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[HStallion]

This is why console gaming is going to die.

How many games like this does a company need to stay afloat?

If this game even goes on to have even half of the success moving forward, it's literally all the company needs.

Last I checked, it was making 2 million dollars a day just on iOS alone. Why bother potentially losing money in the console business?

Problem is mobile is a lot flakier on this kind of stuff and a lot of the mobile companies get a huge hit and then never get another one. There is no guarantee that further Nintendo mobile games light the market on fire or that Pokemon Go will still be this huge in a few months time.

 

[Maxim726X]

Problem is mobile is a lot flakier on this kind of stuff and a lot of the mobile companies get a huge hit and then never get another one. There is no guarantee that further Nintendo mobile games light the market on fire or that Pokemon Go will still be this huge in a few months time.

Totally fair, but with the capital they've already raised, and stand to raise in the future, they'll probably just keep throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks.

Honestly, there are a few games that have staying power... And there's no reason this can't be one of them. If it's marketed aggressively enough (Mobile Strike, anyone?) there's no limit to how much money this game can make for a very long time.

 

[Morfeo]

It was bound to happen anyway, they need to make the jump now, I've kept saying that Nintendo could totally dominate the mobile space and make supercell look like amateurs. And it's proven true.

Console is a market that no longer suits Nintendo, is stagnating and they are the ones that would be left without a place in a fee years or so.

The future of gaming is mobile, and Nintendo needs to embrace it sooner than later.

I dont disagree, but as a fan of traditional Nintendo-games, this is really scary to me. Because it will be very hard for them to translate over to mobile in a way that will continue to satisfy me.

 

[Kouriozan]

Yeah it was easy money, the Japanese's release might increase it again but it starts to get risky.
Brokers also keep saying to sell.

Well, nevermind, people are buying again en masse.

 

[Morfeo]

Didn't happen when the Wii was all the rage despite people acting like it did, so there's no reason they'd do that now.

The Wii was awesome for both core and casual gamers alike though. Sure, you could waggle in Wii Sports, but that also worked fine in Twilight Princess and amazing in Skywards Sword. The targetting worked great in Metroid Prime and Resident Evil, and at the core, the Wiimote was a NES-controller, so there was still all the traditional inputs. There was never a reason to be scared by the Wi, and the narrative that Nintendo only catered to casuals during those years is also completely false if you look at the actual games on the plattform.

This is different, because if successful, it may give Nintendo incentive to completely drop traditional controls. Which will not be a huge issues for Pokemon and Fire Emblem, but would be for Zelda and Mario.

 

[Tom_Cody]

 

[Omnistalgic]

Kaz did turn it around.

Over 1 billion $ loss in 2014 and over $1 billion profit in 2015.

There's a happy medium though as far as being small and conservative goes. Sony had too much bloat and it hurt them bad. Nintendo hardly had anything but video games and it hurt them bad too.

This is interesting...so do you think Apple is in the safe medium? I mean they basically had a coupe of Pokemon go moments that they've sustained (IPod, iPhone, iPad) but also some more ecosystem stuff like ITunes, and IOS that seems more long term. Nintendo's IP seem to have longevity but as we saw with WiiU, having them tied to just Ninty hardware doesn't always work out amazingly well.

 

[Astral Dog]

WHAT, Mc Donalds is giving away Pokemon?

 

[HStallion]

This is interesting...so do you think Apple is in the safe medium? I mean they basically had a coupe of Pokemon go moments that they've sustained (IPod, iPhone, iPad) but also some more ecosystem stuff like ITunes, and IOS that seems more long term. Nintendo's IP seem to have longevity but as we saw with WiiU, having them tied to just Ninty hardware doesn't always work out amazingly well.

Sony seems to be copying parts of the Apple model as of late. They are also getting into the services industry with stuff like PS Now and more importantly PS Vue which seems to be picking up steam pretty quickly.

 

[Omnistalgic]

I always thought is was risky to be like Nintendo and Apple and safer to be more like Sony and Samsung.

I dunno, the proof is in the pudding right? I think less employees in general is always more safe, but how many markets can a single company really dominate in? I guess we have to wait and see but it doesn't seem like Apple is going anywhere, I think a more focused company is probably going to be more successful. Even MS really seems to be doubling down on Windows (bread n butter) instead of trying to get into every popular consumer market.

 

[D.Lo]

I dont disagree, but as a fan of traditional Nintendo-games, this is really scary to me. Because it will be very hard for them to translate over to mobile in a way that will continue to satisfy me.

Pokemon Go, despite being primarily developed by another company (though obviously heavily supervised by Nintendo), has a lot of what makes Nintendo games great just in the presentation.

The Pokemon characters have 9000 times more character than the soulless euro-garbage (that 'Dreamworks knockoff' art style crap like Clash of Clans) that's been dominating mobile for a while now, and it's been maintained perfectly in the game. So I see potential there.

 

[Steveo]

What if Sony did a Pokemon Go game, but with Gran Turismo?... Yup, I be a genius.

 

[Astral Dog]

The Wii was awesome for both core and casual gamers alike though. Sure, you could waggle in Wii Sports, but that also worked fine in Twilight Princess and amazing in Skywards Sword. The targetting worked great in Metroid Prime and Resident Evil, and at the core, the Wiimote was a NES-controller, so there was still all the traditional inputs. There was never a reason to be scared by the Wi, and the narrative that Nintendo only catered to casuals during those years is also completely false if you look at the actual games on the plattform.

This is different, because if successful, it may give Nintendo incentive to completely drop traditional controls. Which will not be a huge issues for Pokemon and Fire Emblem, but would be for Zelda and Mario.

Uh, i doubt it, this is a bit of an overreaction,dont you think? Nintendo wont drop traditional controls anytime soon based in one (deserved) success.

And there is NO way you can make a Zelda ala BotW on mobile.

Of course we need to see that NX soon

 

[Omnistalgic]

Sony seems to be copying parts of the Apple model as of late. They are also getting into the services industry with stuff like PS Now and more importantly PS Vue which seems to be picking up steam pretty quickly.

Yup...but the thing is, it's all tied to PlayStation. Sony is definitely taking cues from Apple (lol look at where it got Samsung) and PS I think is one of the pillars going forward along with Movies, Music, and Insurance. I think Sony wants to become the preferred platform for gaming outside of mobile devices because they are tying a lot of stuff to the brand, including Now and Vue like you said. They probably want to work with Nintendo at this point lol. I remember reading from the leak they were in talks for a Mario movie lol...imagine that eh

 

[HStallion]

Yup...but the thing is, it's all tied to PlayStation. Sony is definitely taking cues from Apple (lol look at where it got Samsung) and PS I think is one of the pillars going forward along with Movies, Music, and Insurance. I think Sony wants to become the preferred platform for gaming outside of mobile devices because they are tying a lot of stuff to the brand, including Now and Vue like you said. They probably want to work with Nintendo at this point lol. I remember reading from the leak they were in talks for a Mario movie lol...imagine that eh

Honestly Vue could be huge from them if they keep making improvements. Its already an excellent service for the price and if they keep pushing it and market it right, it could be huge for all the people looking to dump their cable subscriptions. Also PS Vue is on a ton of platforms now so its not really restricted to the Playstation consoles.

 

[DrWong]

Any "GO" copycat would go nowhere if it doesn't have its Niantic/Google/Ingress geo web like model.

I don't think it's that simple to emulate the formula if you want to keep it 1:1 gameplay features wise.

 

[kiuo]

It's interesting that no one seems to be arguing that Nintendo's decades-long commitment to Pokemon is what helped spur this success.

Look, Ingress and Niantic and Google all certainly played their role.

But Pokemon doesn't exist without Nintendo.

The core gameplay mechanics of gyms, of the 151, of different types of Pokemon and Pokeballs, of eggs. Think about the names of Pokemon we love. Think about their designs. Think about the sounds and music that we recognize.

None of this exists without generations of Game Freak and Nintendo polishing mechanics. And this is just what we KNOW Nintendo influenced. Who knows what differences between PoGo and Ingress are because of Nintendo's mentorship. Yeah, it probably made for a simpler game - but look at Splatoon for how Nintendo can take a complex premise/genre and use a different take on it to simplify and make it accessible.

Nintendo has a history of flirting with and working with other developers. Is Sm4sh all of a sudden Namco's game because a huge portion of the Dev team was theirs?

No.

PoGo is a collaboration. Some products are, particularly with modern Nintendo (see Sm4sh, Pokken Tournament, tons of smaller 3DS games).

It's just funny that even with the fastest selling game in the history of smartphones... and even with moral and responsible monitization in the f2p space (which so many great devs from Ubi to EA get wrong) people are still dismissing Nintendo's role in this game.

Even if Niantic did the whole thing. Pokemon isn't just "IP." It's a whole fucking system of gameplay mechanics and tropes that we've become familiar with and enjoyed for TWO DECADES.

That doesn't happen by chance. Everyone involved deserves kudos with this one. Nintendo included (and maybe even most of all, as were seeing).

Bububut NINTENDOOMED! And the Wii u sucked! And and and Pokemon Go wasn't made by Nintendo!

Haters gonna hate
¯_(&#12484_/¯

 

[The Last One]

I've been saying this for years.

Nintendo makes a Smartphone gaming-focused with a custom Android OS. Each one of them will come with an eShop app-exclusive, like the exclusive Samsung apps from Galaxy Phones.

Nintendo can make mobile games and launch them on Play or/and Appstore if the company decides to reach for a broader audience; or launch them exclusively on the eShop, if the game requires the use of the unique capabilities from the smartphone itself.

win-win

 

[vpance]

What if Sony did a Pokemon Go game, but with Gran Turismo?... Yup, I be a genius.

AR tracks on RL roads?

 

[Omnistalgic]

The Wii was awesome for both core and casual gamers alike though. Sure, you could waggle in Wii Sports, but that also worked fine in Twilight Princess and amazing in Skywards Sword. The targetting worked great in Metroid Prime and Resident Evil, and at the core, the Wiimote was a NES-controller, so there was still all the traditional inputs. There was never a reason to be scared by the Wi, and the narrative that Nintendo only catered to casuals during those years is also completely false if you look at the actual games on the plattform.

This is different, because if successful, it may give Nintendo incentive to completely drop traditional controls. Which will not be a huge issues for Pokemon and Fire Emblem, but would be for Zelda and Mario.

have to disagree a bit here mate. Wii is when I kinda fell out of love with Nintendo. Yeah, they had core games, but it was outdated tech wise the moment it hit the market, by a lot too. So yeah, it had some great gameplay experiences, but it was missing very important games like Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy etc...that just skipped Wii because of hardware limitations and the entire open world trend basically skipped right over Wii. It was not a good core system IMO unless you particularly love Nintendo franchises. Big gaming moments in the industry was completely left out on Wii, it was mostly just irrelevant because Wii had its own special moment with waggle and the casual boom.

I'm a lot more exciting by POGO because it's an entirely different market and Nintendo will probably bridge the gap between there platforms and mobile, not try and focus on just one.

 

[Cwarrior]

Poke coins purchased to buy extra incense, poke balls, etc, in game for people who don't want to repeatedly hit Pokestops to get them for free.

It's free with in-app purchases. And instead of going after the few whales, they priced things reasonably so a wider audience are buying in.

narrow and large = aimed at the few whales for large bucks.

small and wide = cheaper IAP, wider audience from you or me as far as the eye can see up to the whales. More people are purchasing the smaller packages and they're seeing more profit from people spending a small bit here and there.

Thanks guys.

 

[test_account]

I think you're probably right. But this still happened at Sony and not Nintendo, and more than once. Like I said the optics aren't great.

What do you mean with that the optics arent great? Not really sure what you're trying to imply here? The point is to not paint everyone with the same brush because a few individuals say or do something silly.

 

[Gorillaz]

I agree this is more of a "pokemon still has enough in the tank" type of thing rather then what type of MT pokemon go can get. Idk how investors are looking at this but that is impressive.

Wondering how reactive Nintendo will be about all of this. I can see them doubling down which might be bad and scary. For them.

 

[Omnistalgic]

Honestly Vue could be huge from them if they keep making improvements. Its already an excellent service for the price and if they keep pushing it and market it right, it could be huge for all the people looking to dump their cable subscriptions. Also PS Vue is on a ton of platforms now so its not really restricted to the Playstation consoles.

Oh cool, I didn't know that. Is Apple letting them put it on IOS and Apple TV? That would be good for exposure. I also heard good reviews from Gaffers and would love to try it out of Comcast would just stop trying to gut my wallet lol.

 

[HStallion]

Oh cool, I didn't know that. Is Apple letting them put it on IOS and Apple TV? That would be good for exposure. I also heard good reviews from Gaffers and would love to try it out of Comcast would just stop trying to gut my wallet lol.

I think its on damn near everything except for IOS but that should be changing soon as they've been expanding it pretty steadily. Its on Roku, Fire Sticks and Fire TV, etc.

 

[MuchoMalo]

This is why console gaming is going to die.

How many games like this does a company need to stay afloat?

If this game even goes on to have even half of the success moving forward, it's literally all the company needs.

Last I checked, it was making 2 million dollars a day just on iOS alone. Why bother potentially losing money in the console business?

This is assuming that the success can be replicated. That is insanely unlikely.

 

[Calamari41]

Nintendo is profitable while involved in all three "branches" of gaming: home console, handheld, and mobile. A breakout hit like Pokemon Go is a call for doubling down on diversifying, not a call for consolidation. If the NX sells a ton and they make more money through that than they make through Pokemon Go, should they shut down mobile development? I don't think so.

 

[Maedhros]

Isn't it always like this with these mobile craze? Then they drop like hell when the fad ends (dunno when this one will end though).

 

[Davey Cakes]

It's a nice combo. Their work on handhelds/consoles is stable and predictable and provides them a decent cushion even if they don't perform well. This then allows them to experiment with mobile — licensing out their brands, making their own apps, etc. Then, the occasional world-changing massive success on mobile makes them enough money to last another 100 years in the console market.

This is my exact line of thinking.

Nintendo diversifying is a great thing.

 

[Maxim726X]

This is assuming that the success can be replicated. That is insanely unlikely.

But that's the thing, it doesn't need to be replicated.

I agree that this was an unforeseen runaway success for them, but it's not as if they need another Pokemon GO esque success to make them a continuous flow of money.

If they have a stable of titles that make them a few hundred thousand a day (which Pokemon GO may be able to do moving forward, even after the craze dies out) then why even bother with the console industry?

 

[LegendofDragoonLives]

This is why console gaming is going to die.

How many games like this does a company need to stay afloat?

If this game even goes on to have even half of the success moving forward, it's literally all the company needs.

Last I checked, it was making 2 million dollars a day just on iOS alone. Why bother potentially losing money in the console business?

Yes, the biggest anomaly we have ever seen in the mobile market is why consoles will die. Please send this gaf post as your resume to either Sony, Nintendo, or Microsoft. I'm sure they will fire whoever they have for your insight.

 

[Cuburt]

Pokemania indeed.

 

[bachikarn]

This is why console gaming is going to die.

How many games like this does a company need to stay afloat?

If this game even goes on to have even half of the success moving forward, it's literally all the company needs.

Last I checked, it was making 2 million dollars a day just on iOS alone. Why bother potentially losing money in the console business?

Well, Nintendo isn't a company that only cares about profits or they would have moved to mobile a long time ago. They will still have traditional games unless they stop selling for years.

 

[reelbigtink]

Isn't it always like this with these mobile craze? Then they drop like hell when the fad ends (dunno when this one will end though).

If you could name another mobile game with this kind of hype (or any game in general) I'd like to hear it.

 

[Zukkoyaki]

Isn't it always like this with these mobile craze? Then they drop like hell when the fad ends (dunno when this one will end though).

Pretty much

As others have pointed out in this thread, many companies have had a smash-hit mobile game and have never been able to release anything that was anywhere remotely close to as successful.

It will be interesting to see if Pokemon Go sustains the hype.

 

[MacTag]

What do you mean with that the optics arent great? Not really sure what you're trying to imply here? The point is to not paint everyone with the same brush because a few individuals say or do something silly.

The optics aren't great means it looks bad. Twitter accounts representing the company tend to reflect, well, the company and not the hidden individuals handling them. It's not really a stretch to say SM and XDev kinda fucked up here.

 

[test_account]

But that's the thing, it doesn't need to be replicated.

I agree that this was an unforeseen runaway success for them, but it's not as if they need another Pokemon GO esque success to make them a continuous flow of money.

If they have a stable of titles that make them a few hundred thousand a day (which Pokemon GO may be able to do moving forward, even after the craze dies out) then why even bother with the console industry?

To make more money. Theres still huge potential in the console industry. Nintendo also has like 5000 employees or something. I dont know how many of those that are developers, but a huge chunck is. Those people need to work on something.

 

[_PsiFire_]

I love some of the replies on this thread.

* Wii is Successful *

- Nintendo is lucky to have cause lightning in a bottle, it'll never happen again..

* Pokemon Go's Success *

- Nintendo is just lucky; no other game of there's will reach this success. The bubble will burst, you'll see.



Maybe, just maybe, Nintendo knows what they are doing? Perhaps?

No, they're doomed!

 

[Father_Brain]

It's a nice combo. Their work on handhelds/consoles is stable and predictable and provides them a decent cushion even if they don't perform well.

...source? They had negative operating income three years in a row this gen, so I'm not sure how that translates to dedicated gaming platforms being a consistently reliable and profitable business for them.

 

[Kickz]

Now use this money to create Super Mario Galaxy 3 and a console Pokemon game

 

[Herb Alpert]

I love some of the replies on this thread.

* Wii is Successful *

- Nintendo is lucky to have cause lightning in a bottle, it'll never happen again..

* Pokemon Go's Success *

- Nintendo is just lucky; no other game of there's will reach this success. The bubble will burst, you'll see.



Maybe, just maybe, Nintendo knows what they are doing? Perhaps?

No, they're doomed!

What I find very fun is how, when Nintendo meets success, it means that they should go third party.

 

[MacTag]

...source? They had negative operating income three years in a row this gen, so I'm not sure how that translates to dedicated gaming platforms being a consistently reliable and profitable business for them.

New platforms being loss drivers for 1-2 years isn't really unusual in this industry.

 

[Zukkoyaki]

I love some of the replies on this thread.

* Wii is Successful *

- Nintendo is lucky to have cause lightning in a bottle, it'll never happen again..

* Pokemon Go's Success *

- Nintendo is just lucky; no other game of there's will reach this success. The bubble will burst, you'll see.



Maybe, just maybe, Nintendo knows what they are doing? Perhaps?

No, they're doomed!

I don't think pointing out the reality of how fickle the mobile market is, is calling Nintendo doomed.

Even those that have found success like King (Who were worth about 6 billion at the time of their Activision buyout) have struggled immensely to either sustain their success or create new hits.

For what it's worth, I never thought Nintendo was doomed, even before Pokemon Go.

 

[Luq]

Crazy numbers... Funny how one thing can change so much in perception of a company.

 

[WrenchNinja]

Apparently shu is one of those team instinct losers

 

[test_account]

The optics aren't great means it looks bad. Twitter accounts representing the company tend to reflect, well, the company and not the hidden individuals handling them. It's not really a stretch to say SM and XDev kinda fucked up here.

That really variates. Stupid statements from individuals representing something happends time and again. Customer service representative outbursts is also another thing. That doesnt mean that this reflects the value/opinion/behaviour of everyone working at a company. Such statements can make a company look bad, but it doesnt necessarily have to reflect a general value.

The thing is that many people shy the whole company when a incident like this happends, thats why its important to have employees not say stupid things. You're right that they represent the company, thats why its important, indeed. But its also very important to keep in mind that this is the words of individuals and does not necessarily represent the views of other people working there.

So i would say that its quite a stretch to say that basically everyone at SSM and XDev are really salty about the success of Pokemon Go and wants to tweet about it. There is no evidence to back this up with, and i'm quite sure that the person(s) who handles the Twitter accounts dont have to ask someone for permission to post every tweet, i would assume that they have "free will" (not sure what the best words are in english) when it comes to posting. I dont think you mean to say this though, but that is what we're talking about. For easier conversation, it is however easier to say "(insert company here) fucked up", which i guess is fair enough, but as mentioned, its important to know that this does not necessarily represent the view for everyone working there.

 

[Father_Brain]

New platforms being loss drivers for 1-2 years isn't really unusual in this industry.

It is for Nintendo, and even Sony and MS have aimed to avoid that of late.

 

[Kickz]

Lol at Sony Santa Monica, salty losers.

What happens when this pokemon frenzy is over though? this is probably a short term thing.

Pokemon has never been a short term thing

 

[MacTag]

That really variates. Stupid statements from individuals representing something happends time and again. Customer service representative outbursts is also another thing. That doesnt mean that this reflects the value/opinion/behaviour of everyone working at a company.

The thing is that many people shy the whole company when a incident like this happends, thats why its important to have employees not say stupid things. You're right that they represent the company, thats why its important, indeed. But its also very important to keep in mind that this is the words of individuals and does not necessarily represent the views of other people working there.

So yes, its quite a stretch to say that basically everyone at SM and XDev are really salty about the success of Pokemon Go and wants to tweet about it. I dont think you mean to say that, but that is what we're talking about. For easier conversation, it is however easier to say "(insert company here) fucked up", which i guess is fair enough, but as mentioned, its important to know that this does not necessarily represent the view for everyone working there.

I mean, it should reflect on the company. It's their twitter account.

I'm not saying the tweets reflect the views of every single person at the company, I'm saying the company let it happen and then quickly tried to cover their tracks when it backfired. The company fucked up here, and that it happened with two entirely separate divisions (on different continents even) just makes it look worse and begs unfortunate questions.

It is for Nintendo, and even Sony and MS have aimed to avoid that of late.

It's relatively new for Nintendo because they took a premium design approach with 3DS and Wii U. I'm fairly certain that's a mistake they won't be repeating with NX.

Likewise eschewing the razor/blades model and going with off the shelf architectures is also entirely new for Microsoft and Sony. Who've each cumulatively lost significantly more investment in this industry than Nintendo since each started.

 

[Tabarin]

Not even an year ago there were people (delusional) that were saying nintendo could go bankrupt cause of WiiU sales....

Wheres your pikachu now?!