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[GuitarAtomik]

I really would love to see a Nintendo theme park. Though I think it could sustain it's own, the investment it would take I imagine is what keeps them from entertaining the idea (in the US at least). I could see a "NintendoLand" as an extension of Islands of Adventure or something though the same way they have a Marvel section.

Other than that, I agree they should be more aggressive with merchandising (Mario Kart RC cars, Disney Princess style merch, apparel, etc). Amiibo is a good start. Also more entertainment (ie movies, cartoons).

EDIT: Also yeah, diversify out of the Mario cast more. Smash Bros is really good at this, but if they pushed some of their other IPs harder outside of games (like Star Fox or Metroid), they would gain larger fan bases and probably sell more games because of it.

 

[evilromero]

Buy Marvel, Pixar and Lucas?

Because those three companies are what kept Disney expanding and growing when their in-house animation, merchandising, and television divisions where underperforming for the past 5+ years.

Frozen is the only non-Pixar (Wall-E, Up, Monsters University, Brave, Toy Story 3) or totally-ripped-from-Pixar (Wreck-It Ralph, Big Hero 6) true Disney movie to do well in years. Their biggest merchandise movers are now Marvel and Star Wars related. And their game division struggles in everything but mobile throwaway games tied to their Pixar/Marvel/Lucas franchises.

Tangled, Ralph and Big Hero 6 are arguably better than anything Pixar has done period. Why do you say they're ripped off?

 

[fernoca]

That must be in the US. Here they have all the Pokemon figures, the Mario Kart 8 figures and board games, the Mario board games, a bunch of puzzle games, posters and TONS of plushes and other stuff like Mario figures.
They also have Nendoroid and Figma figures, plus the Amiibo stuff and other things.


I wish I was a kid again to have all those damn Pokemon figures. I could see my young self buying so many of the original ones :/

Yep, in the US too. Toys R Us has been selling for years toys, plushies, board games and a ton of Nintendo merchandise. Heck, Sears and Wal-Mart has been selling shirts and bedsheets too for quite some time. Even Best Buy and Gamestop started selling Nintendo stuff recently too. From the Monopoly to Jenga, Yathzee..etc.

Most are Mario-themed though.

All this before amiibos.

 

[Flappy]

Fill everything with generic princesses and shitty karaoke songs.

 

[Malyse]

Just bend over and let disney buy them.

 

[Tempesta di Fuoco]

It's ok to not like a game. Don't try and make everything you don't like into something you do.

It was a joke.

 

[Malyse]

Diversify. For the love of God, diversify.

Disney don't just produce movies. They have their fingers in a lot of pies, and if any one of their industries starts to fail, they can rely on the others to prop them up while they reorganise.

Nintendo have one of the most recognisable suites of IP in the business. It would be a real shame if they couldn't leverage them further, be it through aggressive merchandising, tie-ins, movies, theme park licensing... There's a whole host of possibilities. The Walt Disney Company didn't become a powerhouse until it introduced Disneyland.

This guy is right.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_assets_owned_by_Disney


This should have happened.

 

[Nanashrew]

To be like Disney they need to become the event horizon of video games.

 

[ScOULaris]

To be like Disney they need to become the event horizon of video games.

I'd argue that they were in the NES days.

 

[Nanashrew]

I'd argue that they were in the NES days.

Hmm, you may be on to something.

 

[Sponge]

Buyouts? Disney bought Marvel and Lucasfilm to appeal to more markets. I'd say Nintendo should buy a studio up to fill in some much needed gaps.

 

[ScOULaris]

Buyouts? Disney bought Marvel and Lucasfilm to appeal to more markets. I'd say Nintendk should buy a studio up to fill in some much needed gaps.

Remember when they had second-party studios like Rare under their umbrella? :'(

 

[astrogamer]

This guy is right.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_assets_owned_by_Disney


This should have happened.

Wasn't that pitch by a studios with a less than admirable pedigree to say the least. The designs don't really look that great either.

 

[Sponge]

Remember when they had second-party studios like Rare under their umbrella? :'(

Those were the days ):

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

Tangled, Ralph and Big Hero 6 are arguably better than anything Pixar has done period. Why do you say they're ripped off?

Tangled's good, haven't seen BH, but yikes, "We wanted to make a Donkey Kong movie really badly" isn't even arguably close to Toy Story.

 

[bomblord1]

Maybe its just a regional thing but the posts about merchandising are incredibly confusing to me. I can't walk into a store like GameStop or Walmart without seeing a Mario plushie or 1-up shirt sitting on the shelves.

 

[Nanashrew]

Buyouts? Disney bought Marvel and Lucasfilm to appeal to more markets. I'd say Nintendk should buy a studio up to fill in some much needed gaps.

I agree with this. Disney has different studios to appeal to other demographics outside kids and families, this is something Nintendo really needs. If not buyouts, than build new studios that target different demographics.

 

[bomblord1]

Buyouts? Disney bought Marvel and Lucasfilm to appeal to more markets. I'd say Nintendo should buy a studio up to fill in some much needed gaps.

You mean like monolith soft or paying second for games like bayonetta?

 

[Oppo]

Disney is a lot bolder at simply trying new stories and characters.

 

[AntiFacebook]

Buy Marvel, Pixar and Lucas?

Because those three companies are what kept Disney expanding and growing when their in-house animation, merchandising, and television divisions where underperforming for the past 5+ years.

Frozen is the only non-Pixar (Wall-E, Up, Monsters University, Brave, Toy Story 3) or totally-ripped-from-Pixar (Wreck-It Ralph, Big Hero 6) true Disney movie to do well in years. Their biggest merchandise movers are now Marvel and Star Wars related. And their game division struggles in everything but mobile throwaway games tied to their Pixar/Marvel/Lucas franchises.

Huh? Disney has released 3 amazing films in the last years,while everything pixar did at those years was mediocre at best.

 

[Malyse]

To the Marvel Pixar Lucasfilm comparison, I would love it if they were to "rescue" the MegaMan, Sonic, and Xenosaga franchises and reinvigorate them. Plus a diverified focus would do wonders. smash shows they have a ton of old IP and now that digital distribution is a thing, it would be the perfect platform for some of them. I don't need ever game to be a huge Kid Icarus Uprising or Yoshi's Wooly World or Kirby's Rainbow Curse. Sell me a downloadable Sin & Punishment that's a few hours for $20. Give me an episodic Golden Sun 4.

The other point is to capitalize on existing assets. Nintendo Princess should do be a thing. Disney Princess literally pays for everything else disney does; in fact, one exec was told in so many words "do what you want, but don't fuck with the Princess line". Zelda needs attention. Samus could use a movie. Daisy and Rosie should be used a la Super Princess Peach. Hell, make SPP2 with a SMB2 swappable cast. There should be a Nintendo cartoon. How about a Fire Emblem anime? People would get totally caught up in shipping wars.

There's a ton of things N can do that Disney does already.

 

[Anth0ny]

Create new IP. Eventually you'll stumble on a Frozen.

 

[kirby_fox]

They're on 2 different levels. If you look at Disney- their IPs usually followed the same guideline: 1. Release in theaters 2. Release limited at home copies 3. Create direct to home (Video or DVD) sequels or TV shows to sell merchandise 4. Wait to bring back original during a holiday season and make it a big deal...though nowadays it seems they ditch the at home sequels and force those into theaters too for more money.

Nintendo can't do that because gaming isn't setup that way anymore. In the 80s they did exactly that- arcade, home version, sequel, TV show and merchandise. But after awhile the series died off, and instead of moving onto a new IP like Disney did- they kept with Mario and made a lot of games riding off his popularity. The issue is that Mario isn't popular anymore, so they have to find a way to make him popular- a movie or cartoon could bring kids to wanting Mario again more so than they do now.

Their best bet is to start using their IP to create more media again. Splatoon on Nick or Cartoon Network, a live action Zelda or Metroid series might work on certain levels as a drama on a network like AMC, or hell even a live action comedy movie called Punch Out with Mike Tyson would get people no board. From there you merchandise out, you create new IP solely for movies. I think Nintendo could partner with the right people and make it work.

 

[Nanashrew]

They're on 2 different levels. If you look at Disney- their IPs usually followed the same guideline: 1. Release in theaters 2. Release limited at home copies 3. Create direct to home (Video or DVD) sequels or TV shows to sell merchandise 4. Wait to bring back original during a holiday season and make it a big deal...though nowadays it seems they ditch the at home sequels and force those into theaters too for more money.

Nintendo can't do that because gaming isn't setup that way anymore. In the 80s they did exactly that- arcade, home version, sequel, TV show and merchandise. But after awhile the series died off, and instead of moving onto a new IP like Disney did- they kept with Mario and made a lot of games riding off his popularity. The issue is that Mario isn't popular anymore, so they have to find a way to make him popular- a movie or cartoon could bring kids to wanting Mario again more so than they do now.

Their best bet is to start using their IP to create more media again. Splatoon on Nick or Cartoon Network, a live action Zelda or Metroid series might work on certain levels as a drama on a network like AMC, or hell even a live action comedy movie called Punch Out with Mike Tyson would get people no board. From there you merchandise out, you create new IP solely for movies. I think Nintendo could partner with the right people and make it work.

I was also thinking of reinvigorating Custom Robo with a game and a toy line with swappable body parts (if possible). Parts and upgrades could still be unlocked in game however. Standard Amiibo's could still be used as well, but for unlocking non-customizable robots that represent the character, like a Samus robo done in the Custom Robo toy designs.

I'm also sure Namco could make a decent Custom Robo anime.

 

[4Tran]

Nintendo can learn an awful lot about branding from Disney. The most valuable lesson of all is diversification and target branding. People say that Disney aims their products at all age groups , but that simply isn't true. Look at their main franchises: Cars/Planes targeting younger boys, Disney Princesses/Frozen targeting younger girls, Marvel targeting teenage/young men, Star Wars targeting the nostalgic audience, and so forth. When successful, these franchises can capture peripheral audiences as well, but their main value is having a laser focus for who their products are for. This allows their audiences to form strong attachments to said products, thereby building the brand identities.

Nintendo seems to do the opposite of this - instead trying to aim all of their products at all ages, but to aim at all ages is to effectively aim at none of them. And so, they're failing to capture new audiences to replace the ones who outgrow their games. Disney sees this same danger so they pursue aggressive strategies to make sure they stay ahead of the curve. They will introduce new films, new universes and new characters and promote them above and beyond their preexisting ones. Nintendo's strategies are far more conservative, and so they keep on relying on the same core audience, cue messages about needing more spinoffs.

 

[Just_myles]

Buy Marvel. I can't think of anything else.

 

[MR ARCADE FOREVER]

Nintendo has so much potential to make big bucks just like Disney does. Imagine a theme park in partnership with Disney. Amiibos are here to show how relevant Nintendo's properties are

 

[Platy]

How to make childish things to be liked by "i hate childish" demographics

 

[BeatResetsTheWorld]

You are on to something. Nintendo should try to appeal more to the female demographic. I think they realize this too. More and more of their games have playable female characters. Just look at the Smash Bros. roster, for instance.

Even without explicitly appealing to females their games are already fairly popular with them...Pokemon and Animal Crossing are probably around 50% or slightly more in terms of female players

Using the princesses more could open up new avenues, but there seems to be this idea that the games males and females play have to be different, which isn't true

Sims, for instance, is especially popular with females without explicitly targeting them

 

[DragonSworne]

NCL has to start giving NoA a lot more latitude when it comes to marketing and branding. It's pretty clear that the Japanese branch doesn't understand what Americans want from Nintendo.

What? NoA has even less control now then they ever have. Little to no studios under their control, little to no relationship with western third parties, their marketshare in NA has plummeted compared to the regions in the world, and now Iwata controls all of NoA.

NoA is practically a marketing firm for NCL that distributes it's products in NA.

 

[JazzmanZ]

Buyouts? Disney bought Marvel and Lucasfilm to appeal to more markets. I'd say Nintendo should buy a studio up to fill in some much needed gaps.

"EXCLUSIVE: Nintendo buys out Activsion is record high bid, Nintendo rep explains to the press the need to diversify their gaming market, Sakurai speaks out at the thought of including Call of Duty in the next smash bros."

 

[Nanashrew]

"EXCLUSIVE: Nintendo buys out Activsion is record high bid, Nintendo rep explains to the press the need to diversify their gaming market, Sakurai speaks out at the thought of including Call of Duty in the next smash bros."

That's not Spyro. Sakurai, you trollin'.

 

[JackTretton]

I cannot for the life of me understand why there isn't a Nintendo theme park already. At the very least, one in Japan. They need to do what Walt Disney did with Florida and essentially buy a few cities in a failing state like North Dakota on the cheap and turn it into a meca for everyting Nintendo.

 

[Gorillaz]

A real life Nintendoland.

a nintendo land/mario theme park is such a no brainer at this point

wasted potential

 

[TheSlySoul]

Create new IP. Eventually you'll stumble on a Frozen.

It worked for Animal Crossing.
I like this plan.

 

[4Tran]

Nintendo has so much potential to make big bucks just like Disney does. Imagine a theme park in partnership with Disney. Amiibos are here to show how relevant Nintendo's properties are

How would Nintendo be able to entice Disney into the partnership? Disney is already the world leader in theme parks, so they'd just be creating competition for themselves.

Even without explicitly appealing to females their games are already fairly popular with them...Pokemon and Animal Crossing are probably around 50% or slightly more in terms of female players

Using the princesses more could open up new avenues, but there seems to be this idea that the games males and females play have to be different, which isn't true

Sims, for instance, is especially popular with females without explicitly targeting them

It's important here to look at more specifics than the male/female distribution. Who are the female fans, are young children being pulled in, why do they play these games, and what can be done to pull them further into the fold? These are the questions that Nintendo should be asking themselves, and I don't feel that they're doing a very good job of that.

I cannot for the life of me understand why there isn't a Nintendo theme park already. At the very least, one in Japan. They need to do what Walt Disney did with Florida and essentially buy a few cities in a failing state like North Dakota on the cheap and turn it into a meca for everyting Nintendo.

Nintendo has been toying with the idea for a long time, but they've been too conservative to do so. It would lock the company into all sorts of financial commitments in a business they don't understand. With their waning marketing draw, I think that it might be too late to take that tact. Also, when Disneyland opened up, it was a one of a kind destination. Nowadays, Nintendo would be competing with the strongest brands in the world.

It worked for Animal Crossing.
I like this plan.

Animal Crossing may be successful, but it's not in the same stratosphere as Frozen. To put things in perspective, Frozen might actually mean as much to Disney as Marvel does.

 

[JackTretton]

Also, I'm a junior so I can't make a thread on this topic but let me say for the record, I bought all the bullshit and stink surrounding the Wii U. I think part of that was being a disappointed Wii owner.

Having said that, I bought my kids a Wii U for Xmas and it's fan-fucking-tatic. Love it to death and am kicking myself for not hopping in sooner.

 

[Tawney Bomb]

They should have a snow queen and a snowman type game. That'd sell some consoles!

 

[Pociask]

A lot of good points already made here - especially regarding diversification and pushing new franchises. Disney is so good at some stuff - Disney World is like, a world wonder in extracting money from human beings.

If this point wasn't made already, I'd just add that Disney is great at operating MULTIPLE brands. For better or worse, there is a perception of what it means to be a "Nintendo" game. Just like there would be, for example, if Disney branded everything as, say, Walt Disney Animation Studio. But it doesn't. Sometimes Disney is Disney. And sometimes it's Touchstone - or Marvel - or now Lucasfilm - or ABC - or ESPN! And many, many more.

Nintendo should really try to build up the identify of each of their development groups, let them have their own brand. Somewhat inexplicably, the only studio they've seemed to do this for has been Monolith Soft. Even more into the land of strange, Nintendo seems to be actively trying to crush any independent branding of Retro.

Quick edit: And Nintendo gets Disney into a park partnership by putting the Nintendo parks in Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland. They can put a Nintendo World Store at Downtown Disney while theyr'e at it.

 

[ScOULaris]

Also, I'm a junior so I can't make a thread on this topic but let me say for the record, I bought all the bullshit and stink surrounding the Wii U. I think part of that was being a disappointed Wii owner.

Having said that, I bought my kids a Wii U for Xmas and it's fan-fucking-tatic. Love it to death and am kicking myself for not hopping in sooner.

Same here. I was buying into the gloom and doom in the early days of the Wii U with its horribly mishandled launch and lack of proper marketing. Two years in, however, it's my most-played console at the moment. Mario Kart 8 and Smash in 2014 really pushed it over the edge.

 

[4Tran]

They should have a snow queen and a snowman type game. That'd sell some consoles!

There are tons of Snow/Ice Princess/Queen themed toys in the toy stores, but for some reason, none of them sell a fraction as much as Frozen ones. Nintendo trying to piggyback off of Disney's successes is a laughable idea, and it's a tactic that's above them.

Nintendo should really try to build up the identify of each of their development groups, let them have their own brand. Somewhat inexplicably, the only studio they've seemed to do this for has been Monolith Soft. Even more into the land of strange, Nintendo seems to be actively trying to crush any independent branding of Retro.

Monolith Soft seems to be the only thing that Nintendo is willing to experiment with in their internal studios. Their main response to their crisis situation is to double down on their most popular brands. Even new franchises like Splatoon are made to feel a lot like their existing ones. This strategy has the advantage of drawing on their existing fans, but it won't bring in new blood.

Quick edit: And Nintendo gets Disney into a park partnership by putting the Nintendo parks in Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland. They can put a Nintendo World Store at Downtown Disney while theyr'e at it.

Disney is understandably cautious about diluting their own brands by associating them with their competitors. Nintendo may be able to do something like an Avatar park in Disney parks, but they would have to cede some control to Disney to do so.

 

[evilromero]

Tangled's good, haven't seen BH, but yikes, "We wanted to make a Donkey Kong movie really badly" isn't even arguably close to Toy Story.

It's an awesome movie. I guess I don't understand the criticism of why "we wanted to do a Donkey Kong movie" would be a negative thing, which doesn't have anything to do with its quality.

 

[Sponge]

You mean like monolith soft or paying second for games like bayonetta?

Yes exactly. While I like Bayonetta, I don't think the second game has made Nintendo much money. They need another studio like Rare that can pump up a lot of good games in different genres. Retro is good at this but I don't feel they pump out as many games as Rare did.

 

[JB-the-Hunter]

NINTENDO LAND!!!!!!!

 

[magnumpy]

disney has remained consistently profitable through the years. nintendo has not. maybe the lesson is in their somewhere.

 

[nintendork666]

Tangled, Ralph and Big Hero 6 are arguably better than anything Pixar has done period. Why do you say they're ripped off?

Big Hero 6 is a Marvel property.

 

[4Tran]

disney has remained consistently profitable through the years. nintendo has not. maybe the lesson is in their somewhere.

To be fair, everyone in the entertainment industries should be trying to learn from Disney. They've been remarkably successful in the last few years.

Big Hero 6 is a Marvel property.

And since Disney owns Marvel who did they rip off exactly?

 

[Amin_and_Azizah]

Ever since Nintendo seized hold of the gaming public's imagination with the launch of the NES and a certain plumber's debut, it has often been called the "Disney of gaming." The parallels between these two iconic companies are easy to spot:

• Emphasis on all-ages entertainment with colorful worlds and characters.
• A stable of iconic characters that make appearances across various series and media.
• Robust merchandising and licensing programs for their biggest characters and brands.
• Polish that pervades (nearly) all of their flagship products, lending them their trademark feel or "magic."
• Wholesome, universally appealing gloved/booted heroes that serve as the figurehead/mascot for both companies.

Even as Nintendo's popularity has waxed and waned over the last few console generations, I've always respected how well they maintain their branding as a company. In this regard, they are similar to Apple in how they design their experiences with a cohesion of both hardware and software in mind. Nintendo designs new hardware in order to allow for software to showcase whatever new capabilities they've cooked up for their consoles or handhelds. If you've ever been to the Nintendo World Store in NYC, you can see just how well all of their products and various intellectual properties gel together in the marketplace. Really, it's a shame that there aren't more dedicated stores like this solitary one in New York. It truly is a must-visit location for any Nintendo fan if you're in the area.

Anyway, I was browsing around Downtown Disney recently and marveling at all of the expertly executed Disney theming and branding throughout all the shops and dining establishments. Disney has obviously been at this for a long time, and they have managed to cultivate a very distinct, consistent, and recognizable brand through the use of their theme parks, TV series, movies, and merchandise. I can't help but look at what Disney has accomplished and wonder what Nintendo can learn from them, given their similar audiences and overall vibe. Nintendo already does a pretty damn good job with their merchandising and living up to their "seal of quality" with their flagship series, and I'd like to see them succeed even further after winning back my support with their lineup of great Wii U titles.

I really love this topic, this was a very good idea for a conversation. I think it would be a really good idea if Nintendo could release a splatoon anime series to coincide with the release of the game. I strongly believe that Anime is the way to go for a lot of their franchises.

 

[Pociask]

It's an awesome movie. I guess I don't understand the criticism of why "we wanted to do a Donkey Kong movie" would be a negative thing, which doesn't have anything to do with its quality.

Taste is subjective and everything, but personally Wreck-it Ralph was a huge let down for me. I definitely wouldn't call it an awesome movie - I'm not even sure I'd call it a good movie. It's certainly not up there with the Pixar giants - I haven't seen and can't comment on some of the more recent Pixar movies.

But you know what's awesome? Disney green-lighting brand new franchises, taking risks, and putting out a product like Wreck-it Ralph so we can have this conversation. If it were Nintendo, we'd be here talking about if Mario: Flat and Chatty Mario: The Movie! was better than Zelda: Link Between It's a Different World.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

It's an awesome movie. I guess I don't understand the criticism of why "we wanted to do a Donkey Kong movie" would be a negative thing, which doesn't have anything to do with its quality.

It's an okay movie. Still doesn't touch Toy Story.