After dramatically cutting fiscal year sales forecasts, president Satoru Iwata said Nintendo is looking to new areas for sales, marketing and customers.

"We should abandon old assumptions about our businesses," Iwata told The Nikkei. "We are considering [mergers and acquisitions] as an option. For this reason, we'll step up share buybacks."

Two weeks ago, the company cut the Wii U sales forecast from 9 to 2.8 million units, for the fiscal year ending March 31. Nintendo also cut the projection for 3DS sales, its perennial life boat, from 18 to 13.5 million; both of these revisions change Nintendo's net income projection from a profit to loss.

"We'll change the way we sell products, by managing customer information via the Internet," Iwata told The Nikkei. "We'll offer discounts to steady, regular customers. We'll cultivate emerging markets and launch new businesses in health and other areas. In an emerging country, you can expand the user base only after you offer a product line different from advanced economies in pricing." ..

IGN: Nintendo to Consider Mergers and Acquisitions, Iwata Says

Realistically, but what company can actually afford to support Nintendo, yet have their games stay on Wii U? Like say, if Sony or Microsoft were to help Nintendo out, they would still be considered as a competitor selling on a separate competitive console. I would think selling off IPs would be the first thing to do, before any buyout or merger. And even so, how much is Mario or Zelda worth then? My friend was telling me he would "die" if Super Smash would go to Microsoft. But then, Super Smash is only possible as a concept, featuring all these IPs together, yes? And also, what's to say some random Japanese or Chinese company would actually be the one to step in? I picture some investment company, like how Blackberry did.

But, the part about the Nintendo wanting to acquire a company: I don't even know if that really makes sense. Who would they buy out? Blackberry of all things just to do mobile games? Anyway, what are your thoughts? How much bidding would companies fight over Zelda, or Super Mario Bros.?

@blu3v3nom07:

They're not talking about merging with Microsoft or Sony. This is referring to the possibility of buying up and merging with third parties, effectively making them first-party.

EDIT: Why did this cut off part of my post when I submitted it? Anyway, the other thing I was going to say was that this article and Nintendo's stated plans make no indication that they're in a mode to start selling off IPs like Mario or Zelda.

Maybe Giant Bomb can afford Nintendo with the new budget.

It was a misquote. Iwata actually said Murders and Executions.

They were idiots to not acquire Atlus, first of all.

Nintendo should have got Atlus last year and also Ip/devs/games that were almost done from THQ for 300 mil $ they could have got a lot of stuff (Some say that Microsoft paid epic 100 mil $ for gears ip with no game/studio )

omg no please leave Atlus alone.... They rather should go with Platinum games.

I doubt Nintendo will be buying up companies or IPs to solve their current woes, nor will they sell off any of their assets like they did with Rare. However, if Nintendo were to scrounge up enough money to buy EA, that would be fucking hilarious.

With the amount on complimentary IP Disney controls, I could easily see them buying Nintendo, if all your Star Wars/Marvel/Disney games were exclusive on Nintendo, that would be a huge boost, and Disney could probably make some pretty good movies and TV based on Nintendo properties, Disney would probably be pretty happy with having their own media device in everyone's home too.

Breaking News: Nintendo buys a bunch of third party devs and makes them first party. Puts them all to work on Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Donkey Kong, Animal Crossing, etc.

That can be interesting. I've always thought of Nintendo as the Disney of video games and having Disney buy Nintendo would definitely support that image. I this happens and if Disney makes a sequel to Wreck-It Ralph, Mario, Link, Pikachu and so many other Nintendo characters would make an appearance.

Ehhhhhhhhhhhh... if I were a struggling company, I probably wouldn't go for a niche publisher. Atlus seems to be climbing out of "niche" territory, but acquiring Atlus probably wouldn't have helped them all that much.

After giving this the requisite internet fifteen seconds of thought as I clicked "quote" and started typing, I think this might be a really good scenario for Nintendo.

I heard Giant Bomb is going to hire Nintendo.

Man, so many of the quotes are business jargon bullshit. Nintendo has many problems, but if they focus on a few main ones I think they could do themselves a lot of good. By main problems I mean:

1. Gimmicks

2. Brand Confusion

3. Understanding the Internet

Think of it this way. If Nintendo stopped messing with stupid gimmicks that drive away third parties while adding very little value to the games themselves, stopped confusing the market with their console names (Wii, Wii U, 3DS, 2DS), and created an online infrastructure similar to even what the 360 while potentially catering to small developers like the PS4 and Steam try to do, they might actually turn this ship around. However, it makes sense after the Wii and DS that they think gimmicks are the way to go, but the market has clearly changed and Nintendo needs to be able to change with it if they want to survive.

ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

They should have bought THQ when they had the chance.

http://www.giantbomb.com/wii-u/3045-139/forums/what-if-nintendo-had-bought-thq-1444734/

No way. Nintendo is usually very stingy about letting third parties touch their franchises (although that appears to be changing). The Wonderful 101 was pitched as a game staring a bunch of Nintendo characters and Nintendo said nope make your own characters.

@dalai: well they already have started something, they got the luigi's mansion 2 developer it was from europe i think, that studio is now nintendo first party, maybe they are going to studios from japan that we don't know about

I think it was said on the Bombcast (I forget who said it exactly), but Nintendo releasing their games on either Microsofts platforms or Sony's would be just plain crazy! I couldn't imagine Nintendo actually going though with that. Only in dire situations I guess...

Or maybe Nintendo should hire Jeff Green or Danny O'Dwyer.

@steelerzfan101: That was more about exclusivity not about bringing games out for other platforms. If they indeed go 3rd party then there is possible no way games will be exclusive to only one system.

Well most of the guys I know, who are in mergers and acquisitions, really don't like it.

I think it really is changing. Luigis Mansion: Dark Moon was made by a canadian studio not owned by nintendo (but they have a deal where they will only work on nintendo consoles). The same studio made the punchout reboot on wii. Team Ninja made Metroid Other M. Those are the 2 big examples I can think of. Also, my original comment was a joke. Just FYI

Don't worry about it, I don't take any of this shit too seriously. Anyway the partnerships can also be seen with future titles like the Zelda Dynasty Warriors and Namco working on Smash Bros. Things are definitely starting to changing.

Yeah, that actually seems like a smart business idea. Disney games exclusive on Nintendo. That will get parents to buy the consoles and provide the fuel for Nintendo's original stuff.

Eh? There are some Zelda games made by Capcom, the Metroid Prime Trilogy was made by Retro before Nintendo bought them, and Retro has also made Donkey Kong Country Returns. Way back in the SNES days, Sony was going to make a disc peripheral for the SNES until Nintendo changed their minds (and subsequently made their biggest competitor).

Letting other companies work on Nintendo properties isn't a recent development.

There were also those CD-i Zelda games but we don't talk about those.

hmmmmm, I'm going to just wildly speculate without any real knowledge and say they are probably going to buy a Pachinko company to help ad diversity to their portfolio. Another video game company would just be more of the same an eventually lead them to dividing up that company which is basically the story of EA and Microsoft.

I'd play a Danny Kong game.

@darji: Yeah I guess that would make sense.

Nan, Nintendo might be the most conservative company in this market. No way big shareholders would approve of a Disney buyout. I also don't see Disney paying billions for a company when every buisness analyst in the world will tell them it's run horribly.

@kidavenger: that would definitely benefit both companies and be very smart. Just think they can do a Mickey meets Mario movie crap like that.... it's gold!!

I hope you guys are ready for Valvetendo.

I said it before and i will say it again.

Nintendo merger with sega ! and a new console super dreamcast entertainment system.

Im only kind of joking.

@bane122 said:

lol

Who would they merge with? What would they acquire? I really don't like the possibility of Nintendo becoming a third party developer.

Nintendo are being acquired by VinnCo. and will thereafter be known as Vintendo.

Ooh ooh! They should buy Vanillaware and make them work on Metroid. I would play that game.

Jason Schreier would have a stroke at their interpretation of Samus. I approve of this.

Somebody get this man on a conference call with Vinny and Iwata now!

Brand confusion has nothing to do with it. Just because someone's grandma thinks the Wii U is just a controller for the Wii doesn't mean that's why people aren't buying a Wii U. Anyone who plays games knows the difference and they're the ones buying the games or asking someone to buy the games for them. Fans of the Xbox are able to handle 3 different consoles called the Xbox, fans of the Playstation can handle four different consoles called the Playstation, yet you seem to think Nintendo fans are too stupid to know the difference. People aren't buying or asking for a Wii U because they know it's an underpowered console with barely a handful of games worth playing and not because they're too stupid to realize it's not just a controller.