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."
If you were a 90s kid excited about Nintendo’s upcoming N64 console, you likely read something somewhere about the Nintendo 64 Disk Drive, also known as the 64DD or DD64.
Genuine Enabling Technology was seeking damages, claiming the tech allowing PlayStation consoles and controllers to communicate infringes its rights.
Sounds like patent trolling they tried the same thing against Nintendo with the same pattern.
Motion and control input traversing over higher and lower frequencies seperate from each other allowing the controller to do both
So to recoup the money Genuine is going to take on Nintendo or Microsoft next. I hate patent lawyers they are some of the worst bottom feeders out there.
Microsoft has announced the Microsoft Rewards app on Xbox will be discontinued in April and has confirmed that weekly streaks will also be coming to an end.
Some people care about companies. Other people care about games.
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.
It's actually a hard choice for me.
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.
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.