Will Nintendo Be Around in 5 Years?

[betterthanezra]

That last post reminds me... look at Virtual Boy. That thing was a HUGE flop! If Nintendo could survive that thing, they can survive anything! I do agree that Nintendo needs to step up their game with console technology. They fell behind with N64 and just never seemed to catch back up. I guess it doesn't seem to be hurting them any, though...

But that was at a time when they didn't produce a massive amount of stock out of the gate. Everyone expected shortages of consoles at the time and thought nothing of waiting until they received more. It just doesn't work that way anymore.

-Brian

[David_Cody]

...I guess it doesn't seem to be hurting them any, though...

But the problem is that it is hurting them. Nintendo's stock is free-falling. Stockeholders don't really care how many DS units were sold in the last five years. In high-stakes business, it's about the here and now. It's about the opening and closing on the NASDAQ.

Nintendo shareholders are clamoring for results and they are a demanding and vocal group. Shareholders want iOS games, which makes me think the president won't be around too much longer.

I don't even think it has to be a complete port of Mario 64 or whatever. It can just be a Mario game specifically designed for the iPhone or the iPad or a Droid. I would be willing to wager that there are a lot of old-school gamers who would be willing to plop down $2.99 for a real, Mario-branded iOS game.

[etos45]

That last post reminds me... look at Virtual Boy. That thing was a HUGE flop! If Nintendo could survive that thing, they can survive anything! I do agree that Nintendo needs to step up their game with console technology. They fell behind with N64 and just never seemed to catch back up. I guess it doesn't seem to be hurting them any, though...

But that was at a time when they didn't produce a massive amount of stock out of the gate. Everyone expected shortages of consoles at the time and thought nothing of waiting until they received more. It just doesn't work that way anymore.

-Brian

Last I checked, all stock is free falling. Don't judge a company solely on stock or else almost everyone on the stock market is collapsing. The fact is that Nintendo isn't doing great, but they have done worse in the past. So I don't think this is the end of Nintendo, it's just another stumbling block. Handhelds still don't matter, IMHO.

[etos45]

...I guess it doesn't seem to be hurting them any, though...

But the problem is that it is hurting them. Nintendo's stock is free-falling. Stockeholders don't really care how many DS units were sold in the last five years. In high-stakes business, it's about the here and now. It's about the opening and closing on the NASDAQ.

Nintendo shareholders are clamoring for results and they are a demanding and vocal group. Shareholders want iOS games, which makes me think the president won't be around too much longer.

I don't even think it has to be a complete port of Mario 64 or whatever. It can just be a Mario game specifically designed for the iPhone or the iPad or a Droid. I would be willing to wager that there are a lot of old-school gamers who would be willing to plop down $2.99 for a real, Mario-branded iOS game.

Shareholders in Nintendo can "demand" iOS games until the cows come home... it ain't gonna happen. Nintendo will never (unless forced like Sega), ever produce third party games. I agree with the sentiment that the refusal to go third party might be exactly what is saving Nintendo. The fact is, they have survived failures in the past and 3-Ds might be included as a failure in the future, but Nintendo still moves consoles and I believe that that is where there future will always be. Handhelds are (and will always be) a gimmick to me. Until free online service is made available, I don't see handhelds ever becoming a major market share.

[David_Cody]

Nintendo posts near BILLION dollar loss for first half of fiscal year.
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/10/27/edito ... came-to-m/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

DANG, that's not chump change.

[Daniel Jackson]

Ouch, I knew their sales were going down, but man...that's a lot $$$. Until the new console is released, I don't see things picking up dramatically for them either.