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[ultrazilla]

If I was a shareholder, I'd be all over Nintendo to start supporting the PC platform.

Can you imagine a game like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom releasing on PC? Mind boggling.

Have they commented previously about why they don't support PC?

It's hard to process the money they're missing out on.

 

[Saiyan-Rox]

Same for not having a shit load of back catalogue games available on their store.

Easy money they just don't.

 

[Topher]

I think that if there is one company that could create their own app/launcher on PC and be massively successful, it is Nintendo.

 

[bitbydeath]

They make more money having a single platform to themselves because they get a cut from every game. PC will need to have trillions of players to make up for that loss.

 

[Kikorin]

I don't think so. Putting their games on PC would be a easy way to make suddently lot of money, but they'd devaluate all their future hardware, and they make tons of money because their exclusives are playable only on their consoles.

 

[Leonidas]

Unlike Sony, Nintendo games are actually pretty high up on the top selling games of all time lists.

Nintendo doesn't need to do it in the way Sony does.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

is this true?

 

[Holammer]

The question is brought up occasionally in investor Q&A.
As long as they deliver, larger shareholders won't put any pressure on them.

 

[Tsaki]

If Nintendo made their games natively on PC and on their own (shitty) store, they'd be contestant #1 for most pirated games of all time.

 

[Krappadizzle]

I think that if there is one company that could create their own app/launcher on PC and be massively successful, it is Nintendo.

No kidding. It'd be the one extra launcher where i'd just say, "screw it, as long as I get to play them." I LOVE Nintendo games, but the Switch is just not capable hardware to really let their games shine. Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom/Luigi's Mansion 3 look fantastic running on PC and it makes going back to the Switch kinda hard to do when you see how much better it looks on capable hardware.

Nintendo, I bought the Switch, I bought the games, now just give me a license and make it convenient for me to play on my PC. Everyone wins.

 

[ultrazilla]

If Nintendo made their games natively on PC and on their own (shitty) store, they'd be contestant #1 for most pirated games of all time.

Re: Today's Yuzu events. Ninja lawyers. No issues to worry about IMO.

 

[bitbydeath]

I don't think so. Putting their games on PC would be a easy way to make suddently lot of money, but they'd devaluate all their future hardware, and they make tons of money because their exclusives are playable only on their consoles.

Exactly, Sony could have made their estimates if it weren’t for putting their games on PC;
Xbox wouldn’t be going third party if they didn’t put their games on PC.

 

[Leonidas]

If Nintendo made their games natively on PC and on their own (shitty) store, they'd be contestant #1 for most pirated games of all time.

But you can already play all Nintendo games on PC, through emulation.

 

[ReyBrujo]

I remember reading that the in-house software development is intimate linked to the hardware, that many times they decide what features should have the console based on the way they want their games to be played (d-pad for NES, shoulder buttons for SNES, rumble for N64, touch screen for DS, motion for Wii, etc). It makes sense if so.

 

[Robb]

I’m not sure. They’d probably make bank on their first party software but at the cost of greatly devaluing the proposition of owning their own hardware.

Considering they make money on first party software, hardware, and third party software I doubt the money from PC would make up for the potential loss of their user base. At least as long as they can push out systems that sell 100+ million units.

 

[Ogbert]

Nah.

PC players are buying Switches instead.

 

[Krappadizzle]

Nah.

PC players are buying Switches instead.

I'll take a "Switch Pass." You own the Switch, you can play on PC.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Unlike Sony, Nintendo games are actually pretty high up on the top selling games of all time lists.

Nintendo doesn't need to do it in the way Sony does.

you forgot Xbox in your insightful comment.

 

[Deerock71]

They're sitting on an 11 billion dollar war chest with no debts. They don't give a shit.

 

[Sleepwalker]

Nintendo are always a couple generations away from disaster anyway, I don't think the switch 2 will be a failure by any means, but if there's someone that can fuck it up it's Nintendo.

 

[RoadHazard]

Nintendo actually makes money selling consoles (a lot of it), unlike Sony and MS. And of course licensing fees on everything else sold for the Switch. So no, I don't know why they'd want to do that. They would make some extra money short term, but what effect would it have long term? Nintendo has probably analyzed that scenario and decided against it.

 

[Draugoth]

Releasing their titles on PC means less Switch sales, which is bad for Nintendo since they are a solely gaming bussiness.

 

[TheUsual]

Monkey's Paw wish comes true: Nintendo would bloat the games with so much DRM we'd skip it. I'm talking Denuvo, always online requirements, then Enigma, 1 PC per year activation limits, and probably some other stuff!

 

[bitbydeath]

is this true?

It might be true that they have the highest value with no debt, but they are far from the highest value. Toyota for example is a 59.1 trillion company.

 

[bender]

PC GAF is so thirsty.

 

[Leonidas]

you forgot Xbox in your insightful comment.

Microsoft already brings all their games to PC.

Microsoft also owns the rights to many of the top selling games of all time, unlike Sony.

 

[Deerock71]

It might be true that they have the highest value with no debt, but they are far from the highest value. Toyota for example is a 59.1 trillion company.

It's that 'no debt' thing that's like a shiv to the abdomen of those that have debt everywhere.

 

[00_Zer0]

If I was a shareholder, I'd be all over Nintendo to start supporting the PC platform.

Can you imagine a game like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom releasing on PC? Mind boggling.

Have they commented previously about why they don't support PC?

It's hard to process the money they're missing out on.

Nintendo would hate to resort to porting their games to PC. It would only be as a last resort with them hanging by a thread financially. If you thought a company like Ubisoft/Rockstar/2K/EA Games were terrible to their PC customers, then wait till you see litigious Nintendo go after the mod community or have some backwards DRM installed on their games that is worse than we already have. I am a big Nintendo fan, but even I see them as anti consumer with their ridiculous policies. I don't think it will ever happen. They don't have the mindset to be able to handle PC gaming with all it's quirks like the modding community.

 

[U n i o n 0015]

Nintendo feels that it would dilute the value of their IP. I remember them saying as much back when mobile was hot.

I'm pro-accessibility so I hate the idea of exclusives anyway, but Nintendo is really married to the idea of software selling hardware. Nintendo is enjoying a bit of renaissance due to the Switch, but they've also had tons of hardware duds that have tested this concept (Wii U, GameCube).

I think if the hardware isn't enticing to buyers, then their software reach will suffer as well. Switch 2 has to interesting enough for a hundred million people to want to replace their Switch. If it's like a Wii U then they're going to need all that reserve cash.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Microsoft already brings all their games to PC.

why?

Microsoft also owns the rights to many of the top selling games of all time, unlike Sony.

sony has several IPs and individual games that sell better than some MS's own games and ips.

something is not adding up.

 

[AngelMuffin]

They’re not missing out on anything. A lot of PC owners also own a Switch and buy games. if they don’t, they’re probably not that interested to begin with.

 

[Sorcerer]

Would it require separate teams just to work on the PC ports? That's an expense right there. Also, would the PC versions be expected to hit higher fidelity targets? That would be a weird dilemma for Nintendo having a better version of all their games on PC, devaluing their hardware. Plus, we would have to get used to the games on the PC side being somewhat buggy initially. It would certainly mean the end of gimmick/gadget Nintendo if the games across both platforms are expected to have parity.

All Nintendo have to do is stay their course, swim in the opposite direction of the big boys, who are currently tripping all over themselves, and they will survive, like Keith Richards and the cockroaches in a nuclear war.

 

[Skifi28]

"Nintendo just shot themselves in the foot..."

 

[proandrad]

Nintendo will never support pc because they would never be able to sell them Super Mario World every new generation.

 

[AV]

PC is the antithesis of what Nintendo is all about - they're a toymaker. They sell you a toy machine and it plays other toys. Their games are specifically designed for that hardware - the hardware that outsells practically everything else - and they don't have to worry about what it looks like, or how it runs, across a gigantic scale of computer power. They don't care. PC owners will just buy Nintendo hardware and the ones that pirate and emulate the games are just going to do that regardless.

Isn't it funny how often this subject comes up, yet it's Microsoft floundering around adapting business strategies and Sony cutting 900 jobs? Sometimes you win by playing your own game and not constantly trying to one-up the other guy.

 

[SlimySnake]

lmao both Sony and MS have been porting their games on PCs the last few years, it didnt save either company.

If anything, it slowed down their console sales while Steam concurrent users and pc hardware sales keep going up making Gabe and Jensen billions in the process.

If Nintendo ports their games to PC they will see the same fate as Sony and Microsoft. lagging hardware sales, layoffs, studio shut downs, cancellations and a complete reevaluation of their business. Good luck.

 

[newtypepilot]

Nintendo understands its strength, which is their library of first party IPs, and how their diehard fans will buy anything from them. People are willing to buy their hardware just for their exclusives, and unless that behavior changes, they will not goto PC. It makes zero sense to devalue their own IPs.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

at this point, playing nintendo games on shitty hardware is a tradition, thank you very much

 

[ReBurn]

It might be true that they have the highest value with no debt, but they are far from the highest value. Toyota for example is a 59.1 trillion company.

Richest and most valuable are two different things. Toyota's cash to debt ratio is 0.36. At the end of 2023, for every dollar of debt Toyota had they had only 36 cents in cash. Nintendo had no debt. If the sky fell and Toyota had to pay all of their debt today they would be much worse off than Nintendo.

 

[Astral Dog]

Nintendo knows what they are doing

 

[Jaybe]

Phil was hopeful an activist investor would push Nintendo to seeking more growth. Is that you ultrazilla ?

 

[bitbydeath]

Richest and most valuable are two different things. Toyota's cash to debt ratio is 0.36. At the end of 2023, for every dollar of debt Toyota had they had only 36 cents in cash. Nintendo had no debt. If the sky fell and Toyota had to pay all of their debt today they would be much worse off than Nintendo.

Quick google shows just 240.93 billion in debt, they wouldn’t fall to Nintendo levels.

 

[HeWhoWalks]

you forgot Xbox in your insightful comment.

You shouldn't even waste your time when it comes to Sony game sales and him.

OT: Eh, Nintendo is holding it down just fine. I'm sure they'll adjust if need be and I'm glad they continue push exclusives.

 

[cartman414]

Royalties are the #1 answer. They would need to charge more to turn the same profit per game. (i. e. Pokemon Shuffle transactions cost more on the mobile versions than 3DS.)

 

[LordCBH]

They sold like 30 million copies of Zelda. I don’t think they give a fuck.

 

[Fbh]

Maybe, but they also risk hurting their console business which no doubt makes a lot of money.

I'd argue Nintendo consoles are way more exclusive driven than Sony and Xbox ones. Lots of people buy Playstations and Xboxes to primarily play third party games (Fifa, COD, Fortnite, Assassins Creed, Hogwarts Legacy, Elden Ring, etc) and the exclusives are basically just a cherry on top. Nintendo consoles basically live and die by their exclusives, lots of people buy them specifically to play Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, etc.

A Playstation with no exclusives still has appeal because it's still a $499 box with decent performance that gets all major third party games.
A Switch with no exclusives is just an overpriced handheld.

 

[M1chl]

Good, let them die

 

[HeWhoWalks]

Good, let them die

Da fuq?

 

[ReBurn]

Quick google shows just 240.93 billion in debt, they wouldn’t fall to Nintendo levels.

240.93 billion in debt vs. 86.7 billion cash on hand. They couldn't pay all of their debt without having to sell off more than 30% of their assets after using up all of their cash. I'm sure they would survive, but they wouldn't be the same company.

 

[T-0800]

If I was a shareholder, I'd be all over Nintendo to start supporting the PC platform.

Can you imagine a game like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom releasing on PC? Mind boggling.

Have they commented previously about why they don't support PC?

It's hard to process the money they're missing out on.

You don't know that. I think Nintendo are doing a good job.