130°

Nintendo Going Third-Party Would Be A Great Idea... Said No One That Cares About the Company.

Phil Stortzum writes, "Nintendo going third-party... For some, the thought of that is an insane concept. Then again, so was Sega leaving the hardware space. At the same time, we've seen what Sega has become in recent days, too. Regardless, this seems like a topic that is broached about on message boards, comment sections, and other places ad nauseum. When will gamers get to the point where talking about Nintendo going third-party becomes boring? Each discussion (well, let's face it, they're more like uncivilized arguments than anything) goes over the same talking points on both sides. It's like listening to modern day Democrats and Republicans here in the States. I'm just happy no one's trying to push the agenda that Nintendo was born in Kenya. (That concludes the political portion of this opinion piece.)

The fact of the matter is that Nintendo going third-party would not benefit the company, nor would it benefit gamers."

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Abriael3661d ago

Some people care about companies. Other people care about games.

randomass1713661d ago

Some care about both. I personally want Nintendo to be successful as a whole. I want their games AND their consoles to be successful. I don't want them going third party because I think they do a good job at making games and a large part of that is how their hardware division operates.

DarthZoolu3660d ago

I don't care about companies, I care about consumers. Nintendo making third-party will make the entire gaming industry better for consumers. The only thing Nintendo does well is intellectual properties. Im not even sure I really care tho because Nintendo never goes all out on their games. Zelda today is not what I thought Zelda would be in 14 years when I was playing OOT. Not saying they are bad just not nearly as ambitious i want them. They have to make more complex and challenging games that have more detail and attention to detail.

Edsword3660d ago

Sega games went downhill IMO when they went 3rd party. I'm not sure if the same would happen to Nintendo or not. I personally believe Nintendo could increase their games sales by 2x or more by going TP. Just look how well Darksiders did and that was just a Zelda clone. Nintendo's hardware is currently holding back the sales potential of their console games for sure. However, I would like to see Nintendo stick with hardware because I have always been a fan and I want to relive the 80s personally, but that is just me. The good old days of 8 bit games and Walkmans. Yes technology is a lot better these days, but not nearly as fun.

Phil323661d ago (Edited 3661d ago )

If you read the article instead of wanting the first comment, you'd see how one affects the other.

EDIT: Seeing a commenter who doesn't apparently read articles before he/she comments on them have so many bubbles is sort of telling of the state of N4G. Le sigh.

randomass1713660d ago (Edited 3660d ago )

More bubbles would definitely be nice. Sucks that there are comment restrictions. :(

miyamoto3660d ago

Given that Nintendo makes high quality games that sells gangbusters, I believe they will raise the bar of the standard of quality & give EA, Activision, Ubisoft, SquareEnix, big and small 3rd party developers etc. a run for their money on all platforms will actually be good for not just Nintendo but the whole industry overall.

This is the right kind of competition & change the industry needs.
Nintendo is limiting the power of their great software by their own hardware.

Jonny5isalive3660d ago

Mario needs more guns, zombies and always online only multiplayer.

mochachino3661d ago (Edited 3661d ago )

Why? At least insofar Wii U, if it has no or minuscule 3rd party support, making every major game a Nintendo Exclusive, and can't profit on hardware, then it would make sense to appeal to a larger fan base by utilizing a larger market such as other consoles/PC.

Whether it would makes sense to go 3rd party in the short or long term is a matter of numbers. Would they make more money releasing multiplatforms given the reduced profit from each game sold (license fees, increased dev costs, etc.) than they would by remaining exclusive, possible (or probably) selling less copies (they could gimp all versions aside from Wii Us depending), all in consideration of should they choose to release a new console after Wii U, whether having released games on other consoles would result in less people choosing to buy a subsequent nintendo console.

If they went 3rd party going forward, then it's just whether their games can compete well and dominate in the vast gaming market or if their niche and exclusivity formed a significant part of their appeal. Maybe Mario Kart Wii wouldn't have sold as well if it was released everywhere. Who knows.

I for one would love Mario Kart on PS4 but if the online was lacking what would be the point? PS4/Xone owners don't exactly have their friends over to play split screen very often and have very high online standards. Zelda and Metroid would be awesome but I couldn't say the Witcher/Mass Effect were worse nor Halo, Destiny, or the Division.

Truth is, while Nintendo releases some very good, and sometimes great games, if they were hands down the best games out there, Wii U would be doing really well. So would have Gamecube.

MS, Sony, and PC all have great exclusives, Nintendo has fond childhood memories, which is a fast dwindling resource in gamer mind share.

Ninty, (which I always secretly root for but never buy) needs to adapt or die.

randomass1713660d ago

Nintendo games are still consistently well rated by fans and critics alike. They don't need to adapt at all in terms of software development. They just need to make smarter business decisions with third parties and marketing.

Jay70sgamer3660d ago

This is the best and most truthful statement so far

Vegamyster3660d ago

The Wii-U isn't doing well because of poor advertising and software droughts, the console itself and the list of exclusives it has are all great and they just need to focus on upping their online services & marketing. Also the Gamecube was profitable.

Skate-AK3660d ago

It's actually a hard choice for me.

incendy353660d ago

I think it would be best for everyone if Nintendo went third party. The reason I have is this.

Nintendo has made 5 of my top 20 favorite games of all time and many more classics I love. All these games were released on inferior hardware. If Nintendo were to make those games on better hardware, they have the possibility to be even better.

Do what you do best Nintendo, make games. Let these other guys worry about the hardware stuff.

Summons753660d ago

Hardware shouldn't affect your ability to enjoy a game, if it does then you most likely don't enjoy gaming to it's fullest. The only people who truly care about specs are PC gamers who have unrealistic standards for gaming and fanboys of another console who tend to be hypocritical or have no idea what they are really talking about.

If Nintendo made 5 of your favorite games of all time and have other games you enjoy it shouldn't matter what their hardware is, the fact you are having fun and enjoying the game is what matters.

If Nintendo decides to stop hardware (even though they have said multiple times if they do they would stop making games) then the gaming industry would lose something truly special. Nintendo has always been a neutral platform. Going all the way back to the NES there has always been something for everyone, kids, adults, families, casuals. The same thing applies to the WiiU. Nintendo also holds their 1st party titles to a very high standard, they refuse to release a game without it being the best it can possibly be and have an old fashion business style of wanting to make their community happy. That's why their games sell tens of millions of copies and typically always become undisputed best sellers. Sony/MS have always targeted a more hardocre gaming scene from teens to adults with some things for everyone thrown in but focus more on making shareholders and people who could care less about games happy than their communities. They hold their games to a high standard too but tend to jump to changes people don't want for the sake of bussiness. The three companies create a balance where Nintendo always tries to push new ways of gaming and a console for everyone, Sony/MS try to have a more focused console.

wonderfulmonkeyman3660d ago

The power of hardware does not intrinsically determine development methods.
You wouldn't get a "better game" just because of a more powerful console.
It might be prettier, but worst-case scenario, you'd have the console manufacturers trying to change Mario in very BAD ways, if Nintendo were a third party.
That's a common problem with a lot of indies that get snatched up by bigger entities, too; they aren't allowed to do what they want. Instead, they're told "No, you can't do that. Look at these games that are selling. Do something like that."
Nintendo's games are as great as you remember them because Nintendo has had full development control over them and has systems that they themselves know best because they DEVELOPED them.
Third party is not the answer.
Never will be.

Jay70sgamer3660d ago (Edited 3660d ago )

@incendy35 what you said makes no sense you stated 5 of your best games of alltime was on a nintendo console...so how would that be "inferior" ..if that was the case wasn't the hardware you enjoyed them games on good enough for you to enjoy them?if it was on another console what makes you think it would be better ......that's like saying if mario 3d world was on ps4 it would be better why? Because it's more powerful? Nintendo games are made specifically for nintendo hardware .....you can have the best graphics ...but if the developer or the gameplay sucks it's useless the power ...just saying ...I always say I'm a gamer that enjoys all games on all systems ....I'm not going be a person to not buy a game because it's on a certain system that's stupid ....I keep hearing excuses from all fanboys example "I'm not buying mario kart because it's on nintendo or it's inferior hardware or I'm not buying titanfall because it's on Xbox or I'm not buying infamous because it's on playstation ..that is just silly the purpose of buying a video game system is to enjoy the games and have fun ...not some fanboy wishing one of the big three fails ..that's stupid just saying

RoseSapphire3660d ago

So let me get this straight... it would hurt the company? How?

Nintendo spends X dollars developing a new platform and hopes to make X + Y. Then they have to spend X developing games for their platform, a narrow focus, and hope to make X + Y.

Or

Nintendo could spend X developing games for other platforms, getting maximum exposure, and hope to make X + Y.

In the second scenario all of the cost of a new platform is gone. Everything is funneled directly into the development of titles which would be available on multiple platforms as opposed to one. This not only increases their potential sales but it lowers their initial cost.

Further, no other part of their business suffers as a result. Any other ventures, marketing, or licensing the company wishes to pursue would still be wide open.

RoseSapphire3660d ago

This article, in fact, does not present a single plausible reason for why it would be a bad idea for Nintendo to go third party.

Phil323660d ago

That's very true, if you ignore the article entirely, put your hands over your eyes and ears and go "I'm not listening! I'm not listening!"

Instead of presenting a counterargument, all you have said is "there's no reason why Nintendo shouldn't go third-party because I basically ignored every argument Phil made because I said so." Why not actually, y'know, present an actual argument instead of posting something that is practically worthless towards discussion?

wonderfulmonkeyman3660d ago (Edited 3660d ago )

Developing for other platforms would not only require Nintendo to give up any hardware sales they'd make[and that's a LARGE part of their profit margins, if you look at history], they'd also be forced to pay fees to get their games onto those other consoles, on top of having to get through the complicated process of learning how these other consoles work before they could produce anything decent.

Then you've also got the fact that a large majority of gamers from these other consoles LOOK DOWN ON NINTENDO GAMES AS KIDDY REHASHES.

Don't believe me? Try proving there's a majority out there that would choose Mario 3D World on those other consoles when there's three or four other games like Destiny or The Witcher 3 to worry their wallets over.

If you think Nintendo games would sell to those people, which vastly outnumber players who don't look down on Nintendo's games at this moment thanks to all the console wars BS, then you're nucking futs.[sales of the console itself, which is waaaaay cheaper overall, additional expenses included, than the competition, prove that these guys don't care enough about the games to support their makers]

They'd make less money trying to sell just games to people who obviously don't like Nintendo's style, than they would by trying to stay loyal to their own fanbase, by keeping the Wii U going and improving upon their flawed decisions with the system's advertisement and a few of its internal features, which would in turn cause the install base to grow more rapidly.

On top of that, it devalues their brand names, which is the same reason why you don't see Sony loaning out rights to Infamous or Microsoft plunking down a license to Halo games.
Nintendo titles are as good as they are because they're exclusive to Nintendo consoles, and developed by[or quality-controlled by] Nintendo teams, without the say-so of another console manufacturer trying to readjust or change how they are developed.
They're Nintendo's best money-makers, and even though they don't always sell in the multi-millions, they have generally been the reason, alongside hardware, that Nintendo has existed for over a hundred years.

If you want to find a solid reason why Nintendo should go third party, you'll first need to come up with a reason to go third party that applies to all three console manufacturers.
One they'd accept and use as an excuse to give up exclusivity rights to their first-party franchises.

That's right; you'd need to convince both Sony and Micro to go full out third party as well, with all of their games, to even have a chance of convincing Nintendo it's smart to do the same.

Snow-ball's chance in hell, right there, so good luck.XD

Phil323660d ago

Good points, mr. monkeyman! A lot of what you said touched on what I said, so bravo! :)

Show all comments (39)
80°

Nintendo's Massacre Of The 3DS And Wii U Is Finally Complete, Regrettably

Hanzala from eXputer: "The cruel hammer of Nintendo has fallen. Farewell, 3DS and Wii U, you surely brightened my life and many others; you won't be forgotten."

280°

Xbox's Preservation Step Sets A Much-Needed Example, Especially For Nintendo

Hanzla from eXputer inquires: "If Xbox can care about preserving its games and legacy, what exactly is wrong with Nintendo, trying to kill game preservation single-handedly?"

purple1015d ago

Ahh yes the good old game preservation of saving all your games to a removable hhd on the Xbox 360, taking it round your mates house, setting up multiple tvs to
Be met with “save data corrupted, please re download”

Or how about removing 360 games
From the store
, download them now or else, and, better hope to god that save data doesn’t corrupt, or it’s lost for ever

Nice one ☝️

Zeref4d ago

It's better than what Nintendo and Playstation is doing. It might not be perfect but at least they are TRYING. Unlike the others.

DarXyde4d ago

Trying? Take off the blinders for a moment, mate.

1. A failure to preserve games is just that: a failure to preserve games. Don't try to sugarcoat it: NO ONE is doing it properly. Better than awful is nothing to write home about.

2. At the time of this comment, isn't it the case that you need an internet connection to play Xbox games even if you buy physical discs that are hardly in circulation anymore? I don't have a Series X and I can't verify, but I think that is correct. I'm fairly certain you can at least play PS5 games at version 1.0 (not much of a win really when many games require day one patches). I think Microsoft's all digital, licensing approach is by far more aggressive than anyone else's. They really try to push you to game pass where you lose your entire library by umm.... Skipping a month of payments.

I don't think anyone is doing it right whatsoever. Don't get me started on Nintendo, who goes after anyone looking to preserve their games better than they ever would with extreme litigation.

Don't be a simp for any of these companies. Get it together.

PhillyDonJawn4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

@DarX never speak on Xbox again. You lost all credibility with your internet connection comment. Smh you have 0 clue and misinformed yet speaking on something you don't no squat about.

Einhander19724d ago

What has Sony done exactly? You guys keep deflecting to Sony but I am not actually seeing any results, and ai am certain nothing that you can come up with even comes close to what Microsoft has done and what they have tried and failed to do, like tie all your disks to your account on xbone.

Microsoft removed their whole indie section when they moved to the xbone because they were going to only allow games on the service that came from a publisher, id@xbox started after xbone launched and it only exists because Sony embraced indie and Microsoft was forced to cancel their plans and reverse course.

And every single game that was part of games for windows live including disk games (I have gta 4 on disk that won't work) so hundreds of games that use that DRM no longer work unless the company themselves patched it out which of course very few did.

MrBaskerville4d ago

Not trying. Tried. they killed of the backcomp program years ago. They set something up again, but sounds like it's more of an attempt to save the current library on whatever they are planning next. With luck they save everything and more, but let's see. I could see them killing off parts of the OG xbox and 360 libraries. Can't imagine that they would allow us to play Forza 5-7 in the future.

With that said, I do like what they've done and really wish they could have done more.

shinoff21834d ago

Zeref

So killing off physical media is trying what exactly. Ms don't really give a fk if you think they do your kidding yourself.

Profchaos4d ago

They are not trying this team is established for forward compatability the team is. It interested in preserving Xbox or 360 games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4d ago
isarai5d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref4d ago

Just because it's digital only doesn't mean you can't preserve it. Just put it on an external and you have the exact same functionality of what a disc does.

MrNinosan4d ago

Guess you're trolling, but if you actually think that's how it works, I'd recommend buying some braincells.

mkis0074d ago (Edited 4d ago )

Volitile vs nonvolitile data. A disc will not corrupt either. A drive can be corrupted.

Einhander19725d ago

This is just a scammy PR move to distract from the fact they are going digital only and trying to push streaming and subscriptions only.

No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft.

Without discs there is no preservation, preservation can't be done by the rights holders it can only be done by the consumers, anything else is a lie.

5d ago Replies(3)
Einhander19725d ago

Anyone remember xblig which Microsoft removed their whole 360 indie section removing hundreds of games from people?

5d ago
5d ago
Zeref4d ago

Do you know you can put your games on an external and preserve them that way? There are no benefits to discs. ZERO. Idk why some of you are still obsessed with them.

DarXyde4d ago

Because games like Persona 5 exist. It's STILL V1.00. On Playstation, that's a win because 1.00 is installed on the disc—no need to download anything.

If a game does not require any updates, it's all on the disc.

Extremely low bar in the modern era, of course. It's not much of a win by any stretch.

But for now, physical media does have a purpose, at least on Playstation.

Einhander19724d ago

That is factually not how game licensing works, try plugging your hard drive into someone else xbox, It's not going to work, and it won't work if the licensing servers ever go down.

Einhander19724d ago

Anyone remember games for windows live.

I have around a dozen games, some on Steam itself that will not work because Microsoft shut off the licensing servers.

BehindTheRows4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

I do. I STILL have games (Gears of War being the big one) I cannot access because Games for Windows LIVE is total garbage and no one has held Microsoft accountable.

Zeref4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership.

Chevalier4d ago

"You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership."

Damn how many times do people got to explain your idiocy to you? You can take a copy of Persona 5 like someone used as an example and play that game on ANY console WITHOUT logging in which means I can lend the game to a friend without internet and they can play my game. Can you lend your hard drive to anyone without logging in for them to play? NOPE. That is a huge difference and if you think otherwise then sorry you're an idiot.

Tacoboto4d ago

"No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft."

Ubisoft is literally erasing games people bought from their libraries... My PS1-3 discs are useless on modern hardware. Nintendo's re-published and resold almost their entire Wii U library, and the eShop is completely dead with no BC mechanism in the Switch software. Microsoft publishes everything they make today day one on Steam and Xbox/Windows. Sony only brings to PC the titles they think you might want some years later and Nintendo won't even design a functional long-lasting joystick.

You're absolutely trolling and not serious if you think Microsoft today is the worst offender.

shinoff21834d ago

Yay steam

Not everyone fks with computers though. The disc is still the best way as a console player. Period.

Tacoboto4d ago

How do Sony and Nintendo feel about these discs from 2001-2013?

Don't be stupid, you know Xbox is the best at this today.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4d ago
Hofstaderman5d ago

Nobody wants this. Sales or the lack of it in the case of XBOX is very telling. I wonder how the adorably all digital series X will fare. Adorably dismal perhaps?

crazyCoconuts4d ago

Only time will tell, but for from someone like me suspecting that Xbox is trying to gracefully exit the console market, that "forward compatibility" team is trying to get Xbox games playing on Windows PCs. I mean, it's nice that they're not planning on exiting with a "enjoy your games while the hardware still works" message, so that's nice. They still have a brand to protect via Microsoft so probably feel obligated to have a better exit strategy.

Xeofate4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

That is not their plan, their plan is to transfer users accounts to the cloud.

Phil Spencer himself said as much a few months back, plans could have changed but I think people are reading way too much into one statement where Phil said he would allow Epic on xbox because he wants to be able to sell xbox games directly on other platforms. Aka, instead of selling Sea of Thives through PSN he wants to have an xbox store to sell his games on PlayStation without giving PlayStation any money.

Again, it's extremely unlikely that Phil plans to put PC on xbox and licensing would prevent them from just giving out other publishers games purchased on xbox copies of thier games on PC, Microsoft does not own their games.

crazyCoconuts3d ago

The thing that doesn't align with the cloud strategy is the giving up on exclusives. You'd still need strong exclusives for cloud streaming - it's still a "platform" , just with a lower upfront hardware investment. I feel like they've learned what PS learned with PSNow long ago. We're not ready to stream games and it's only gonna lose them money to try at this point

FinalFantasyFanatic4d ago

I would love that, I'd buy up some of the Xbox games if they could run on PC, like the Rare Replay, Lost Odyssey and Dead or Alive Ultimate, probably a pipe dream though.

Show all comments (43)
90°

Nintendo's War Against Player-Made Content Will Hurt The Company In The End

Danish from eXputer: "Nintendo has historically gone against player-made content and emulation of its games. This has done much to harm the company's image."

XiNatsuDragnel11d ago

I agree nintendo hire some these folks to help in your games it'll help imo.

banger8811d ago

They need to stop announcing these mods and fan remakes until they're finished. Finish it, upload it, and then if Nintendo dmca's it tough shit. Once it's online, people can share it around, even if the original download gets taken down.

Jingsing10d ago

True, but most modders need constant admiration during the process to motivate them.

PRIMORDUS10d ago

Yup, once it's a torrent nothing can be done Nintendo is helpless at that point. But it would be wise if they just had a site on the dark web, it's also easy to use with Tor and no one will bother you.

mastershredder10d ago

This is all coming from the mouth of short-sighted fandom and grifting madness.
No.... it wont. There is a clear defined reason why they don't. This is nothing new. Make your own shi7 from your own original ideas especially if you are trying to capitalize of it it. Duh.

Yeah, hire people that have zero respect or understanding for an established process. Wow. Yep. Totally makes sense.

shinoff218310d ago

Those guys that made that sonic game got a gig from sega or something along those lines and that game was dope as hell. One of the best sonics as of late.