InfiniteCombo
Banned
Can you please enlighten us on (a), then?
I don't even know what (b) means. Care to elaborate?
Thanks.
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Iwata: Still room for growth for Wii U, Smartphone games on 3DS (Nikkei Interview)
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Can you please enlighten us on (a), then?
I don't even know what (b) means. Care to elaborate?
Thanks.
Gonzo The Great
Banned
So many non-answers, I don't know where to start.
"Wii U sales have remained flat because the console has considerable room for growth."
What's the point of interviewing these people if they're not going to tell you anything meaningful? It's like talking to a brick wall, except the brick wall doesn't lie to your face.
The Puzzles & Dragon brand is huge in Japan, and so is the 3DS. It was an anomaly that was obviously going to be successful in that market. Their solution to combating mobile is, as expected, remarkably out of touch with reality. Yeah, I'm sure iPhone owners are going to migrate to the 3DS ecosystem so they can play a $39.99 version of Clash of Clans. What demographic is this strategy supposed to target? Existing 3DS owners who most likely have mobile phones already? There's mobile shovelware on the eShop already, and it isn't helping one bit. People can already play these games on a device that offers better screens, faster processing power, a more stable account system, and greater multimedia functionality. Nintendo should be doubling down on what they do best: making quality games. Unfortunately, their output has been slower than ever, and major third parties have all but abandoned both platforms.
Then maybe that shouldn't have been his answer to "What are you doing to shore up your console business?" Because that sounds like his grand plan for the near future. Puzzles & Dragons Z does reasonably well in a market that favors handheld gaming devices and their extrapolation is to port mobile games to the 3DS. As if that's going to stop their rapidly declining market share. You may argue that it will help, but I fail to see how it will do anything but put money into the pockets of the companies who publish these games.
Some accountability would be nice, yes. Nintendo isn't doomed, but the Wii U sure is. Instead of lying to his investors and saying that the Wii U has potential for growth, he should be trying to convince them that Nintendo has learned from its mistakes.
The sad part is, I don't think they have.
"Wii U sales have remained flat because the console has considerable room for growth."
What's the point of interviewing these people if they're not going to tell you anything meaningful? It's like talking to a brick wall, except the brick wall doesn't lie to your face.
The Puzzles & Dragon brand is huge in Japan, and so is the 3DS. It was an anomaly that was obviously going to be successful in that market. Their solution to combating mobile is, as expected, remarkably out of touch with reality. Yeah, I'm sure iPhone owners are going to migrate to the 3DS ecosystem so they can play a $39.99 version of Clash of Clans. What demographic is this strategy supposed to target? Existing 3DS owners who most likely have mobile phones already? There's mobile shovelware on the eShop already, and it isn't helping one bit. People can already play these games on a device that offers better screens, faster processing power, a more stable account system, and greater multimedia functionality. Nintendo should be doubling down on what they do best: making quality games. Unfortunately, their output has been slower than ever, and major third parties have all but abandoned both platforms.
Then maybe that shouldn't have been his answer to "What are you doing to shore up your console business?" Because that sounds like his grand plan for the near future. Puzzles & Dragons Z does reasonably well in a market that favors handheld gaming devices and their extrapolation is to port mobile games to the 3DS. As if that's going to stop their rapidly declining market share. You may argue that it will help, but I fail to see how it will do anything but put money into the pockets of the companies who publish these games.
The people who spend 200 dollars on handheld gaming devices are ambivalent towards brands like Angry Birds. Unless Nintendo plans on releasing a mobile phone next generation, this is a complete and utter waste of time.
Some accountability would be nice, yes. Nintendo isn't doomed, but the Wii U sure is. Instead of lying to his investors and saying that the Wii U has potential for growth, he should be trying to convince them that Nintendo has learned from its mistakes.
The sad part is, I don't think they have.
zero shift
Banned
I also feel that it is sort of obvious that Nintendo will launch the Wii Us successor at 2016. I believe that they will likely release two platforms a bit akin to the Vita and PlaystationTV. The former being their next handheld, while the latter essentially being a version of the handheld that connects to the TV but (unlike the Vita TV) souped up innards to play the handheld games in higher resolutions, aliasing, and framerate.
I would hardly call it a "success" as the 3DS is infamous of people turning the 3D feature off. Hence the 2DS. I will admit that likely a higher percentage of 3DS owners use the 3D feature compared to PS3 owners or harrdcore PC gamers.
I would hardly call it a "success" as the 3DS is infamous of people turning the 3D feature off. Hence the 2DS. I will admit that likely a higher percentage of 3DS owners use the 3D feature compared to PS3 owners or harrdcore PC gamers.
From Nintendo's point of view, the main danger is that if their customers expect to see their games on smartphones, they'll have less interest in buying dedicated handhelds. And since dedicated handhelds are Nintendo's bread and butter, that can potentially eat into their core businesses. The problem for them is that it's a business that seems headed towards steep yoy and generation over generation declines, so it might be an inevitability anyways.
orthodoxy1095
Banned
True for me! I want better things on my phone!
I don't think the 3DS was successful because of the 3D.
That's definitely true. I think you're still limited in mobility by the nature of VR though. I'm aware of the treadmill gizmos but you're still not truly mobile.
I imagine it's because there's a risk it will make people expect Nintendo games on Smartphones which could damage their business overall. They might be overestimating the risk but it's still riskier than bringing Smartphones games to 3DS.
EDIT:
Again I'll point out the P&D:Z and P&D:Mario strategy and the existence of games like Million Arthur(F2P) shows that this isn't what Iwata is suggesting.
He's not revealing all of Nintendo's plans in a newspaper inteview. He gave part of their strategy, a part that makes a lot of sense.
The people that spent 200 dollars on handheld gaming devices bought more copies of Angry Birds than any third party game in the US.
He wasn't talking to investors, he was talking to Nikkei.
They sold 50 million of which a small part is 2DS. From a product perspective that's far more than any other 3D device from a single manufacturer. 2DS wasn't a response to 3DS perception, it was simply that they wanted a cheaper version for the North American market. Even from the beginning the idea wasn't that it would be used 100% and I think that's how most people use it, some on and some off depending on circumstance. To me that was part of the success, giving users a choice (and a non-binary one at that).
This is fair. But it did spark a lot of early interest and more importantly it made it standard and did it well. 2DS didn't suddenly take over despite being a good $50 cheaper. In fact it probably didn't fair as well as Nintendo had hoped because people see it as a downgrade. I think success is usually a combination of factors rather than one thing.
It's certainly the main draw of upgrading to a new 3DS at this point.
Got a link to prove that?
Creamsugar used to post lists of third party sales in the NPD threads. It was the highest, it is possible it's been surpassed.
John Harker also mentioned that it's a million seller earlier in this thread.
I think it might be true at least as far as western 3rd party games go. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/140130/02.html
Sold at least 500,000 copies. It's certainly not a question of if people will buy mobile ports even at full price.
Gonzo The Great
Banned
He's twisting the facts. If I recall correctly, the 3DS version of Angry Birds Trilogy was the best selling third party game in its release month. The thing is, it had no competition. Activision handled the release well.
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/angry-birds-trilogy-sells-1-million/1100-6403987/
So as of 2013, the Angry Birds Trilogy sold one million units across three platforms. This is a brand that currently has a movie in the works, but the once abundant merchandise is starting to become scare. Rovio laid off 110 employees in December due to declining sales, so I'm convinced that the franchise has peaked. Maybe I should have picked a better example, given the fact that Angry Birds Trilogy was fortunate enough to receive a retail release, but it's safe to say that consumers didn't buy the 3DS so they could play Angry Birds. Having more mobile games on their platform can't hurt, but it's not something Nintendo should focus on. Like another poster said, they should be doing the exact opposite.
I know, but I expect similar non-answers during the investor meeting on the 17th. Bet on it.
Yeah, I didn't think it sold a million on the 3DS alone.
Ahem.
http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=46302239&postcount=1416
That was two years ago. The game won't have stopped selling.
If they pick smartphone games and cleanse them from the F2P and online requirements, I'm in.
So?
Trust me, for example Sonic Boom surely wouldn't have sold better even if there was no competition.
Angry Birds Trilogy has around 200 hours of gameplay. It's around 700 levels. Maybe you don't like it, which is fine, but it's not some game, that you can beat within 4 hours. And there are retail games on PlayStation, that have 4 hours of gameplay and are still bought for full price.
Hell, people buy broken piece of crap games for full price all the time. At least Angry Birds Trilogy is not a broken piece of crap game. And it was released afaik at a $30 price point. Which is of course more expensive than on IOS, but it's not really "full price".
Calamari41
41 > 38
I love how people act as though each individual snippet that comes out of Iwata's mouth represents Nintendo's entire strategy moving forward.
I fail to see how working to get Puzzle & Dragons and other more robust mobile ports hurts anything unless that is all Nintendo ever plans to do going forward.
I fail to see how working to get Puzzle & Dragons and other more robust mobile ports hurts anything unless that is all Nintendo ever plans to do going forward.
InfiniteCombo
Banned
Examples?
Or are we taking the very small number of AAA titles that had bugs/issues at launch in 2014, and extrapolating that into hyperbole territory (i.e, "ALL the time!")
It's a common way to disingenuously argue or at least a fallacy in arguing. That entity X is doing Y implies that entity X isn't also doing Z. It works because the context doesn't include Z so you can pretend that the omission is intentional.
Calamari41
41 > 38
Iwata said he eats chicken for lunch. How on God's green earth is eating chicken for lunch going to save the Wii U? This guys needs to go, like yesterday.
Out of touch and out to lunch.
SlickShoesRUCrazy
Member
The smart phone games make sense because of controls, but then having to use the low res screen compared to my phone would be a bummer.
It's simple how the Wii U failed. They chased the fad popularity of the Wii instead of chasing the western console market.
If they release a console with a simple controller and unified account / network strategy, I'll go back to Nintendo in the console market.
They won't though, they'll continue to pursue the fads as they have the most growth potential.
If they release a console with a simple controller and unified account / network strategy, I'll go back to Nintendo in the console market.
They won't though, they'll continue to pursue the fads as they have the most growth potential.
We have a winner
John Harker
Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
you recall incompletely
edit:
I edited, I originally said 'you recall incorrectly' but thought it was too snarky 
Yes, there's growth to be had. It's insignificant, sluggish growth, but growth nonetheless, Iwata. Of course, without resorting to a price cut or other drastic changes to Wii U's strategy due to Nintendo's concern about achieving profitability, then there's not much they can do about it. Clearly, their hope of releasing good quality exclusives and various bundles with incentives to significantly boost Wii U sales in the long-term effective enough. I still want a Wii U.
There will be growth, as people have said, because there are still 2 big games and they won't sell negative units. But how big the growth is will have to be seen as it happwns. I'd the system peaks around 12 to 15 million I would not be surprised.
I also Dont really see the purpose of a mii social app...
I also Dont really see the purpose of a mii social app...
very small number? Are you kidding? Or are you just used to crappy quality?
I own around 100 PS3 games. And I can count the ones, that work properly (only freeze the console every 10 hours or so) using 1 hand only.
Atm I'm used to proper quality again (playing on Wii U) and it already gets on my nerves when Splinter Cell Blacklist freezes my console.
Hell Splinter Cell Blacklist just forgot my whole progress a few days ago. Restarted single player by itself. And then my progress got locked, when a NPC wanted me to upgrade the plane, although the plane was already fully upgraded. Which meant I had to delete my whole saved game.
I searched via google. It's a known problem. Ubisoft doesn't give a shit.
Even a 1st party game like Uncharted 3 freezes every now and then. Some replays don't work. I get stuck during coop in a previous part of the level just because I pressed the taunt button at the wrong time. And so on. And so on.
Even small games like for example Duck Tales Remastered don't work right. It froze my console around 3 or 4 times. During cutscenes. Framerate is a mess too. And then they thought "hell, why not include a trophy, where you have to play through the WHOLE game without having the ability to save a single time".
And on current gen this whole issue got way worse. Just look around at how broken LittleBigPlanet 3 is. LBP1 was already nothing to be proud of. Multiplayer was a broken mess.
R
Rösti
Unconfirmed Member
The Third Quarter Financial Results Briefing for FY 2014 is on February 17 though.
Yeah? Well I own OVER 100 PS3 games and they all work fine. Not one of them has ever crashed on me. You sir, are in the minority. I can honestly say I have never seen or heard of anyone that had as much problems and crashes as you do with their PS3s.
Panajev2001a
GAF's Pleasant Genius
Congratulations, not even attempting to answer the question
.Could Nintendo just make a DS that is both a phone and a handheld console? Pretty much partner up with Android and create the DS phone with Android app capabilities as well as being able to play 3DS/DS games? We still get Nintendo quality handheld games while we also get to play mobile games from the Google Play/Amazon App Store, while also having the capabilities of a smart phone.
Why not do that? 0_0
Why not do that? 0_0
I also own a lot of PS3 games, and have not had this problem. Sorry man you are in the minority and either you are straight up unlucky, exaggerating for effect, or something is wrong with your ps3.
Nintendo is already crazy paranoid about piracy, they will never do this.
The few games, that actually work properly, never freeze. Why is that? For example the "Tales Of" games don't. I can play them for 15 hours non stop and they don't.
DuckTales Remastered freezing is also a known problem. You don't want to tell me, that DuckTales is a hardware-demanding game.
Splinter Cell Blacklist for example freezes on PS3 + Wii U. Sure, it could be my PS3. But then why can I play all sorts of other games on Wii U without any freeze at all? To me it looks as if it's the game itself. My lost progress happened on Wii U. And that's the game. It's not the console. I didn't lose all of my progress, I lost single player only and then got stuck because of buggy scripts. btw. don't worry, I found forum posts, where this lost progress glitch happened on 360 + PS3 too.
It also doesn't make sense that some replays of multiplayer games in Uncharted 3 freeze the console because of a hardware issue. If it was actually hardware-related, it would freeze randomly and not on some specific replays. Uncharted 3 is definitely hardware-demanding and funnily the game doesn't freeze that often. On the other hand it has all sorts of other glitches.
Oh and sure, some game problems are specific to my type of PS3. It's a Hong Kong PS3. Some PS3 games were not made properly and can't handle the X/O changes, that Sony did on Asian PS3s. Which means those games are not playable at all. That's another major issue on this so called "region free" console.
I'm in the minority, because you "never had any issue at all" (which, I'm sorry, can't believe for a second unless you play every game for 5 minutes and then throw it away)? Are you kidding me?
Not really chasing fads but chasing different markets by doing different things.
Where they failed to a degree with wii and definitely with WiiU is that the didnt realize that you don't have to abandon the old market to go get new ones. You still have to do the things expected to keep the core while trying to attract new business.
As well, and Iwata has admitted this, they clearly didn't or don't understand the western market and its needs and desires. He has flat out said this in investor meetings. So he knows he screwed up.
I also don't see things changing, not yet at least.
Their biggest hurdle is realizing that it is more a global market than ever and that you can't do business the way they used to anymore and expect true long term growth. You can run your other divisions like separate fiefdoms anymore. Sony has done a really good job bring east and west together and unifying as muh as possible.
Also considering this interview was in Nikkei I would expect everything Iwata said to only apply to Japan. He still doesn't understand that news goes world wide in seconds now, and that anything he says gets interpreted 1000 ways.
It's time for Nintendo to realize that with the Internet they are now a truly global organization and they need to act like it.
InfiniteCombo
Banned
How about... neither? Nice try, though.
Sounds like you might want to look into your PS3. I played hundreds of hours across a multitude of games on that platform, and I can't even remember a single instance of encountering a game-breaking issue, a freeze, etc. See how anecdotal evidence works?
Acting like Nintendo is the only entity capable of quality makes you look like someone whose opinions I shouldn't take seriously.
ArtHands
Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
Is it an anomaly because both P&D and 3DS were already popular? It seems whatever other crossover from the smartphone so far are popular titles like angry bird and million arthur. Things that looks set to become a franchise beyond smartphone.
I don't think they are really looking to migrate the user base from smartphone to the handheld, but rather to offer them the handheld as a companion device.
Chmpocalypse
Blizzard
Truthfully, I was not aware of this. However, I still don't see how the addition of mobile games increases 3DS sales. I doubt many would buy one for those games.
Chmpocalypse
Blizzard
Consumers. You know, the ones not buying Wii Us.
test_account
XP-39C²
The reverse X/O has been used since the PS1, at least in Japan. But you're right when you say "region free" because the PS3 was never region free. All PS3s are region coded, and all PS3 games could technically be region locked as well. The option was always there. But in real terms, its 99.9% region free because i think only one game is region locked (Persona 4 Arena, at least the japanese version). The problem that happen with some games regarding the X/O buttons is because that the developers havnt concidered a region free approach. They have rather "hard coded" the buttons. Its a silly design choice, but they were never obligated to follow some region free rule, concidering that the PS3 isnt region free.
Its most likely something going on with your PS3 if 95% of all your games freezes sooner or later. If it were the games themself, you would have seen tons of complaints concidering that there are ~70+ million PS3 owners. No one would stand for 95% freezes on all their games all the time like you say that you experience, it simply wouldnt be acceptable. So you're definitelly in the minority if you have that much problem with your PS3.
You know, VR hasn't like... sold out yet or anything.
The thing is they might not sell systems individually but they fill out lineups. It's also important to note that typically software sales/licensing is where the platform holder makes the most money.