It seems like just yesterday I was in Elementary School, going over friends' houses and playing N64 all afternoon until my parents came to pick me up. Those were good times for gaming. Everybody had a Nintendo 64, and it was even something we would talk about in school all day. There was Zelda, Mario, Donkey Kong, Banjo Kazooie, and Goldeneye 64. That's all I really have to say. I mean, everybody and the mother was playing Ocarina of Time.
At this point in history, Nintendo was on top in the video game industry. After the NES, Super Nintendo, and now the N64, they seemed unstoppable! However, things have been downhill ever since. The Gamecube was a great console, but it just could not keep up with the Playstation 2. The Wii sold at a ridiculous rate when it was first released, but quickly fell off as Sony dominated international sales, while Microsoft easily won the United States. Now we have the Wii U...
At first glance, you can see that the Wii U isn't meant to out-power the other consoles, or show off it's graphical abilities. In fact, it is currently only slightly stronger than the Xbox 360 and PS3. When Microsoft and Sony release their new consoles this year, their processing power will prove to be incredibly superior over the Wii U. However, this isn't where Nintendo has failed.
Nintendo makes terrific games, some that people have been playing ever since their childhood almost twenty years ago. Franchises like Mario, Legend of Zelda, and Donkey Kong have huge fan bases. This is how Nintendo succeeds; by making great games rather than superior, powerful consoles.
With every Wii U sold, Nintendo loses a couple of dollars. They literally aren't making any money on their systems. This is a strategy they're using to make the system more affordable, and allow people to spend money on their popular franchises. The console is not making them money, but the games are. However, with the Wii U's launch, there weren't any great games to be found. We're still waiting on Pikmin, Super Smash Bros, a new Zelda, and other incredibly popular games. Right now, there is no good reason to buy a Wii U, and that's a problem. Nintendo failed miserably with their launch. You cannot release a console without great games to back it up, a lesson that Sony and Microsoft are now using to their advantage with their impressive launch lineup for both consoles.
Nintendo isn't making money on the Wii U, and in fact, there isn't even a great reason for them to be making a console at all. They do not have much third-party support, and they don't even have great first-party games to back the system's release right now. It would make a lot more sense for Nintendo to just release their games on other consoles, and stop making systems of their own. This may be a concept that is unimaginable for hardcore Nintendo fans, but it just makes more sense. There are plenty of people out there who would love to buy every Nintendo game that is released, but they don't see enough reason to buy another $350 console separately just to play those games. Microsoft and Sony have taken over an industry that Nintendo made popular, and the consumers are proving that. Xbox and Playstation are incredibly popular, and it would greatly benefit Nintendo if they decided to make games for these consoles. It doesn't make sense for them to lose money by selling a system of their own.
Right now, Nintendo is in a world of hurt. Traditional handheld games are going extinct due to the popularity of iPhone and Android games, and Microsoft and Sony have taken over the home console market. Nintendo could capitalize greatly by taking a step aside, and releasing their games for other systems. This would be the only way for them to make money right now, because they cannot continue on the path that they are on.
Microsoft announced its financial results for Q3 of fiscal year 2026, including an update on its gaming Xbox business and more.
Not looking good. Hopefully Asha Sharma is able to turn Phil’s disaster around.
To me it's still quite remarkable how they can cash-in 5.3bn in revenue in a single quarter, since their hardware is basically dead.
The stock mark is what makes Microsoft remarkable, They have convinced every institutional and retail investor to just keep piling money into them. Like many big tech giants they are just a big growing pyramid scheme. As long as people keep dropping money into ETF's that cover the market Microsoft will always be liquid. At the same time it is completely stifling innovation and competition. People need to start being more discreet in how they invest their money as it's killing the system.
Riiiiight because people will just flock back to them for one or two games per year.
15+ years of bad performance is what they call irreparable in business. It is time for them to sell off the assets and get out of entertainment.
These declines are on the back of extra revenue received from releasing games like Forza horizon 5 on PlayStation. So I’m being sarcastic here when I said they should go back to exclusives. Killing off a revenue stream from Ps5 sales will only make things worse
The charity event will be streamed live from Gamescom in August.
Thanks to the slip-up of an artist working on the title, we now have more evidence that a new Injustice game is in the works.
I believe Nintendo needs some new leadership that understands today's market and the value of building relationships with 3rd party and creating new franchises
There is the option to just release a Nintendo gaming tablet. Since Nintendo strength relies on the mobile gaming market ; despite the success of say Android or IPhone when it comes to games Nintendo still being successful and profitable in regards to the 3DS. Now a gaming tablet would make more sense for Nintendo sin due to its mobility plus not spend money on a useless console. Now another option would be to offer just the service and stream Nintendo games through their network. Basically, the next time you buy a tv you create a Nintendo account and pay say $5.00 a month for their service. If both of those options don't work out then and only then this corporation should step aside, sell its games on Playstation or Xbox system or service.
as sega, I believe that when going bankrupt. but meanwhile, do not see much logic not exclusive launch for "wii u". I also think that they are simply paying more attention than they should to the same problem of every generation with "nintendo": n64 will use cartridges instead of CDs? lost. the gamecube is not having good sales? lost. the Wii is less powerful than the other consoles? lost. the nintendo ds have 2 screens? lost. the 3ds does not have a great catalog release? lost.
Not save themselves, reinvent themselves. They need to "die" in terms of what they are to what they can be. Being a family console is great, but they have to realize that family is relative, and so they should reflect that. Family isn't always all inclusive, or both male or female these days in terms of gamers, so they should be sure that when games are made for these groups of families, they market appropriately.
P.S.
They also tried to do what Microsoft did by "jumping the gun" and let the games come later, but they made two basic mistakes:
1. Their console is contemporary with current consoles
2. each game had at least one "must have" at launch
A. Microsoft had Quake 4
B. Sony had Resistance: Fall of Man
Zombi U would have been a console seller, but it bombed due to controls and melee awkwardness (that can be fixed in the next one).
Wii was a success. Nintendo has been around for over a century. They are hurting now? No. I don't think so. Was Wii U a mistake? Certainly. Would it have done better if they called it Wii Too? Of course, because many thought it was a peripheral.
Do they need a new gen system? Yes. And the timing is actually pretty good considering that they could go solid state with their hard drives due to the falling cost of them. This plus a strong architecture could lead to a powerful console. And bring back the Nintendo Seal of Quality and reject shovelware.