silicon Valley successfully managed to compete with Nintendo consoles or handhelds? When has Silicon Valley released a thriving hardware/software ecosystem? The big companies like Sony, MS and Apple could potentially compete with Nintendo, but the smaller guys probably not.

Click to expand...

heidern said:

Wow, what a dramatic presentation. I guess with Microsoft and Sony having released their consoles and locked in for probably 7 or 8 years, Iwata thought it safe to spill the beans as there's no one to compete with what Nintendo are planning. If you have money, buy Nintendo shares, they'll absolutely skyrocket in the next 3-10 years.

Iwata knows Nintendo have limited resources, he's chosen to use those resources to just relentlessly trailblaze new ground for long term gain rather than consolidate what they already have. That has always been their strategy in a sense, they create a market with their first party games and hope third parties fill in the gaps and pay royalties in the process. Then they do the same with the next platform. Of course third parties are incompetent and failed to take advantage with the massive market Nintendo created with the Wii. But rather than fill the gaps themselves they continue to innovate.

They could have played it safe and released a profitable Wii 2 but they've taken the risk with the Wii U. It's not paid off yet, but it is a guinea pig really. They were likely hoping to leverage the success they had with the Wii and they got a bit complacent. It is overpriced for what it offers, but the reason is that Nintendo are all about dual screen and they were hoping to use the Wii as a trojan horse to get it into peoples homes.

But everything is starting to come together now and Nintendo have an ace that they've been waiting for years to be able to play and now they are going to be able to start using it. It is going to have costs, but they've decided they are prepared to pay those costs.

The biggest asset they have is that they make premium games and they have a premium library. Even today, the likes of Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Metroid are still good games. However the games have been tied to the console. They've started backwards compatibility with the Wii, but it's limited to only one generation back. It's costly to implement because of the pace of hardware and software development. It's also not convenient to have an ever expanding library of games taking up more space and suffering wear and tear. In that sense, backwards compatibility becomes a hindrance.

But games on a technical level are maturing and backwards compatibility will become easier to implement. And crucially network technology and speeds are maturing and becoming more ubiquitous. With Nintendo stepping out of the graphics race they are now in a position to aggressively start shifting towards digital. This means future platforms will be fully backwards compatible with all previous platforms and you will be able to take your library with you. Since Nintendo make so many premium games, the value of those games will hold up. You're not gonna want to lose them. Nintendo are great at getting new customers, but they've had a hard time keeping them. With each generation of hardware it's going to become easier for them now. Even if a person skips a generation, nostalgia can act as an incentive to bring them back since the library is still there.

Of course moving towards digital will also mean retailers are going to be taken out of the equation more and more. Nintendo will become the retailer and this will pretty much be a 20% software price cut. Nintendo are also taking advantage of this and will have a more dynamic pricing structure. The current business model is a legacy of the cartridges from the 80s. But now they can move to digital pricing which is better for smaller games and thus make it easier for Nintendo to offer a wide range of games rather than the game droughts they suffer.

This is all going to apply to the DS as well which will help their profitability there too. But the maturing technology is also going to allow convergence. The original DS was totally different to console hardware. But now the development environments and game engines are going to be more similar to those on the home console which will reduce costs.

The DS is also untouchable, particularly in Japan. Sony have failed in the handheld market. Microsoft won't bother since they have no chance in Japan(and the west is still relatively weak for handheld development) and it's too difficult to compete with Pokemon/2D Mario/Animal Crossing etc. Any company releasing a dual screen handheld will also just be laughed at for being a blatant rip-off. And again, getting a competitive software library is almost impossible since any successful third party games would just be ported to the DS.

Nintendo can now finally start using this as leverage since both have two screens(or you can at least split the gamepad screen). The latest portable games playable on the home console expanding its library. Playing 2 player competitive, one on the DS, one on the gamepad gives added value to the console. They can do this with one copy of the game and game sharing if they want. Any big hits can be more easily made into a big brother or little brother version to suit the platform but retain key elements(they can already do this with the Wii U but they haven't taken advantage yet, particularly 3rd parties). Full games that play directly on both won't be done probably(unless maybe there's microtransactions or something) but you could get DS games having console exclusive features and vice versa to give incentive to those with one platform to get the other.

There are sacrifices. Customers buying a new console and being forced to buy new games because their old library being obsolete is no longer possible. But the lower risk of losing customers is what they've decided to prioritise. Cash cows like old games being ported(such as SNES games that were ported to the GBA) are no longer possible. But that concept has been made redundant in a sense with the concept of remakes that really came to prominence with Dragon Quest remakes on the Playstation and more recently with the likes of Final Fantasy on the DS and now Windwaker HD. Forward compatible peripeherals might reduce spending there(but a greater diversity of peripherals could make up for that and peripherals having more lasting value might increase the take up of gimmick controllers in future)

The closed policies were from the old days where games were sold for the same high uniform price. But Nintendo have decided that Blue Ocean and digital is where it's at and have decided to go for maximum sales to maximise profit rather than trying to squeeze out every penny they can. In essence, they are shifting to more open policies.

They are looking at maximising exposure to do this. They want as many people as possible to play as many of their games as possible. So yeah, they let you keep your old library. They offer cheaper games to allow you build a bigger library. They give discounts for buying more games. They give discounts for recommending a game to your friend and him buying it. These things directly cost them money, but overall if they lead to higher sales they lead to more revenue overall.

This open approach also goes into how they are looking to put things on smartphones and how they are going to license their characters. I'd guess TV shows are likely. Maybe they could team up with Disney or something, a Pixar made Zelda would be the obvious kind of thing for them to aim for. They could get a lot of mainstream exposure if they take this seriously.

Then there's the third pillar. Global Weight loss market is expected to reach £220billion by 2017. Then there's all the other health related markets. A QOL platform could become one of the biggest products in the world.

People talk about Silicon Valley, but Silicon Valley can't compete with Nintendo. Yeah there's startups and bright ideas. But what does it lead to? A nice app? A nifty piece of hardware? Nintendo aren't releasing a gimmick. They're releasing a platform. Crucially, they will be innovating with both software and hardware. It's easy to copy Apple since they just use a standard touchscreen. But competing with Nintendo's QOL will be like competing with the Wii. And if Nintendo release highly polished software that takes them a year or two to develop it's unlikely that startups will match them in six months. And if there's multiple good pieces of software even harder. And even if you succeed, marketing a knock off usually leads to failure. That's if you can even get past the hardware barrier.

I also saw Stumpokapows massive paragraph about all the health options and it made my head hurt to read it. Yeah you could do that and search for all the options that you don't even know are there. Or you got Donkey Kong Weightlifting, Princess Peach Jogging, Walking Your Nintendog, QOL Fit and whatever else they have all on one platform. Which one would your average consumer go for? And that's the thing, many existing products are all kind of niche in a sense. Nintendo are going for the mass market. They don't need the hardcore product. It doesn't have to be best of breed. But if it does the job and it's more fun then it can succeed. Remember, this will all be backed up by hundreds of millions in marketing. Nintendo are going big time. No one can compete with this. It just depends on if it's good. It just depends on whether they can find the killer app. Wii Fit had a $40M marketing for its US launch. This will be much bigger.

Then you get this third pillar also being digital and benefiting the two gaming platforms. All with the same account. Going into the health niche means they can then look to licensing and marketing partnerships with sports teams and the likes of Nike.

Another point, with the Wii they went wireless so all of the peripherals benefit from backwards and forwards compatibility. Further adding value to their new hardware. In fact if Nintendo have their way Silicon Valley startups and Nike will be the ones developing their products for the QOL. The possibilities in all of this are just massive.

People have criticised Nintendo for not integrating with the world of the internet. But in a sense, there was no point. This past decade has been a time of massive innovation and whatever they did would have become obsolete and their efforts mostly gone to waste. However now everything is maturing and everything is converging so now is the time to invest in their network. And now is the time to try and get a touchscreen into the home and hope it becomes the hub of home entertainment. Internet browsing or watching films using a PS4 or Xbone controller isn't that great. But a gamepad touchscreen is perfect for it. And when it integrates with your console, handheld and your QOL device no tablet can compete. And no console without a touchscreen can compete.

Nintendo have done the hard work of trailblazing once with the Wii and again with the Wii U. There's so much differentiation it's ridiculous. And the fact that third parties failed to take advantage means the potential was untapped and remains untapped. If Nintendo think that new innovative hardware doesn't offer enough they can look at tapping the existing hardware for new ideas and consolidating what they already have. And with controllers being forwards compatible they could release the Wii Next at sub $200 without a gamepad(maybe just a Wiimote) for existing owners making it affordable for the casuals and younger gamers.

They messed up by launching their most expensive ever system with a relatively unspectacular 2D Mario game, and a year later their biggest game was another Mario game supported by a bunch of B grade releases like Luigi, Pikmin and a Wind Waker remake. But now that big games are going to start coming out and likely better marketing we should see where the Wii U really stands and how easy or difficult things will be for Nintendo going forward.

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heidern said:

With Nintendo stepping out of the graphics race they are now in a position to aggressively start shifting towards digital. This means future platforms will be fully backwards compatible with all previous platforms and you will be able to take your library with you.

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Of course moving towards digital will also mean retailers are going to be taken out of the equation more and more. Nintendo will become the retailer and this will pretty much be a 20% software price cut. Nintendo are also taking advantage of this and will have a more dynamic pricing structure.

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The current business model is a legacy of the cartridges from the 80s. But now they can move to digital pricing which is better for smaller games and thus make it easier for Nintendo to offer a wide range of games rather than the game droughts they suffer.

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The DS is also untouchable, particularly in Japan. Sony have failed in the handheld market. Microsoft won't bother since they have no chance in Japan(and the west is still relatively weak for handheld development) and it's too difficult to compete with Pokemon/2D Mario/Animal Crossing etc. Any company releasing a dual screen handheld will also just be laughed at for being a blatant rip-off. And again, getting a competitive software library is almost impossible since any successful third party games would just be ported to the DS.

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Nintendo can now finally start using this as leverage since both have two screens(or you can at least split the gamepad screen). The latest portable games playable on the home console expanding its library. Playing 2 player competitive, one on the DS, one on the gamepad gives added value to the console. They can do this with one copy of the game and game sharing if they want. Any big hits can be more easily made into a big brother or little brother version to suit the platform but retain key elements(they can already do this with the Wii U but they haven't taken advantage yet, particularly 3rd parties). Full games that play directly on both won't be done probably(unless maybe there's microtransactions or something) but you could get DS games having console exclusive features and vice versa to give incentive to those with one platform to get the other.

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The closed policies were from the old days where games were sold for the same high uniform price. But Nintendo have decided that Blue Ocean and digital is where it's at and have decided to go for maximum sales to maximise profit rather than trying to squeeze out every penny they can. In essence, they are shifting to more open policies.

They are looking at maximising exposure to do this. They want as many people as possible to play as many of their games as possible. So yeah, they let you keep your old library. They offer cheaper games to allow you build a bigger library. They give discounts for buying more games. They give discounts for recommending a game to your friend and him buying it. These things directly cost them money, but overall if they lead to higher sales they lead to more revenue overall.

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People talk about Silicon Valley, but Silicon Valley can't compete with Nintendo. Yeah there's startups and bright ideas. But what does it lead to? A nice app? A nifty piece of hardware? Nintendo aren't releasing a gimmick. They're releasing a platform. Crucially, they will be innovating with both software and hardware. It's easy to copy Apple since they just use a standard touchscreen. But competing with Nintendo's QOL will be like competing with the Wii. And if Nintendo release highly polished software that takes them a year or two to develop it's unlikely that startups will match them in six months. And if there's multiple good pieces of software even harder. And even if you succeed, marketing a knock off usually leads to failure. That's if you can even get past the hardware barrier.

Click to expand...

I also saw Stumpokapows massive paragraph about all the health options and it made my head hurt to read it. Yeah you could do that and search for all the options that you don't even know are there. Or you got Donkey Kong Weightlifting, Princess Peach Jogging, Walking Your Nintendog, QOL Fit and whatever else they have all on one platform. Which one would your average consumer go for?

Click to expand...

And that's the thing, many existing products are all kind of niche in a sense. Nintendo are going for the mass market. They don't need the hardcore product. It doesn't have to be best of breed. But if it does the job and it's more fun then it can succeed. Remember, this will all be backed up by hundreds of millions in marketing. Nintendo are going big time. No one can compete with this. It just depends on if it's good. It just depends on whether they can find the killer app. Wii Fit had a $40M marketing for its US launch. This will be much bigger.

Click to expand...

Nintendo have done the hard work of trailblazing once with the Wii and again with the Wii U. There's so much differentiation it's ridiculous. And the fact that third parties failed to take advantage means the potential was untapped and remains untapped.

Click to expand...

If Nintendo think that new innovative hardware doesn't offer enough they can look at tapping the existing hardware for new ideas and consolidating what they already have. And with controllers being forwards compatible they could release the Wii Next at sub $200 without a gamepad(maybe just a Wiimote) for existing owners making it affordable for the casuals and younger gamers.

Click to expand...

They messed up by launching their most expensive ever system with a relatively unspectacular 2D Mario game, and a year later their biggest game was another Mario game supported by a bunch of B grade releases like Luigi, Pikmin and a Wind Waker remake. But now that big games are going to start coming out and likely better marketing we should see where the Wii U really stands and how easy or difficult things will be for Nintendo going forward.

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Road said:

Iwata interview with Nikkei: http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASGD3007B_Q4A130C1000000/?dg=1

On the smartphones apps:

Apps that broadcast the quality of Nintendo products. They can be games and they can use Nintendo characters. Ideally, something that is used everyday. There are no plans to release existing Nintendo games on smartphones. Doesn't think only porting games would help the company.​

Even if they are free, it doesn't mean there's no value to them. However, in the future, if there's an opportunity to make money from them, they won't necessarily ignore it.​

How to revive the home console business:

During the period we launched the DS and Wii, many also thought we had little future in video games. Wii U is not doing well now, but one game can change everything. For example, Pokemon for the Gameboy.​

On using the "warchest":

No plans to acquire business that are not in the entertainment industry. But not limited to only the video game business.​

Nikkei: Before, you said "Nintendo profits" are those over 100 billion yen. Do you still think like that?

Iwata: I still do, but because of the Wii U shortcomings, we cannot achieve these figures in one year. If you ask me how long do you have to wait, within one year is not possible, but if in 3 years we're still not there, then something is wrong.​

The QOL shit:

Nintendo has always changed yadda yadda, it's time again for a new change.

About finding a successor:

Says he's 54 years-old, which isn't that old among CEOs, and still has time left. It's not something he thinks for the near future. Nintendo can't find someone suited for the job overnight. When will that happen and who will he be, he couldn't tell you right now.​

What does he think about the legalization of casinos in Japan?

No comments. It's not Nintendo's business. It's not what he would call entertainment.​

Sorry if there's anything wrong. I'm not good with Japanese. Ask a mod to edit my post, because I'm going to bed. =P

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Wii U is not doing well now, but one game can change everything.

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but one game can change everything.

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Man Puncher said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9McGKrxOnB8

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Relaxed Muscle said:

FACEPALM

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metalslimer said:

Nintendo actually invested a lot into those games? This whole QOL makes even more sense since they really think that audience still exists.

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Relaxed Muscle said:

FACEPALM

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Kimawolf said:

Well one game can change everything. I just don't think it'll come from Nintendo lol.

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Screamapillar said:

Well, they have. The first fruits of that effort is NES Remix. Second is DS games on the VC. I can only assume N64 games are next, possibly with upgrades. I would hope SNES Remix and N64 Remix aren't too far off.

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heidern said:

When has Silicon Valley successfully managed to compete with Nintendo consoles or handhelds? When has Silicon Valley released a thriving hardware/software ecosystem? The big companies like Sony, MS and Apple could potentially compete with Nintendo, but the smaller guys probably not.

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Mysterious said:

Iwata said he is going to enrich the Gamepad experience in order to drive sales, as much as they can.

How the fuck is anything you mentioned going to contribute to that cause? I'm a major Nintendo fanboy too, but some people in this thread are in the same alternative reality that Nintendo's management and board are in.

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Road said:

Iwata interview with Nikkei: http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASGD3007B_Q4A130C1000000/?dg=1

Sorry if there's anything wrong. I'm not good with Japanese. Ask a mod to edit my post, because I'm going to bed. =P

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Relaxed Muscle said:

FACEPALM

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Relaxed Muscle said:

FACEPALM

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Instro said:

X is going to shock the world!

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Road said:

Iwata interview with Nikkei: http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASGD3007B_Q4A130C1000000/?dg=1


How to revive the home console business:

During the period we launched the DS and Wii, many also thought we had little future in video games. Wii U is not doing well now, but one game can change everything. For example, Pokemon for the Gameboy.​

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hongcha said:

I believe this is what he said awhile back to justify his wacky forecast of 9mil Wii U consoles sold this fiscal year. They thought SM3DW would be that game. They were wrong. Now they probably think MK8 is that game. This is going to go on and on for a few years as the Wii U becomes more and more marginalised and more and more of a financial failure, all because Iwata kept "betting on red".

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Mysterious said:

Answered your own question there buddy.

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mrpeabody said:

Heidern, I appreciate your love for Nintendo and your hopeful attitude. But this post is wishful thinking.

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At this point, the potential for third-party success on the Wii U looks likely to remain untapped permanently.

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heidern said:

The context was all the startups in Silicon Valley. Although even in the case of Apple in a lot of ways the app store is a side bonus. The iPhone is primarily a phone and internet browser. iPad similar, internet browsing and watching films.They've leveraged existing mainstream media and combined that with slick hardware, OS and marketing. But dedicated hardware predicated on dedicated software isn't something they've had breakout success with yet.

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Mlatador said:

What if it's a full-fledged Wii U Pokemon with online features and collectible figures that use the NFC sensor?

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Mysterious said:

What the fuck am I reading? I'm not even going to begin to prove you wrong on that, since you are just too far outside reality. :-(

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Stumpokapow said:

I am very open to Nintendo making products that aren't games. I am very open to Nintendo making products that don't target me. But I am not convinced they understand the challenges they face, and I am not convinced based on the preliminary information they're offering that their secret master plan that they'll reveal later is likely to be a home run. I leave open the possibility that it'll be a single or a double. I am interested both as a consumer and in terms of their ongoing business success, and neither angle is super promising to me right now.

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heidern said:

Nah go for it, I'd love to see you prove that people aren't using the iPhone as a phone.

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clubstoic said:

So we can gather that they are still drunk from that Wii Sports/Brain Training era money. They probably believe did everything they could to go after the "core gamer" because Mario, Batman, and Call Of Duty along with dual analog and scary buttons and got burnt.

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heidern said:

Of course, when we do launch new hardware in the future, rather than re-creating an installed base from scratch as we did in the past, we wish to build on our existing connections with our consumers through NNIDs and continue to maintain them.

we will also try to change the way in which dedicated video game systems as well as software are sold that people have come to take for granted.

Dedicated video game systems are sold for two hundred or three hundred dollars, on which standalone software titles are distributed for 30 or 50 dollars. This simple model received widespread support from consumers that enabled us to create today’s market. The decision to change it is the manifestation of our recognition that we cannot expect this model to work forever amid dynamic changes in people’s lifestyles.

We aim to establish a new sales mechanism that will be beneficial to both consumers and software creators by encouraging our consumers to play more titles and increasing a platform’s active use ratio without largely increasing our consumers’ expenditures.

.

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clubstoic said:

So we can gather that they are still drunk from that Wii Sports/Brain Training era money. They probably believe did everything they could to go after the "core gamer" because Mario, Batman, and Call Of Duty along with dual analog and scary buttons and got burnt.

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jay said:

The idea that they can't compete in the core space only makes sense when you consider the unspoken but founding position of their games strategy - third parties are competition, not allies.

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