Nintendo says consumers not ready for online gaming (1 Viewer)

[Michael St. Clair]

Why release networking for one game? Even Saturn and Dreamcast had multiple online games!

Let me get this straight.

Nintendo has gone from first place (NES over Sega Master System)

...to tied for first place (SNES and Genesis over Turbografx)

...to second place (N64 beats Saturn but loses handily to PSX)

...and now they are slipping to third place.

And the solution is:

1) Pretend all is well.
2) Remake the same games they've made for over six years.
3) Stand by and watch their two competitors take over a new, growing market segment.

Sounds good to me!

 

[Romier S]

I'd rather have 3 solid single player games for GameCube than a dozen crappy XBL games, and I think most, if not all, would agree with me on that.

Id rather have three solid games period, regardless of the platform Morgan. As to your question of how many online titles on XBL will be good? (which was besides my point anyway but hey its your tangent). I can pose the same for the GC's line-up since you haven't played a single one of them. I think Mario Sunshine proved that not every Nintendo game is going to be solid gold. Chances are they will quality titles (Good chances in fact as F-zero and Rogue Squadron both of which I will be buying) but fact of the matter is anything you or I say is speculation at best since we have not played the titles in question.

In between all three solid Nintendo titles you mentioned a great many GC owners get to sit through minimal useless third party titles that amount to nothing with lengthy waits between the killer titles. That has beeen par course so far (though to be fair that looks to improve this year).

If your going to lob shit at particular systems and thier games, lob it equally. Lord knows that Nintendo and Microsoft *BOTH* have their fair shair of issues to deal with right now Morgan. Both have thier pluses and thier minuses.

 

[Jeffrey D Smith]

Wow people have real issues with Nintendo remakes, yet that is what others demand.

And yet you guys are already clamoring over Halo2, and I wonder what you are going to want on Xbox 2, hmm perhaps Halo 3?

Point is a good game is a good game. Just because a game is a sequal and may not be 100% original doesn't mean it sucks. I'll take Mario Sunshine over Blinx anyday...

 

[Romier S]

I'll take Mario Sunshine over Blinx anyday...

Well you can't see the main character half the time in both games so at least they have that in common!

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Wow people have real issues with Nintendo remakes, yet that is what others demand.

I've no beef with good remakes/sequels, but I think they should be updated to include new technology. Halo 2 is online, you see...

I'm not saying that Nintendo no longer makes quality games, I'm saying that many of them are not for me (but could be!), and that their market share is eroding. How can that be a good thing?

When they had a strong hold on the market with NES and SNES, they still made great games....even more of them! And more great third party games as well.

Do you honestly think that if their downward slide continues that they will stay profitable forever and still be making great games and cool systems someday?

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Courtesy of the Puget Sound Business Journal.

It's not a good announcement that Acclaim won't be supporting GameCube anymore, if it's the first of many," Pachter said. "I don't think it will be. I can tell you the GameCube is in no more trouble than the Xbox."

 

[David Lee]

Nintendo of America's Japanese parent company reported that profits declined 38 percent to $548 million while sales fell 10 percent to $4.1 billion for the fiscal year ending in March.

Profits declined, PROFITS. What were their competition's profits. Making money - Good. Losing Money - Bad.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Profits declined, PROFITS. What were their competition's profits. Making money - Good. Losing Money - Bad.

Thank you David, but I have a business degree.

Of course losses are worse than declining profits. When declining profits are associated with a trend, they do typically lead to losses.

You think Nintendo management is throwing contraction parties right now?

 

[David Lee]

I also don't think they're throwing a funeral. I agree to some extent but if you were in charge of Nintendo with a Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Soul Calibur, F-Zero, and [I hate to say it] Pokemon yet to be released, would you panic? Nintendo is also under Iwata, who hasn't been afraid to admit mistakes and is probably eager to prove himself. Nintendo isn't as stubborn as they were under Yamauchi. Third party support HAS improved [ see games above] and they have also lowered licensing fees. It would be naive to say that Nintendo isn't having problems, but it's ridiculous to think that they should pull the plug, while still making a profit.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

but if you were in charge of Nintendo with a Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Soul Calibur, F-Zero, and [I hate to say it] Pokemon yet to be released, would you panic?

Panic? No. Be concerned? Yes. Resident Evil failed to sell even close to estimated numbers, Metal Gear is a rehash, Final Fantasy is not a "true" Final Fantasy game, F-Zero should be solid, but I doubt is going to sell even close to a million, Soul Calibur is on other systems with controllers far superior for fighting games, and the Pokemon console titles have not blown socks off in quality or quantity sold.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

I've never said to panic, or that Nintendo should shut down. I've said that I think it is a mistake for Nintendo to ignore online gaming, and industry analysts seem to agree with me.

Those who scoff at gamers who can't imagine picking up an offline-only golf, tennis, or racing title: how many hours have you spent playing console games online? It can be hard to see the attraction of the new paradigm until you have experienced it.

 

[David Lee]

Older News but not that old. Late 2002.

According to Dengeki, Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire sold 1.3 MILLION units in the stores that report their numbers... in just three days, even! (11/21 - 11/24) Dengeki only tracks 50% of Japanese stores, so potentially there were around 2-2.5 million Pokemon cartridges sold in three days. Irrelevant to me but both games were given a 9.5 by IGN. So they don't sell well and are of poor quality?

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Harrison was vague, however, on Nintendo's online gaming strategy, a segment that Microsoft and Sony have pioneered in the last year. Collectively, the two consoles have garnered about 1 million online gamers

Though to be totally honest, what's to say that those two groups (the XBLivers and the Sony Onliners) aren't overlapping a little bit? I'd figure the real number is somewhere a wee bit lower, maybe 800,000 total unique players, if that. And even so, some videogames sell more copies as offline single player games than they would be able to if they were online-only on either PS2 or X-Box. So which is more profitable and hits a broader audience?

 

[David Lee]

Pokemon console titles have not blown socks off in quality or quantity sold.

According to NPD TRSTS, Pokemon Stadium {N64]was the highest selling console game across all systems for 2000 [4th overall]. It was behind Pokemon Silver, Gold, and Yellow GBC, overall. I'm not a big Pokemon fan but they are popular.

 

[Mike__D]

Metal Gear is a rehash

And it'll be a damn fine rehash, thank you very much. Some of us have never played MGS, so this will be a new game for me. And the fact they are upgrading all the graphics, and even the gameplay engine to be on par with newer version says something.

 

[Luis S]

Kinda off topic but not, Im buying a cube as soon as MGS hits. For that reason alone Im there!

Luis S

 

[Rob_Pierce]

Seems to me like the Big N is sticking to the online sidelines because their market is not terribly interested. Here at HTF, we're all big gamers and most of us have broadband and enjoy online play. Aside from this forum, though, many people across the country aren't too interested.

Michael, I know that you are a believer in grabbing market share right now and waiting for profits later, but Nintendo has never been a big risk taker--whether this is good or bad can be debated. Once online gaming is standard, I have little doubt that Nintendo's machine will be a very high-quality, online capable console. I see no need for them to rush into an area that they are not proficient in solely for the sake of serving a small, but growing segment.

For a company as large as Nintendo to wait on the sideline for this segment to mature, then possibly purchase a smaller company that can make it happen or develop the technology in house, seems like a good idea to me. Sticking to their core competencies for the time being is not always a bad idea--especially in tough economic conditions in both the US & Japan. Sit on the cash for now, then jump in when the time is right.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Rob,

I hear your argument, and others feel the same way. I don't see it happening. Nintendo has been losing customers for years, they'll keep losing customers for the next two years, and I don't see them coming back regardless of what Nintendo is doing online or otherwise at that point.

I predict the incredible shrinking Nintendo. Not all will agree.

Ultimately, we'll have to wait and see. It will be interesting following Nintendo's profits over the next two years.

 

[Ricky Hustle]

I predict the incredible shrinking Nintendo. Not all will agree.

I will. Right now I own all 3 consoles. I moved to a new home 6 weeks ago. My cube is still in the box. I own one GCN game, ONE! By the end of the year I will probably own two more, FZero and Mario Cart.

In contrast, I own a dozen Xbox titles, and 6 PS2 titles. I will buy at least a dozen more games this year for these two systems. I consider myself an Xbox fan, and would love to see MS gain the marketshare lead over the next 5 years, (I can't put my finger on it, but while most others loathe Microsoft, I love 'em). I also would love nothing more than to see Nintendo crush Sony, I've been a Nintendo fanboy since the beginning.

That all said, I am not confidant that Nintendo's future is very bright at this point. I am a die-hard gamer, and my GCN sits in its dusty box. :frowning:

Maybe I should pick up Ikaruga off ebay.

 

[James D S]

Maybe I should pick up Ikaruga off ebay.

Yes, you should, but you should buy it at a store, retail.