Edit: Aware that title and some things said may attract trolls, generate feelings of WTF, and statements of GTFO. But that has largely been dealt with, so lets move on. It's just a discussion, lets all try to keep it civil.
Edit 2: MANY MANY people have made many good points, and the original post is not indicative of all of them. Really, this thread is hypothetical and mostly discussing nintendos problems, future, what would happen if it got into financial trouble, and what could cause it. If you think thats absurd, you dont want to hear or think about it: then don't post in it or read it. If like me, you find the notion interesting, then discuss.
Of course tons of Wii's and DS's are selling, so financially and strategically there is little basis to say this; but I think Nintendo could still, within a few generations, be out of the home console business. If not out of it, change there position in it so much that it barely even feels like a home console anymore. They seem to focusing on innovation/gimmicks and constantly reinventing consoles. Heres a recent article, seeming to state that nintendo is again banking on a different approach to home consoles (http://kotaku.com/5630906/nintendos-next-console-will-leave-your-mouth-open). What that article is hinting at, I don't know, but they are starting to rev up the hype machine. If they really wanted to drop jaws, a partnership would do it. Another possibility is that they just stick to handhelds, and keep their IP games solely on them. With their assertion that apple is now the major competitor, and not the other two console makers, is this indicative of a change to focusing on handhelds?
Also, when I heard nintendo starting to hype their next system. Saying it will be jaw dropping. I had a thought about what their next thing could be. Return of the Power Glove! Not so much a glove, but some kind of finger sensors, that could register "button presses" just by flicking a finger. Combine that with a kinect like motion system, and there you have "buttons" and controller-less body tracking. Still have the joystick problem though. I don't know about the viability of this tech, and the "glove" or finger sensors would have to fit everyone...but its one of the few ideas i've had about what the next innovation/gimmick might be.
Not prediciting it will happen anytime soon, but when thinking about what Nintendo would do if faced with the inability to continue in consoles, heres what I thought. My predicition is that they team with SONY (Possibly microsoft, though this is less likely to me) and develop exclusively for them. I think that would be more likely to happen than them going 3rd party developer like SEGA.
Really, starting with N64, gamecube, and now wii; Nintendo has had the "odd" console out. Selling systems almost entirely with first party titles, and getting much less quality and mainstream 3rd party titles. Nintendo hit gold with the Wii, but it still seems like they got lucky with non-gamers who may not be there again. Even with their success, as a gamer, i view them as struggling to compete and hang on when you actually look at their tech, system features, game releases, and stated business plan.
Think they will be able to sell a system with 5 year old graphics tech again? There is a good possibility nintendo will again try to, and that it may not work out as well this time. I've owned every Nintendo system since the NES, but even with their current financial success, I view the SNES as their pinnacle.
Edit 2: MANY MANY people have made many good points, and the original post is not indicative of all of them. Really, this thread is hypothetical and mostly discussing nintendos problems, future, what would happen if it got into financial trouble, and what could cause it. If you think thats absurd, you dont want to hear or think about it: then don't post in it or read it. If like me, you find the notion interesting, then discuss.
Of course tons of Wii's and DS's are selling, so financially and strategically there is little basis to say this; but I think Nintendo could still, within a few generations, be out of the home console business. If not out of it, change there position in it so much that it barely even feels like a home console anymore. They seem to focusing on innovation/gimmicks and constantly reinventing consoles. Heres a recent article, seeming to state that nintendo is again banking on a different approach to home consoles (http://kotaku.com/5630906/nintendos-next-console-will-leave-your-mouth-open). What that article is hinting at, I don't know, but they are starting to rev up the hype machine. If they really wanted to drop jaws, a partnership would do it. Another possibility is that they just stick to handhelds, and keep their IP games solely on them. With their assertion that apple is now the major competitor, and not the other two console makers, is this indicative of a change to focusing on handhelds?
Also, when I heard nintendo starting to hype their next system. Saying it will be jaw dropping. I had a thought about what their next thing could be. Return of the Power Glove! Not so much a glove, but some kind of finger sensors, that could register "button presses" just by flicking a finger. Combine that with a kinect like motion system, and there you have "buttons" and controller-less body tracking. Still have the joystick problem though. I don't know about the viability of this tech, and the "glove" or finger sensors would have to fit everyone...but its one of the few ideas i've had about what the next innovation/gimmick might be.
Not prediciting it will happen anytime soon, but when thinking about what Nintendo would do if faced with the inability to continue in consoles, heres what I thought. My predicition is that they team with SONY (Possibly microsoft, though this is less likely to me) and develop exclusively for them. I think that would be more likely to happen than them going 3rd party developer like SEGA.
Really, starting with N64, gamecube, and now wii; Nintendo has had the "odd" console out. Selling systems almost entirely with first party titles, and getting much less quality and mainstream 3rd party titles. Nintendo hit gold with the Wii, but it still seems like they got lucky with non-gamers who may not be there again. Even with their success, as a gamer, i view them as struggling to compete and hang on when you actually look at their tech, system features, game releases, and stated business plan.
Think they will be able to sell a system with 5 year old graphics tech again? There is a good possibility nintendo will again try to, and that it may not work out as well this time. I've owned every Nintendo system since the NES, but even with their current financial success, I view the SNES as their pinnacle.
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Nintendo for years now. What did I buy yesterday? Metroid: Other M and New Super Mario Bros. And I got it at K-Mart so I got a $20 gaming coupon, which has a good chance to eventually go towards Sin & Punishment 2. Thats just how it is. Regardless of how much better or worse the competition may be, they aren't going away.
The 3DS will probably sell if its not overpriced, works well, and doesn't give nasty hangover like side-effects.