Nintendo Considering "New Business Structure"

This would require Nintendo understanding how the internet works. Though I could see a Pokemon AR game for iOS being stupidly popular for no real reason

Genius!

You need to do your research before you bash the Wii, which is the 5th best selling game console of ALL TIME; the 4 consoles ahead of it are all from previous generations of gaming consoles, and 2 of them were also manufactured by Nintendo.

The Wii outsold PS3 and Xbox 360 by over 20 MILLION units. Nintendo almost literally mopped the floor with both Sony AND Microsoft last generation, and that's NOT including their massive, world-wide success with hand-held consoles. (Even the GameBoy Advance outsold PS3 and XB360!)

No: the Wii was not a Nintendo misstep by any means. Not a lot of entertainment companies maintain liquidity on the order of $20 BILLION.

I cried a little reading this. To me it all started falling apart when Nintendo released Wii Music, a game Miyamoto said was his most proud game ever, and I thought it was the best game Nintendo has ever made, while basically everyone else hated it. That really messed with the way I view other people's willingness to appreciate beauty unfiltered. Without someone explaining to jaded adults why something is good, most of the time they don't pay attention because they're already sheep. Only children truly see, or people on mushrooms! :D

Back to making cards, Nintendo.

Just dump everything into the 3DS, get some Advanced Wars and Metroid games out.

WiiPhoneU. Confirmed.

Smart phones are the wrong direction, if you ask me.

Nothing that is (traditionally) good about Nintendo works particularly well on a touch-based smart phone.

I think a better solution would be to open up the capacity for larger sales by releasing their amazing games on other platforms.

My guess would be that there's massive amounts of shareholder pressure to jump on some of the branding opportunities that would be available on smart phones, but I wonder if that's a long term solution to their problems. The idea of, for example, a Mario-branding endless runner is just incredibly sad to me.

@gnatsol said:

Yeah I don't understand the cheerful applause. Though I agree Nintendo's position in the market has left me longing for some time but that doesn't mean I want them to give up. It would be a shame if Nintendo went the way of SEGA, I would definitely shed a tear. I grew up with Nintendo and the NES/SNES will always hold a special place in my heart. I still believe Gaming has seem to lost its soul as it continues to chase "BETTER GRAPHIC". Gonna go play Zelda and pretend none of this is happening.

Good now maybe they'll put the fucking GBA backlog on the eShop on my 3DS and stop making "consoles" to compete with MS/Sony. Nintendo really fucked up with the Wii and the U, but the good news is they have always been the best at handhelds, so hopefully they give us fucking gameboy advanced games on the goddamn 3DS

Yowza! This sucks. Don't be surprised though if Nintendo once again defies odds and pulls this out of the fire.

Deep...

wow smartphone talk.

They just need to ditch the gamepad tablet thing and sell the WiiU way cheaper than PS4 and XB1. They tried to sell systems using a gimmick again and it backfired greatly.

3DS's aren't selling well because of the 3D gimmick, they are selling because they are a better DS with equivalent style games people want. Nintendo needs to make the WiiU like that and let go of the gimmicks. Wii was guitar hero and they can't recapture that success the same way Activision could never, people grow tired of gimmicks quickly.

I say they should ditch the WiiU, cut their losses and start with a new console. That won't happen because that's an incredibly risky move to make, but I think it's a bold move they should make.

What is likely to happen is that the next console will be put into development and the WiiU will be retired within a few years. Hopefully.... they'll choose a better name for their next console.

Nintendo squeaked by on the GameCube, they can squeak by on the Wii U.

I do think that Nintendo needs a new system, but not the one that I have seem people mention here. The last thing they need is to release another piece of hardware that is equal to current gen competition. Read the article about the guy who developed Mass Effect 3 for the Wii U that Patrick linked. Nintendo has its head way too far up its own ass to make a console with proper tools, support, and power that AAA devs want. Release Wii U HD in 2 years and NO developer will care. The only way I would think a new console like that makes sense is with extensive outside help and a new direction. (see Mark Cerny and the PS4 vs sony Japan and PS3) And that is a risk that I don't think is worth taking, plus we are talking about a super old super proud Japanese company. Sony did it because they were desperate, and I don't see Nintendo going there.

What I think makes the most sense is instead of trying to find your way into the market of xbox and playstation, find the best way into the market as a secondary console. Release a system that is stripped of all of the crap that you can't do (extensive online systems, TV support, streaming) and make a game box that is simple to use and has the best games you can make. Be super open to indie devs as well. Basically they should make the SNES 2. Buy it for the Nintendo games, which will be the new focus of their system. No more making games to fit the hardware (motion and tablet) and back to doing what people want you to do. With the system being very open for indies, you can one day have as many games released as Steam does.

Keep the handheld stuff going, but merge it together with your new box. Find a way to make the current handheld games playable on the new home system. People want it now with the 3ds and Wii U so make it a selling point for the future.

And finally, make a freaking unified login system that I can have confidence in. I don't buy digital on anything except Steam because I don't trust anyone else.

It's about damn time. Nintendo could make some great games for phones and tablets.

I don't think anyone should be surprised that the wiiu tanked, but the extent to which it did is pretty impressive. I hope this means they reconsider making bayonetta 2 a wiiu exclusive, so some people can actually play it

Keza MacDonald on IGN wrote a pretty great article today that I agree with wholeheartedly. The Wii U may completely flop and be an expensive mistake, but Nintendo will rally back and figure something out. And in the meantime, I'll get to enjoy some pretty kick-butt games that may not sell that great. "If the Wii U turns out to be a niche console with niche games, is that such a bad thing if the games themselves are worthwhile?"

(It's here, in case you're curious. I don't usually like IGN opinion pieces but this one was well thought out.)

They should put a subscription based virtual console on non nintendo systems. It should be like netflix but for old games. pay nintendo directly for it and get access to it on all platforms.

Nintendo put out absolutely amazing games this year. After spending crazy amounts of time playing 3D World with my nephew, I'm ready to put aside my nostalgia and call it one of the best Mario games of all-time. A Link Between Worlds was the best Zelda since The Wind Waker. Pokemon X and Y got me back into a series I haven't cared about since Gold and Silver. Fire Emblem: Awakening was absolutely incredible, coming from someone who isn't a strategy game fan in the least. Pikmin 3 is so full of charm and whimsy and I adored every second of it. Luigi's Mansion, Animal Crossing, The Wonderful 101. All fantastic, well made games across both their platforms.

And here's the boisterous games community, calling for the heads of the annualized franchises, the stale shooter genre, the busted and half-finished games, the FTP money gouging and the day one DLC plans. And here's Nintendo, the company making incredibly polished, deep, rewarding, content rich, quality games...being entirely ignored in favour of the stale shit everyone always complains about.

I read somewhere that Knack outsold Mario. I weep for this fucking industry.

Why IOS? There are more Android phones out there then apple. Also, why mobile? They already have 3ds's and those sell like crazy. Only The WiiU is a disappointment.

@fobwashed: I'm not sure if it's quite as simple as that but I tend to agree with you when it comes to the new generation of young gamers no longer aspiring to or being drawn to Nintendo the same way a lot of us were back in the 80s and 90s. The magic of Nintendo was how they grabbed your imagination and attention when you were young and you become hooked for life on that magic formula. The reality is that kids' first gaming experience today is likely their parent's ipad or phone and those cute little Angry Birds distract them long enough until they look to their older brother whose already playing PlayStation or Xbox and somehow skip the Nintendo phase altogether. Of course the fact that 3DS has sold over 40 Million units kind of punches a hole in this theory, but I definitely think there is a difference in how younger generations perceive the Nintendo brand these days as a "lesser than".

Regarding the sales of Knack vs. SMB3DW, at least if VGChartz.com is to be believed, rest assured Mario sold over 1.6 Million copies globally (over 700K in NA) while Knack managed to sell 500K globally (200K in NA) so the world hasn't yet gone completely mad at least..

This news is very interesting and somewhat troubling, I'm not sure how I would feel about such an iconic pioneering force that for better or worse is solely responsible for the existence of the console market today bowing out of consoles altogether. I choose to remain optimistic this is the desperation they need to make some meaningful, much needed changes and at least make one more valiant effort for glory in the console market. I would hate for the last console Nintendo manufactured to be called Wii U, the legacy deserves better than that..

PS @fobwashed your GB title screen art is totally rad.

Willy Wonka also had to restructure and gave the factory over to Charlie

They should stop trying to embrace what's popular, and how to make a console that embraces LAST YEARS TRENDS and start innovating for the NEXT GENERATION. The Wii U boasted "1080p! Same power as PS3!" right before the PS4 was released? Wtf?

@pj: That is a fair point . . . but do we think the options in front of Nintendo are to fail as a company and fold or to fall into developer irrelevance and make Sonic-level Mario games? I think Patrick's comment just points out that while SEGA is still alive, it still didn't work out "well" for them. Just not a bad as it could have been.

Dear Nintendo:

Have one platform only. Have it be a handheld that can wirelessly output to a small HDMI output device, so that it can be thrown up on a TV easily. Take care of your IPs. Make money.

NOOOO we don't need F2P Nintendo games, we just need Nintendo on a PS4 OMG the power of that machine with the game know how of Nintendo, it's giving me the strangest boner.

@gnatsol:

Bothers me a fair bit too how much people want to see Nintendo fail.

I think gaming in general is plummeting lately, would be a shame if a bold company like Nintendo were to bow out like this.

If they put their back catalog on other systems (PC, Xbox One, PS4) and keep putting out great new games on those, I would buy the crap out of them! I haven't bought a Nintendo game since my GBA days, because I haven't had one of their systems.

All they have to do is quit worrying about all the stupid gimmicks and just focus on the games. Every year people are wondering what games will actually come out on their Nintendo consoles and every year they are disappointed. Nintendo needs to worry about making some quality games first!

I guess everyone who predicted Nintendo getting knocked out of the console sector were right.

I just can't see them doing anything more than just releasing Nintendo games for other platforms. They have lost so much over the last few years, and continue to lose now, that them making another console or even a handheld seems like a really, really bad idea.

It sucks that it has to happen this way....But I don't think Nintendo has another choice at this point if they still want to be a company. We all knew this was coming, we just didn't want to believe it. "Never bet against Nintendo" just doesn't hold up anymore.

@sunjammer: True, they're kinda stuck now. At least Sony had devs who saw enough potential in the system to make it work, plus a stellar run of exclusive titles. Right now, the only thing Nintendo has is franchise loyalty, and even that is starting to falter. When you officially announce your weirdo Dynasty Warriors Zelda game BEFORE there's a new actual Zelda on your system (coz Wind Waker ain't new) something is very wrong.

I've thoroughly enjoyed the Wii U I got for Christmas and have more than enough games to play on it right now. My favorite Nintendo console was probably the GameCube (or...the SNES maybe) and that was a time when Nintendo was hungry. They made killer games. A year or two into the Wii cycle stuff stopped being quite so interesting.

I wouldn't be too upset if a big upset caused them to change up management. As interesting as many of their approaches are, they're severely out of touch with the internet and modern game design in a ton of ways. Something needs to change.

Put more/better games on VC/eShop already

With the new Super Smash Bros coming to 3DS and the need to buy a bunch of pro controllers or something for the Wii U to even make everyone happy while playing it, I don't seeing it having much of an impact on the sales of the Wii U. It'll be an interesting year for Nintendo that's for sure.

I would say while the Wii was most definitely a money maker, its the handhelds (like always) that have been the real winners for Nintendo. At the very least, 3rd parties haven't gotten skittish on them so licensing is still a thing.

Can't wait to see what Nintendo is capable of now that they are hungry again.

People, calm down. Even if Nintendo looses 250 million $ every year, it will take them 40 years, I repeat FORTY YEARS, to use up their short term cash reserves. As of March 2013 they had 10 billion $ in cash and short term investments on their balance sheet, so while realistically a business like Nintendo needs quite a chunk of cash to work, they are hardly in the need to rush.

The reason why the are thinking of realigning their strategy is that in the long run, meaning let's say in 5 years, the situation might be far worse if they don't shift with the market. That doesn't change that even if they make all the wrong decisions, Nintendo will still be around in 10 years. They simply have THAT much cash. Sega was a completely different story.

Keep iterating on the handheld consoles and make games for them, and move the console gamemaking to other consoles. I'd love to see a full HD Zelda for the PS4 with awesome graphics made entirely by Nintendo. At least we can dream...

Pokemon is a system seller (3DS), why would they put that on iOS?

I completely agree about the prev. gen. eShop games.

sorry about your taste in games dude

Please don't go mobile. Nintendo I will not forgive you if you start making games for smartphones.

I like my Wii U, some people get so fucking wrapped up about what is better and all of the x y z reasons to follow. Just enjoy games, whatever platform they are on. Shit isn't a race or a competition. Hopefully Nintendo releases a few games that aren't platforms, say what you will about zombiu, but I kinda need more games like that. Nevertheless as my first nintendo console ever, I really enjoy what they have brought. Neato.

I wonder if this "New Business Structure" includes making money?

No... it says a lot about you though.

Thank god Mario has more interesting things going for it than an aesthetic then, right? Like... actually being fun.