[Rösti]

GamesIndustry.biz took the opportunity to interview Bing Gordon, former big shot at EA and now a board member of several large companies including Amazon and Zynga, about the current state of the industry. This is what he had to say when asked about Wii U's sales this holiday season:

Q: What do you think of the Wii U's chances this Christmas and beyond, especially facing tablets like the Nexus 7 for $199 that are pretty good game devices? Is that going to make it tough for the Wii U? Bing Gordon: I think Nintendo's already on track to become primarily a software company. We saw that with Sega back in the day; Sega made some missteps and became primarily a software company. Nintendo hasn't really made missteps, Nintendo probably has better creative talent and better leadership now than Sega did. It's got the most robust business model, the best creative talent; Miyamoto's still the best in the business. Apple's most directly competitive with Nintendo. So far, when Miyamoto makes a perfect game, in his career he makes games worth $200 - it's worth buying a system for. I think the handheld is going to be under a lot of pressure. I can imagine a day when Nintendo wonders - and maybe it's generational change - when Nintendo wonders if they ought to take some of their best games and make 'em apps. Q: That will be an interesting evolution to watch. Bing Gordon: That will be stunning. Neither Apple or Nintendo - both those companies like control - is likely to want a partnership, but a partnership would be stunningly cool. I think if you're Nintendo, as long as Miyamoto's coming to work, you can sustain a proprietary platform. He's that good.

Source: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ds-bing-gordon

So, what do you think, is Bing's educated guess on Nintendo dreamcasting themselves valid, or should it be regarded as baloney? Whatever your opinion might be, there's no denying there has been a lot of talk about this topic lately.

He has a lot of other things to say about the industry as well, so be sure to read the whole interview.

[BY2K]

Sega didn't have a 10 Billion war chest to back them up...

[PhoReal]

Oh, this again...

[The_Lump]

So to sum up: Nintendo are great, but they are doomed.

[Effect]

Sega didn't make "some" missteps. Sega made LOT of missteps and lost a TON of money again and again. There are very clear reasons for what happen to Sega and none of them can be applied to Nintendo at all. I wish people would understand that and not choose to remain ignorant of this or willfully ignore it because it doesn't fit their narrative..

From the excerpt it seems like another pro Apple/Nintendo hit piece.

[Anteo]

Iwata: laughs

[Vibed]

Miyamoto is great and all, but he's not everything. Unlike Sega, there's a lot of great management and business decisions going on in there.

Every writer seems to think Apple is hitting every nail Nintendo never does, and that will be their downfall.

[Monty Mole]

Nintendo will do it only if and when they need to do it to survive.

Although I always feel it is worth pointing out in these thread that PCs and laptops have been mainstream in pretty much every home since the 90s and yet people have still bought Nintendo (and competitor's) consoles during that time. I'm not sure how the threat of smart TVs and smart-phones, tablets etc is all that different.

[bluethunder]

Iwata said years ago that Nintendo would be dead when they stopped producing hardware. It isn't going to happen any time soon.

[NEO0MJ]

Sega didn't have a 10 Billion war chest to back them up...

How's it doing these days? I'm serious. Wasn't that number from some time ago?

[Dragonzord]

Why does every industry guy think Nintendo will make iphone games instead of console games?

[weird]

Yeah, nintendo and sega. Almost the same situation. Nintendo almost bankrupt.

did i miss something?

[MasterSheen]

andherewego.gif

[BlackJace]

What? Sega's missteps were far greater than anything Nintendo has done this far. They just came from an extremely profitable generation of hardware, and their handheld just recently picked up steam.

They'll be fucking fine, yeesh.

[Zevenberge]

So he wants Mario and Zelda to become $0.99 apps? I don't think we're anyplace near that.

[sazzy]

He's rambling.

[GCX]

Nintendo will evolve and I think this next generation will probably be the last where they'll have both a traditional home console and portable console due to the changing market.

Despite that they'll still be in the hardware race. The form and use of the hardware will probably change but they'll just evolve with it. I don't get why every analyst thinks Nintendo is forever stuck to their current model and is unable to change it without giving up the hardware business. I mean we're talking about a company which started by making playing cards.

[ilnadmy]

Seriously? Did he forget that for the longest time the Wii was selling like gangbusters? Not to mention they're arguably the dominant force in the handheld market?

I could interview a 12 year-old and he'd have a more coherent statement about the gaming industry.

[Effect]

Why does every industry guy think Nintendo will make iphone games instead of console games?

Wishful thinking. If they say it enough times they think it will come true (people will start to demand) regardless of what the realities are.

[Penguin]

This is a weird example....

He's like it reminds me of SEGA... except they are nothing like SEGA he follows up with.

[Crazymoogle]

I think it's fair, but also dreaming into the distance. Nintendo doesn't have the hardware czar of Yokoi anymore, and once Miyamoto retires they have to rely on brand as their primary strength. They don't know how to make phones, they're late on social networks - at some point when the concept of "consoles" no longer applies, Nintendo will realize they'd have to put the entire company on the line to build another one, and they'll retire to software (which is their strength anyway.)

The problem with Bing's outlook is that Nintendo has the money (and the hardware team) to ensure that the day for that is far away. They haven't bled money like Sega and they know how to make products to the "cheap but good" standard. That alone ensures they can continue for a few more gens even if the consoles themselves aren't a success. By the time they do retire to software we may have a completely different app marketplace than seen today.

[The_Lump]

Seriously? Did he forget that for the longest time the Wii was selling like gangbusters? Not to mention they're arguably the dominant force in the handheld market? I could interview a 12 year-old and he'd have a more coherent statement about the gaming industry.

Exunctly. Nintendo still owns the handheld market; And his comment about that tells me everything I need to know about this 'expert'.

[DrWong]

blahblah3rdpartyblah

An edufucked guess: nothing new here in terms of analysis. No analysis at all.

[Alextended]

So one moment he says they're going 3rd party due to what they've been doing and the next he says as long as they have Miyamoto (not that we can know how things will develop past his time, other designers could be surprisingly good successors after taking full control of the various franchises) they can remain a 1st party. And pimping Nexus7 as their competitor, really?

[BGBW]

Bing thinks Nintendo is going third party because of their wondrous track record? What?

[Holy Order Sol]

Whatever your opinion might be, there's no denying there has been a lot of talk about this topic lately.

By lately do you mean the last 15+ years?

[Nibel]

Everybody who believes this has missed the past 5-7 years.

Whatever; this thread will end up disgusting :lol

[ponpo]

They used a nexus 7 as a comparison? What.

[watershed]

Its an odd quote. He starts by saying Nintendo has already started down the Sega road. Then he lists all the reasons why that won't happen. Then suggests that a "generational change" will see Nintendo games turn into apps. His whole argument for Nintendo going software only hinges on Miyamoto retiring and this generational change within Nintendo. I think the substance of his argument contradicts his claim.

[sonicmj1]

I agree that if Nintendo consistently makes Sega-sized missteps for 8 years in a row, they will become primarily a software company.

Unless they surprise launch the WiiU 3 months earlier than their announced date, I don't think that such a change will happen for a long time.

[Gustav]

His name is Bing?

[AntMurda]

Nintendo still owns Japan as a hardware maker almost exclusively, as well as still being very successful world wide as a hardware maker.

Thus, it is difficult to predict their demise.

[HK-47]

So, what do you think, is Bing's educated guess on Nintendo dreamcasting themselves valid, or should it be regarded as baloney? Whatever your opinion might be, there's no denying there has been a lot of talk about this topic lately. He has a lot of other things to say about the industry as well, so be sure to read the whole interview.

I laughed.

[Projectjustice]

Its like every analyst lives in Bizzaro world when it comes to Nintendo.

[Plinko]

Bing Gordon: That will be stunning. Neither Apple or Nintendo - both those companies like control - is likely to want a partnership, but a partnership would be stunningly cool. I think if you're Nintendo, as long as Miyamoto's coming to work, you can sustain a proprietary platform. He's that good.

I've been calling an Apple/Nintendo partnership on a console for years now. I'm fairly confident it happens after the Wii U.

That said, they could easily stay independent if they wanted to. I'm just curious as to how many years analysts have been predicting Nintendo's failure and completely missing the mark on their guess.

[Valnen]

Why does every industry guy think Nintendo will make iphone games instead of console games?

The media has a downright unhealthy obsession with the iphone/ipad.

[Ocellatus]

Nintendo caught lightning in a bottle with the Wii. Unless they catch it again, this is entirely possible.

[Rösti]

By lately do you mean the last 15+ years?

I mean lately as in brought up exceedingly much both in media and at Nintendo's earnings release conferences ever since Wii U was announced.

[Nibel]

Its like every analyst lives in Bizzaro world when it comes to Nintendo.

[Seda]

His name is Bing?

William.

[The Boat]

How people like this have jobs this important is beyond me.

[The_Lump]

Its an odd quote. He starts by saying Nintendo has already started down the Sega road. Then he lists all the reasons why that won't happen. Then suggests that a "generational change" will see Nintendo games turn into apps. His whole argument for Nintendo going software only hinges on Miyamoto retiring and this generational change within Nintendo. I think the substance of his argument contradicts his claim.

That's high-falutin' for "He's talking bollocks".

[Tenki]

Notto disu shitto agen.

[Plinko]

Nintendo caught lightning in a bottle with the Wii. Unless they catch it again, this is entirely possible.

OK, how do you explain the GBA, DS, and 3DS?

Even if Wii U fails they've still got a successful handheld business.

[Jmac71]

I read the title as Big Goron instead of Bing Gordon. Thought it was some shitty Zelda fan site speculation.

[GarthVaderUK]

His name is Bing?

Xbox, Bing Gordon.

[lunchwithyuzo]

I like how he compares the situation to Sega going software only, then goes on at length about how Nintendo's not even remotely in the same position Sega was.


People who push the idea of Nintendo going down this road really seem to have precious little insight into how Nintendo works or why they're actually successful. No, it's not Miyamoto Magic, that's pure PR and it's a little unnerving that someone as high up as Zynga/Amazon board member would be so gullible and clueless as to swallow it.

[Alextended]

Nintendo caught lightning in a bottle with the Wii. Unless they catch it again, this is entirely possible.

So they were on their way to being 3rd party before catching said lighting? I thought they had a kinda long history of dominating the gaming handheld market and having an always profitable home console market even at their worst, silly me...

[GCX]

Nintendo caught lightning in a bottle with the Wii. Unless they catch it again, this is entirely possible.

But they were a profitable company before they caught that lightning.

[BlackJace]

The media has a downright unhealthy obsession with the iphone/ipad.

Unfortunately, it's a status symbol...

Nintendo caught lightning in a bottle with the Wii. Unless they catch it again, this is entirely possible.

They'll be screwed after one generation if they don't sell Wii-like numbers? Yeah, ok.