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Nintendo’s Sad Struggle for Survival (The Atlantic)

Article seems a year late. I would have said Nintendo was getting pretty irrelevant a year or so ago. But after Pokemon Go, Pokemon 3DS sales, 40 million SMR downloads and decent hype for Switch they seem poised to a good bit of mainstream success.

I do think they could have made more money from SMR which is why shareholders are miffed but overall Nintendo seems like they are healthier than they've been in years.
 
From what is Mario running in Super Mario Run? The answer is as obvious as it is tragic: from the smartphone itself.
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Read this sentence.

Read it and tell me again that this is a well written article.
This sounds so stupid and pretentious and has no place in an article like this.

If this were a Wikipedia article the whole page'd be riddled with "[citation needed]".

I'm sorry, but I really can't take this seriously.

Especially because Nintendo is totally on the rise right now.
Pokémon GO and Super Mario Run are huge successes a few days after their respective releases.
Switch is looking to be the next Wii in terms of sales
"And in terms of power, too, hurr durr" shut up
This article is simply all the "Nintendo is doomed" posts of NeoGAF written by someone who gets paid for writing it a little bit prettier than others.
 
In the last 10 years:

Wii was the highest selling console of the generation.
Biggest game on a phone ever that created a media storm..
7 games that sold over 20 million copies
Biggest launch of a game on the App Store ever.
Amiibo's were so popular they were selling out everywhere.
NES Mini has sold hundreds of thousands and still in demand.
Was the mascot at the Olympic closing ceremony to begin Japan's turn in 4 years
Opening Nintendo themed areas at Universal Studio.
Over $10 billion in the bank and enough to run a $250 million loss each year for nearly 40 years.


So clearly as you can see, Nintendo is doomed.
 
What a strange article. The author tries to discuss Nintendo's position and place it in the context of its own history, but the author place weight quite selectively. Somehow the WiiU was the start of Nintendo no longer being on top, while ignorant the Gamecube and N64 era where Nintendo didn't do very well either. The author ignore Nintendo's own plans for mobile, which state that mobile is used as a gate way for attracting new customers to the dedicated platforms. Last, the author fails to even mention the Switch, or to place it in the context of a new generation of Nintendo developers (gradually) taking over the reins. In that context, his statements about Nintendo being the grandpa trying to be popular is a bit of an unfair characterisation.

I think the author looks at Nintendo too much through the lens of the mobile market, a market which Nintendo have already said not to want to be primarily focused on.
 
Nintendo has gotten a lot of my attention this year. The company will be fine. They know what they are doing and they are consistent. I'll be pre-ordering The Switch as soon as it goes up.
 
Man people here take critical discussions about Nintendo extremely personally (and let's be fair, they are needlessly stuck in the past and years behind the competition in a lot of ways, an it's been hurting them for a couple of years now).

Don't connect your identity too much with a company or a logo. Enjoy it, be a fan, all that is fine, but some reactions here and in other topics are just weird. People with criticism are immediately dismissed as 'biased'. It's dismissing common sense, the competition and market places like that that got Nintendo in the weird spot it is now. They're not doomed, but they're not exactly at the top of their game either.

It's not like it's impossible to enjoy their games while being critical of the way they completely misunderstand their potential audiences.
 
Here's what I don't understand about the reaction to the Mario sales-- Much like Pokemon GO, even if these mobile games hemorrhage a lot of users (most do), they still stand to make much, much more money than traditional console games, and the flow of income is continuous.

Pokemon GO still makes hundreds of thousands a day on iOS alone. That still destroys the longevity of any console game released today.
 
Ban Puncher said:
gj4tz.gif
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The gif that will never stop being relevant.

paragonpro said:
I just want nintendo games on my ps4
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And I want to play Uncharted on my Wii U, but one is just as likely to happen as the other.
 
Maxim726X said:
Here's what I don't understand about the reaction to the Mario sales-- Much like Pokemon GO, even if these mobile games hemorrhage a lot of users (most do), they still stand to make much, much more money than traditional console games, and the flow of income is continuous.

Pokemon GO still makes hundreds of thousands a day on iOS alone. That still destroys the longevity of any console game released today.
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Does it really? Do you have a source for this, because that seems pretty unlikely.
 
Boem said:
Does it really? Do you have a source for this, because that seems pretty unlikely.
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Err... it's currently the #9 grossing app on the US app store. It's still making a shitload of money. Lots of GAFers and bloggers won't tell you that because the internet is either all or nothing. Pokemon GO is either taking over the world or it's a failed piece of shit.
 
entremet said:
Bias is not a great refutation. It's an opinion piece. It's going to be biased by design. It's not a company profile. It's punditry.
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Okay, my refutation is that this article is omitting relevant evidence and information to create a narrative that isn't quite true.
 
SuperBanana said:
In the last 10 years:

Wii was the highest selling console of the generation.
Biggest game on a phone ever that created a media storm..
7 games that sold over 20 million copies
Biggest launch of a game on the App Store ever.
Amiibo's were so popular they were selling out everywhere.
NES Mini has sold hundreds of thousands and still in demand.
Was the mascot at the Olympic closing ceremony to begin Japan's turn in 4 years
Opening Nintendo themed areas at Universal Studio.
Over $10 billion in the bank and enough to run a $250 million loss each year for nearly 40 years.


So clearly as you can see, Nintendo is doomed.
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You should be upgraded to UltraBanana.
 
Maxim726X said:
Here's what I don't understand about the reaction to the Mario sales-- Much like Pokemon GO, even if these mobile games hemorrhage a lot of users (most do), they still stand to make much, much more money than traditional console games, and the flow of income is continuous.

Pokemon GO still makes hundreds of thousands a day on iOS alone. That still destroys the longevity of any console game released today.
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The way mario run has been monetized is very different from pokemon go and doesn't really leave open options for continuous sources of income from users who have already purchased the full game. Which I believe was a surprise to people and has led to the stock falling quite a bit.
 
SuperBanana said:
In the last 10 years:

Wii was the highest selling console of the generation.
Biggest game on a phone ever that created a media storm..
7 games that sold over 20 million copies
Biggest launch of a game on the App Store ever.
Amiibo's were so popular they were selling out everywhere.
NES Mini has sold hundreds of thousands and still in demand.
Was the mascot at the Olympic closing ceremony to begin Japan's turn in 4 years
Opening Nintendo themed areas at Universal Studio.
Over $10 billion in the bank and enough to run a $250 million loss each year for nearly 40 years.


So clearly as you can see, Nintendo is doomed.
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This post should be stickied to the top of NeoGAF, right with ToS and Staff Members.
 
Boem said:
Does it really? Do you have a source for this, because that seems pretty unlikely.
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Well it's simple if you have access to various trackers. I can't personally tell you what grossing numbers app annie has, but Think Gaming has Pokemon Go pegged at #9 on the US grossing charts at $353k just yesterday. It's still #9 in Japan, where the average gross is MUCH higher than it is in the US. And that's not discounting literally the other hundred or so markets it's released i.

#1 was Mario Run at $2 million in the US. Again, that's just one source. Normally these trackers are varing in what their estimates are.
 
Poster#1 said:
So you're the expert?

It's funny how defensive Nintendo's fans are.
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Oh please. You don't have to be an expert to see that an article arguing that Nintendo is struggling for survival while dismissing their largest successes and overemphasising their failures is going for a particular narrative, you just have to have basic reading comprehension.

It is more than possible to recognise Nintendo's flaws and weaknesses in the marketplace without ignoring their recent successes. It's a shame that this article didn't manage it.
 
Dipper145 said:
The way mario run has been monetized is very different from pokemon go and doesn't really leave open options for continuous sources of income from users who have already purchased the full game. Which I believe was a surprise to people and has led to the stock falling quite a bit.
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Okay, this is a fair point.

I agree that Nintendo tried to find a happy medium between not being a leech like most mobile games, and still trying to price it competitively. Seems to me if this doesn't stand to make as much money as some think it should you'll see a freemium, whale-fueled model that most Japanese Gacha games employ.

I know, because I'm caught in one now. It basically takes advantage of compulsive gamblers, but it works. Can't imagine that most companies are going to turn down the easy money, but it seems that Nintendo is trying to find a happy medium.
 
If Nintendo isn't actively competing in the console war, that means they're doomed?

They turn a pretty regular profit and have a thirsty enough user base that they can play with supply and demand to create artificial scarcity hype.

They have a ton of cash in the bank (more than sony, I think but I could be talking out my ass here) and iirc they at least turn a steady profit even when a console fucking bombs.

Nintendo doesn't inherently need to be number one to be successful, and I think they're embracing that. I personally wish they would drag out some older franchises more often, but I'm still regularly pleased with the games that they put out. I think Mario Party 10 and Mario Tennis were the only "bad" Wii U games imo

I think the switch will be a strong nintendo console. Emphasis on "Nintendo console." Nothing will be a PS4 killer at this point. The switch will have a game library comprised of both the handheld and home console teams' efforts, and I'm prepared to be impressed.

This will be the first gen in fucking years where we get one of whatever Nintendo wants to make, instead of two versions of the same game. The Wii was meh to me, and the Wii U didn't have a library that justified me buying one for a couple years after launch, but the minute the switch has a few games I want to play with some sort of promise that I won't be high and dry for a year or so I'll pick it up.

Nintendo isn't a culturally relevant Disney giant anymore, but they're doing pretty damn well for last place.
 
I'm not sure where people got the idea that having a lot of liquid cash is the hallmark of a healthy company. I would suggest scanning something like

Is it important companies always have high liquidity

to get a more balanced idea of how liquidity can function. An extremely high liquidity ratio often means that a company is stifling its own innovation/expansion, which is a relevant concern for Nintendo's position over the past decade (and one which this article is attempting to illustrate). There's a lot of interesting discussion to be had around this topic if you look past your own bias (and the bias of the author) and think critically for a few minutes before posting a snarky response and closing the tab.

Edit: To be fair, the author is not doing him/herself any favors by throwing the word 'sad' into the title of the article. The editor should never have let it go out with that phrasing.
 
ElectricBlanketFire said:
Plenty of Nintendo criticism on GAF.

I haven't seen anyone say the Switch is a surefire turnaround.
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I think it's because GAF is completely unrealistic. It wants the switch to be crazy powerful, have iPad like battery life, have games that cost the same as 3DS games, and should be $250 MAX! Anything else is failure.
 
SuperBanana said:
It's in the Top 5 highest grossing games across the globe on the App and Play stores. It's making an absolute shit ton of money.
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Right, and that's kinda scary.

If the estimates are at 300k plus daily just for the US iOS version, I can only imagine what this game is raking in on a monthly basis worldwide, for both iOS and Android. Must be scary.

Which again begs the question- How many of these do you need to keep your company afloat? Probably not too many.
 
Kill3r7 said:
Such a weird thing to harp on. The article is in the Altantic which is a magazine that does not cater to gamers, per se. So calling a side-scrolling auto-running video game an "endless runner" is the best way to convey the type of game that it is to the average Joe or Jane. The fact that each level is not randomly generated but handcrafted matters little to their reader base.
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It was just a jab. I wrote my criticisms of the article and they have nothing to do with the term "endless runner".
 
Maxim726X said:
Which again begs the question- How many of these do you need to keep your company afloat? Probably not too many.
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It might be the reason why Nintendo is only testing the waters at five of them over a year or two. You get nice pocket change while going on with your normal business of video games, film, merchandising, and theme parks.
 
Maxim726X said:
Right, and that's kinda scary.

If the estimates are at 300k plus daily just for the US iOS version, I can only imagine what this game is raking in on a monthly basis worldwide, for both iOS and Android. Must be scary.

Which again begs the question- How many of these do you need to keep your company afloat? Probably not too many.
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If done correctly, Animal Crossing is going to take over mobile.
 
Kurdel said:
I agree on the part of the NES classic, but his Mario Run analysis is felt embarrassing to read.



I really can't stand this type of writing style, feels like a Neogaf post made by someone who enjoys reading himself way too much.
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Oh yes. This is not well written.
 
The Artisan said:
bullshit, man. nintendo had a huge phenomenon this summer with pokemon go.

now there's this other thread about how even though mario run is disappointing, it got downloaded like 40 million fuckin times in 4 days, which is 10 million a day.

what "trouble" is nintendo in?
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Is 40 million the number of people that downloaded the game or the number of people that actually bought it for $10? Because that's a huge difference.
 
Maxim726X said:
I know, because I'm caught in one now. It basically takes advantage of compulsive gamblers, but it works. Can't imagine that most companies are going to turn down the easy money, but it seems that Nintendo is trying to find a happy medium.
Click to expand...

I definitely prefer the way Nintendo has monetized mario run, as I am a consumer and it appears better to me that I can make a one time purchase and have the whole game.

Nintendo is still new to the mobile space so I'm not surprised that they are trying out different monetization strategies to see what works best for them. I can see animal crossing going more of a timer-based buy stuff to reduce cooldowns or increase energy so you can do more stuff each day. Mostly because that model seems appropriate to an animal crossing game.

I also should probably say I don't think nintendo is in any trouble at all. In fact I'd say them opening up to the mobile space has increased potential growth opportunities for them.
 
I've read the article twice now, and it really is just badly written and has little to no depth. Its sole purpose is to build a negative narrative. There are legit things to worry about when it comes to Nintendo, but they certianly aren't in the dire straits that the negativity here implies.
 
Article is weird.
Nintendo never reached the heights of DS / Wii again. (Ignores no company has before or since.)
Let's pretend the 3DS doesn't exist.
Pokemon Go lost some of its audience since launch (like every video game ever.) - Who'd have thought a game about walking outside loses players in Winter? In other shocking news, Sunscreen sales have decreased.
Nintendo relies on Nostalgia. This is unique. I will pretend that Playstation20 wasn't a thing and people didn't go insane for the announcement of FF7 Remake.
Weird sidetrack about CliffyB and Blaster Master - a game Nintendo didn't even make.
You have to sign up for a Nintendo account before playing Mario Run. Oh noes.
Mario Run isn't trying to be a real Mario game shocker.
 
I'm not a particularly huge fan of Nintendo's actions lately but that article is trash.


  1. Does SMR's business model (essentially a free trial) represent a misstep? For mobile, perhaps. But I think that speaks more to the sad state of mobile gaming price structures than a huge failing on Nintendo's part. It was a mistake by Nintendo, though.

    IMO, they could've avoided this controversy by making a separate Super Mario Run Demo application for free and then a paid option for the full game. The upgrade prompt on 1-4 took a whole lot of less-informed mobile gamers by surprise. There are better ways to ease consumers into a new business model.

    I don't think F2P with microtransactions would work well. A demo is also important for a game of this price (>$5.00 is outside of impulse buy territory for mobile).

  2. Will SMR bring more people to Nintendo on consoles? Probably.

    Pokemon GO certainly had that impact. Mario probably won't get as big of a boost but one should consider the impact on Wii U / 3DS / Switch hardware and software sales - that is part of SMR's financial benefit to Nintendo and those platforms are also where Nintendo will make better margins on products.

  3. The $9.99 price shouldn't be a surprise to anyone familiar with Nintendo's philosophy - they are entirely against "overly" discounting games because they believe it reduces their perceived value and creates a vicious cycle of price competition (case in point - the mobile games market).

    On Nintendo platforms, Nintendo has control. On mobile, not so much. They are attempting to position their mobile titles as "premium" software and the price reflects that choice. I agree with the idea but I think Nintendo's execution was lacking (#1).
 
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