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Nikkei says Nintendo about to unveil its approach to mobile development [Update]

Prine

Banned
What Nintendo fail to understand is, phones are a necessity in today's modern world, gaming machine's aren't, trying to lure casual/children isn't going to work as gaming for these people is secondary to face booking and tweeting, an all gaming machine without the richness of apps is probably the most unattractive proposal that has been made yet. Nintendo have no clue. It's easier to play the copy cat games and have access to the wealth of other features smartphones afford.
 
Also, the problem that it, indeed, takes time changing things... But Nintendo moves as a slug in this things. So sorry if people has no confidence in Nintendo when the big reveal for the investors is a App.

Minigames, tailored for a platform aren't demos.

"want to make people going to buy the hardware and product."
 

Anteo

Member
Sounds about right. THey did talk before about trying to convert these user, so "demos" and showing the content sounds like a good try. I expected to do something like this but not until later this year.
 
Half assed ideas are the thing that made Nintendo think that the WiiU was a good idea.

Have you considered that when we look at the wii u's problems, we're using hindsight bias. It's easy to say they should've known, but the fact is they couldn't of. As I pointed out, console development takes a while. Hell, it's even possible they were too far gone with the wii u by the time smartphones really became a major force that they really couldn't change their plan without wasting a ton of time and money to build another new console from the ground up. The Wii U had problems, but it's a lot harder to spot problems of something that hasn't been released as opposed to something you know has done poorly. And no, all the gamer's who say "I've been pointing out this stuff the whole time", do not mean it was predictable. I remember when the Wii came out, most of the developers and interviews I saw predicted it would fail as well. And a ton of super hardcore internet forum types were already bitter about the wii, and pretty much wanted the Wii U to fail. Bias colored their perceptions, even if they may have been right in the end
 

Replicant

Member
Do people even download an app to play a demo? Sounds too annoying and a waste of the phone's space capacity when there are other free games on the mobile devices out there. This could be a lot of efforts for minimal return.

Unless you already own a Nintendo product, I'd say not many would be interested in the app unless the game is for free or at least it's a paid game that you get to own on the phone.
 

BGBW

Maturity, bitches.
Minigames, tailored for a platform aren't demos.
If said minigame was like NES Remix and basically consisted of bit sized snippits of games like jump on the first Goomba in SMB then it would be both a minigame and a demo.

Do people even download an app to play a demo? Sounds too annoying and a waste of the phone's space capacity when there are other free games on the mobile devices out there. This could be a lot of efforts for minimal return.
That's why I think something like NES Remix would work. It would feel like a proper game while basically just being a selection of bite sized demos.
 

diaspora

Member
Do people even download an app to play a demo? Sounds too annoying and a waste of the phone's space capacity when there are other free games on the mobile devices out there. This could be a lot of efforts for minimal return.

Welcome to mobile development.
 
Have you considered that when we look at the wii u's problems, we're using hindsight bias. It's easy to say they should've known, but the fact is they couldn't of. As I pointed out, console development takes a while. Hell, it's even possible they were too far gone with the wii u by the time smartphones really became a major force that they really couldn't change their plan without wasting a ton of time and money to build another new console from the ground up. The Wii U had problems, but it's a lot harder to spot problems of something that hasn't been released as opposed to something you know has done poorly. And no, all the gamer's who say "I've been pointing out this stuff the whole time", do not mean it was predictable. I remember when the Wii came out, most of the developers and interviews I saw predicted it would fail as well. And a ton of super hardcore internet forum types were already bitter about the wii, and pretty much wanted the Wii U to fail. Bias colored their perceptions, even if they may have been right in the end

Explain PS4 and Xbox One.
 
Question: Why is everyone assuming this must be the entirety of Nintendo's new business strategy going forward as opposed to a small part htat is getting attention because of the whole mobile obsession?
 

ari

Banned
What Nintendo fail to understand is, phones are a necessity in today's modern world, gaming machine's aren't, trying to lure casual/children isn't going to work as gaming for these people is secondary to face booking and tweeting, an all gaming machine without the richness of apps is probably the most unattractive proposal that has been made yet. Nintendo have no clue. It's easier to play the copy cat games and have access to the wealth of other features smartphones afford.

People tend to forget that smartphones are attended to be bought as phones, not gaming machines. Put it this way, just because your iphone plays chrono trigger, doesn't mean its viable over a Nintendo DS or any other dedicated hardware. This is where Nintendo gets it. They can control this while still catering to the mobile adopters.
 
Question: Why is everyone assuming this must be the entirety of Nintendo's new business strategy going forward as opposed to a small part htat is getting attention because of the whole mobile obsession?

Past experiences with Nikkei reveals and Nintendo own incursions to "new things and social and internet".
 

Alebrije

Member
mrJd2X.jpg
 

Riki

Member
Question: Why is everyone assuming this must be the entirety of Nintendo's new business strategy going forward as opposed to a small part htat is getting attention because of the whole mobile obsession?

Because people are insane and only see what they want to see.
 

Mpl90

Two copies sold? That's not a bomb guys, stop trolling!!!
Question: Why is everyone assuming this must be the entirety of Nintendo's new business strategy going forward as opposed to a small part htat is getting attention because of the whole mobile obsession?

This. I mean, look at what Iwata said days ago. He didn't just talk about mobile, but he talked about many other things, especially how the premium model wasn't working as well as in the past anymore AND the business restructure: these two should make people think that mobile apps shouldn't be the only action taken by NCL.
 

The Hermit

Member
I´ve been saying this for ages... use cellphone to lure them to the hardware.

Don't know why people are so upset about this
 

Riki

Member
Well, thank you?

If you've read the OP and what Reggie and Iwata have said, it's pretty obvious to see that this is going to be a very minor part of their business and just a new way to market their products.
This isn't going to be a major part of anything Nintendo does for the foreseeable future.
 
All of those things will just hurt Nintendo. Not as bad as going mobile (I still don't even know how some people still believe it's a good idea) but still bad enough.
 
Explain PS4 and Xbox One.
Except nobody actually knew those would be successful either. THat has nothing to do with anything. Or are you forgetting that a ton of analysts expected them to fail as well, or at least do more poorly and suffer from the existence of smartphones. In fact, they're still new enough that they could easily fail as well. Just because they've sold fast so far doesn't mean they'll continue to.

You seem to have missed the point. It's easy to say this stuff in hindsight because we know how things went. But the fact is Nintendo can't see into the future to know definitively if there ideas are good or bad. And from the perspective of when Nintendo developed it, the wii had been a major success, so of course they planned to move forward with the strategy. You can argue the wii was just a fluke, and maybe it was. But that wasn't something you could really know for sure while the wii u was in development. Especially since wii u will have been in development since the wii came out. Smartphones wouldn't become a major factor until years after the wii u's development started
 

diaspora

Member
Not quite. With some app development you can clearly see there's a point to and positive result from it. While with others, well, it's really a waste of time for both the developer to make and the user to download it.

An infinitesimally small part of app development yields anything positive.
 
If you've read the OP and what Reggie and Iwata have said, it's pretty obvious to see that this is going to be a very minor part of their business and just a new way to market their products.
This isn't going to be a major part of anything Nintendo does for the foreseeable future.

Well, I agree is minimal. Dunno if they have a mayor plan to present.
 

RPGCrazied

Member
Only a matter of time. Lets just hope its not Mario or Zelda games with microtransactions. I'd rather they go 3rd party than do that.
 
Nintendo putting out their games on mobile would be an incredibly stupid decision. One dumb enough that it would make the Wii U look like an explosive success.

Here's what a Nintendo app (singular) should contain:
  • Miiverse in your pocket at all times
  • Product videos
  • Some sort of Streetpass integration
  • The ability to buy games via your phone and have them downloaded to your 3DS or Wii U
  • News and updates
  • The ability to view Nintendo Directs
  • A frequently updated, simple in-app game. Not even a GAME, so much as something to screw around with. They should do this only because they're a games company and this should be seen as a way of proving it. Basically Wario Ware in-app. Hell, move the WW series to mobile via the app if that makes the most sense.
  • Finally, if Nintendo really wanted to do something cool...
    make a simple little game maker app with Nintendo assets and let users create and share their own simple games via the app. Either do it via an entirely separate app or incorporate the feature into the main Nintendo app.

That's all they have to do at least for a few years. Then they can make the jump to creating their own mobile devices or partnering with Apple or whatever comes next for them.
 

BGBW

Maturity, bitches.
Also I like that people assume just because others have made shoddy mobile games Nintendo will apparently follow suit. People make shoddy games for consoles and handhelds but Nintendo's quality doesn't get affected by this. Iwata even said years ago that one should take pride in their game because chances are if you don't care about it the end result will be something the consumer won't care about.

I'm sure if Nintendo puts something out for the iOS/Android market it will not be a crappy game people seem to expect it to be. I mean if this is to encourage people to "upgrade" to a 3DS or Wii U surely Nintendo would want to say "if you thought this game was good you should see what we make on out own systems". If it was a crappy game no one would care to move on to Nintendo hardware.
 
I said it in the other thread so I'll re-post it here.

I think Nintendo is done with the traditional Home Console. The closest thing we'll get to a new Nintendo Box will be some type of Hand-held hybrid with TV out.

I also think Nintendo are one of the few companies that could make a successful and Affordable Gaming Tablet with traditional style controls.
 

diaspora

Member
Nintendo putting out their games on mobile would be an incredibly stupid decision. One dumb enough that it would make the Wii U look like an explosive success.

Agreed.

Here's what a Nintendo app (singular) should contain:
  • Miiverse in your pocket at all times
  • Product videos
  • Some sort of Streetpass integration
  • The ability to buy games via your phone and have them downloaded to your 3DS or Wii U
  • News and updates
  • The ability to view Nintendo Directs

It's puzzling as to why this doesn't exist yet. It doesn't destroy their brands, but just allows them to be heard by more people.
 
Except nobody actually knew those would be successful either. THat has nothing to do with anything.

When preorders numbers hit, the only people arguing that were WiiU apologists.

Or are you forgetting that a ton of analysts expected them to fail as well, or at least do more poorly and suffer from the existence of smartphones. In fact, they're still new enough that they could easily fail as well. Just because they've sold fast so far doesn't mean they'll continue to.

Ha. Maybe when it was just especulation the new consoles. But I don't remember an analyst saying it was going to bomb as hard as the WiiU was started to doing.

You seem to have missed the point. It's easy to say this stuff in hindsight because we know how things went. But the fact is Nintendo can't see into the future to know definitively if there ideas are good or bad. And from the perspective of when Nintendo developed it, the wii had been a major success, so of course they planned to move forward with the strategy. You can argue the wii was just a fluke, and maybe it was. But that wasn't something you could really know for sure while the wii u was in development. Especially since wii u will have been in development since the wii came out. Smartphones wouldn't become a major factor until years after the wii u's development started

"So we should never move because we don't know when we will drop dead?".

Also, as I remember, many people where actually excited when the Wii was revealed.
 

Albo

Member
Do they have much to lose by trying? It may not fix the root of their problems but It's a less risky. quick strategy, that won't incur too many losses. If it works then they're bound to get more exposure without devaluing their IP's (if marketing is done right) if not then move on, and try something else. Does the mobile audience even care about nintendo devaluing their brands with moile apps?

Something like a "tingle's balloon burst" or an app like one of the minigames in SM64DS on mobile isn't exactly going to keep people from playing a Zelda U, ALBW or SM3DW. They don't require any precise controls that wouldn't be suitable for mobile. It gets a large markets attention towards ninty's console games at least by being exposed to these apps if.
 

Sandfox

Member
They likely don't. Not in the way people want them to, anyway.
It'll be stay the course for a while more.

They still have to comment and will likely receive a lot of questions about the console side of their business so we will probably hear something about that.
 
When preorders numbers hit, the only people arguing that were WiiU apologists.



Ha. Maybe when it was just especulation the new consoles. But I don't remember an analyst saying it was going to bomb as hard as the WiiU was started to doing.



"So we should never move because we don't know when we will drop dead?".

Also, as I remember, many people where actually excited when the Wii was revealed.
You clearly don't know what hindsight bias is. It means that when you know the results it's easy to see why things happened as they did. You say when preorder numbers hit. Well no fuck. Of course analysts won't predict a failure after they had a solid lead that it wouldn't fail. I'll point out nobody thought the wii u would fail as hard as it has except the people who hated Nintendo and would've made the same prediction regardless of what Nintendo put out. People make moves based off of past trends. From what Nintendo saw at the time of wii u development, it makes sense they'd go in the direction they chose. Especially since one of the biggest problems wasn't a major thing for a large portion of the development time. Furthermore, even if Nintendo realized some things might be issues, they might have misjudged the extent. Which is an easy thing to do when you can't see the fucking future. It's easy to see what the issues are now and which are big and which are small because we already know the outcome and have seen the results, the feedback, everything. It's easy to say something is a bad decision when you ALREADY KNOW THAT IT DIDN'T WORK OUT. IT'S FAR HARDER TO DO SO IN THE MOMENT
 

rpmurphy

Member
LOL, I knew this was going to be their grand strategy.

Sorry Nintendo. It's not going to increase your console sales.
I don't think anyone in their right mind (i.e. not dedicated mobile advocates) would have the expectation that a mobile venture would improve console sales, or even help handheld sales. It's an idea purely in its own world for bringing profitability to developed software, which Nintendo doesn't have a problem with. Neither does Sony or Microsoft, for that matter, when it comes to making games and selling them.

Nintendo should do a minimal effort to mobile really for the reason that positive impact on hardware sales is so very limited. I mean, look at the best ideas that the industry has thus far managed to offer:
MS's Smartglass: is it a driver for Xbox One sales?
Sony's Playstation Mobile: what has it done for Sony handhelds lately?

The push for mobile makes sense for 3rd party publishers who don't make their own hardware. For those who do, it's an over-engineered effort that bears so little fruit.
 

Riki

Member
I'm not sure what Copyright Business is...
Also, emerging markets would be places like Brazil and China and Korea.
 
So it's just like trailers and what-not? How is this big news? So long as they aren't taking time away from their console or portable to deliver exclusive content to a phone, I'm fine.
 

Haunted

Member
Adverts and demos for games that can't be unlocked on the platform they are being played on?

Oh my, they are going to get crucified by mobile gamers on the Google Play store, they are merciless for 1-starring any app which even slightly inconveniences them or tries to sell to them.

Nintendo is about to get a reality dose about the mobile ecosystem, and not the type they are expecting.

Merciless.
That's what I am thinking.

Trying to use mobile apps as ads for the real games on their own systems will fail spectacularly and create a huge backlash in those communities.
 
LOL, I knew this was going to be their grand strategy.

Sorry Nintendo. It's not going to increase your console sales.

The WiiU is a lost cause to them. Even Nintendo mist realize this. What ever Nintendo strategy is going forwards, the.WiiU won't 'truly' part of it.
 
You clearly don't know what hindsight bias is. It means that when you know the results it's easy to see why things happened as they did. You say when preorder numbers hit. Well no fuck. Of course analysts won't predict a failure after they had a solid lead that it wouldn't fail. I'll point out nobody thought the wii u would fail as hard as it has except the people who hated Nintendo and would've made the same prediction regardless of what Nintendo put out. People make moves based off of past trends. From what Nintendo saw at the time of wii u development, it makes sense they'd go in the direction they chose. Especially since one of the biggest problems wasn't a major thing for a large portion of the development time. Furthermore, even if Nintendo realized some things might be issues, they might have misjudged the extent. Which is an easy thing to do when you can't see the fucking future. It's easy to see what the issues are now and which are big and which are small because we already know the outcome and have seen the results, the feedback, everything. It's easy to say something is a bad decision when you ALREADY KNOW THAT IT DIDN'T WORK OUT. IT'S FAR HARDER TO DO SO IN THE MOMENT

I think you are using that more as a excuse for their inability to listen to their audience and the market than arguing it as a logical fallacy. The Wii was already in a kind of bad position when they revealed the WiiU. Investors were already calling for them to consider the mobile market and many people here said that the WiiU looked unapealling even when they liked the WiiU.

Many of Nintendo problems are structural ones that they had since the N64/GC era and they refuse to address in a significant way.
 

dose

Member
The demo stuff sounds very odd. Sounds like a lot of dev work just to get demos working on completely different platforms.
Also, playing demos on devices that don't have dedicated buttons/dpads? That's not going to be fun.
Can't see it myself.
 
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