After being left for dead, Nintendo is the hottest name in gaming again

Two years ago it was not unusual to ask what future Nintendo had, if any. The Japanese video gaming group was in trouble — revenues had fallen for six consecutive years to less than a third of their peak and its latest console, the Wii U, had been a failure.

Today, that picture is almost unrecognisable. Nintendo, left for dead, is once again the most exciting name in the industry. Last week, shares hit their highest levels since 2008 as it upgraded forecasts for the Switch, the company's latest console. Its market value even briefly surpassed that of its old enemy, Sony. The company's astonishing turnaround has been an underdog story worthy of Mario himself.

[Nodoze]

Nintendo delivers FUN, value, and does NOT screw over their customers.

[roadkillers]

I'm having a blast with Mario, thought about bringing it to work. Can't do that, I love playing on my huge tv.

[Gazondaily]

Nintendomination!

[vergilxx3]

"does not screew over their customers"
Are you f*cking joking?
overpriced games that never go on sale ,controllers that cost £70
Branded Switch memory cards for more than duble the price
lowering stock to create fals demand , Amibo

I could go all day

[michellelynn0976]

Um wrong, some of their games do go one sale. You do not have to buy the memory crads, get cheaper ones. Um, they did not create false demand. Stop it.

[Monster_Tard]

Their games don't see much discounts, that ones true.

The Joycon are estimated to cost $90 to manufacture and they sell them for $80, so how are they screwing people there? Also Nintendo allows you to use controllers form their previous system (Wiimote, Gamecube, Wii U pro controller) on the Switch to give users more options instead of forcing them to buy a another new controller (like Microsoft does).

Nintendo isn't selling the overpriced SD cards, SanDisk are, Nintendo is just allowing them to use their license.

And this "false demand" claim is just false. Holding back stock means less profits, which is not something any company wants. People made the same claim about the Switch itself, why would they not want their product in as many hands as possible? Especially when their last system failed to pick up support from 3rd parties. The claim makes no sense and holds no merit.

[vergilxx3]

Balance2theforce

You should take of these pink glasses my freind .

michellynn.

I don't have to buy them but someone who does not know any better will like a mom buying a switch for her kid and that is the biggest dick move they could have done and if you don't see that as a rip off then i guess Nontendo in your eyes can't do anything wrong and no reason will get to you

And this comes from someone who does own a switch

[Monster_Tard]

"if you don't see that as a rip off then i guess Nontendo in your eyes can't do anything wrong"

I know right, freaking Nintendo... Selling people controllers at a loss...
And shame on them for the cost of these SD cards that they didn't even price, manufacture or sell themselves...
It's pure greed I tell you!

[masterfox]

"does NOT screw over their customers." <---- lol of course not, they screw the whole damn game industry XD, remember the N64, Gamecube, virtual boy, Wii, Wii U forcing developers to use their gimmicks in their consoles in order to publish their games, seriously is ridiculous how people can forget history, and now the Switch, now developers need to downgrade their multiplataform games in order to play it on that low spec thing, all this Nintendo Switch fad will end soon, as soon as next year, and finally the industry can move forward again.

[michellelynn0976]

All companies have done some crap that is not good to the customers sadly.

[Chaosdreams]

Uh... Nintendo is very much known for screwing over their customers.

[chris235]

delusional, much?

[subtenko]

woah....NIntendo does screw over their customers....and that also make things more complicated than it needs to be.

[Ittoittosai]

Nope just youtube and content creators, Fans by reselling older titles all the time, shutting down fan projects.

[_-EDMIX-_]

In regards to fun that's completely subjective because I believe any gaming system is going to have its fair share of "fun", but in terms of how they treat their customers I would argue that Nintendo is amongst the worst.

Mind you Nintendo never used to always be this way but somewhere around the Super Nintendo generation you saw this company completely overstepping their boundaries in regards to trying to monopolize the industry and completely trying to control Publishers games in regards to content. And then with the N64 you saw the Nintendo basically refusing to even meet game developers halfway regarding a storage medium and instead they wanted to sell proprietary cartridges which literally was the beginning of the end of this company selling home consoles.

The fact that Nintendo was only selling a portable right now only goes to show what they've lost with this desperation of control.

Nintendo for a very very very long time has struggled with treating game developers fairly in regards to meeting them halfway in terms of system specs at the end of the day if a developer needs a specific amount of storage medium to create a game you're either with them or against them and it is very clear that Nintendo has chosen to sell proprietary memory cards as opposed to helping game developers and The Gaming Community.

So when next Generation rolls around in developers need probably 200 to 300 gigabytes per game I'm going to see exactly what Nintendo was going to do because Sony and Microsoft have proven that if a game developer needs something they're willing to meet them.

Nintendo has proven that they create their systems only for themselves and it's why you're seeing three and four percent developers supporting the system....

[SurgicalMenace]

Nintendo loyalists tend to be so naive to just how shady Nintendo is.

[Istolla]

Okay Nintendo hater, shed some light on the matter. What objective facts do you have to outline their shadiness? What's shady about the Switch?

[_-EDMIX-_]

I like Nintendo games like Animal Crossing in Luigi's Mansion and I actually still plan to buy Nintendo switch but I completely agree with what he's saying I've noticed that indeed there are some Nintendo Gamers that seem to be completely oblivious to what this company has been doing whereas I feel most Nintendo Gamers completely understand what this company has been doing for a very long time.

Not everybody that disagrees with Nintendo is a hater there are many that disagree with what this company does instill like its software but still don't completely agree with how they treat consumers or even game developers if anything out argue the biggest critics of Nintendo are its fans.

Do you think we like Star Fox Zero? Do you think we like what we see what the Paper Mario series?

I mean really think about it if you look at Call of Duty and you see some of the old school Call of Duty fans complaining about infinite Warfare it's not because they hate Call of Duty it's because they love the series enough to criticize what they don't like.

I mean I've hated what they've done for that series for a very long time but I still bought Call of Duty World War 2 because I disliked what I saw them doing with those other games it did not mean I 100% hate all of Call of Duty....

Understand people are upset with what they're seeing done with the company currently

It does not automatically mean they want hundred percent hate the company completely.

You just have lots of trouble understanding that you literally are looking at this as if it's some either or as if you must be for the company or 100% against it 😂😂😂

Not that serious

[Benjaminkno]

It sounds like you’re back peddling.
There are plenty of things to complain about, but “shady” is a bit of a stretch

[SurgicalMenace]

https://youtu.be/INekbzfXD2...

https://youtu.be/JKv7hgQIL3...

There is so much more, but my information is behind a paywall, so I'll give you what people gave for free.

[masterfox]

"After being left for dead, Nintendo is the hottest fad in gaming again..for some"
Title fix'd :D

[nevin1]

You predicting the Switch momentum will eventually slow down?

What is the time frame of this prediction?

[Palitera]

A month?

[Knushwood Butt]

2 months.

Odyssey will get them through Crimbo.

Then what???????

[PhantomTommy]

You didn't see his comment above? "All this Nintendo Switch fad will end soon, as soon as next year". Personally I think you'd have to be insane to say something like that, but then, I'm not a respected Industry analyst like Masterfox. So yeah, sell your Switches while they're still worth something, folks -- it all ends for Nintendo next year.

[TekoIie]

@masterfox

Weren't you among those that said the Switch would do well for the first month and then it would become the Wii U 2.0?

So you've now had to add about 7/8months to your previous prediction. What makes this one more credible?

[_-EDMIX-_]

I believe its momentum is inevitably going to slow down because I don't even see much evidence to suggest that anymore people want Nintendo products then with the previous 3DS and Wii U

Really what determines that often is brand new software that actually means a brand-new demographic of consumers filling the void.

What I'm seeing from the Nintendo switch currently is simply that it's likely to sell combined Wii U and 3DS numbers if not slightly less.

It's going to take some time to see if it's actually going to sell more than that but as of right now I'm not even seeing any evidence that is going to sell more than both of those combined simply because I don't even see anything that would suggest more consumers would buy a Nintendo product that also chose not to buy them the previous generation

They would need all series of new properties to actually really make that work.

[Outlawzz]

@Tekolie
LMAO he's had to adjust his forecast accordingly. He's paying close attention to the Nintendo news to give the most accurate predictions possible

[Prince_TFK]

I am so tired of the same god damn people/sony fanboys trolling Nintendo/MS articles every god damn time. Jesus christ it is becoming so much unbearable in the comment section of this site. You can’t have a good conversation without these people throwing shit in your face.

[Asuka]

I do have to say the comments in these articles are all pretty ironic to say the least haha. Especially with the amount of a$$ kissing that goes on for other articles on this website and yet no one notices the irony xD.

I have argued for the case of having an actual "conversation" on this website before, but i think you can guess where that ended. I do not think, as is the case IRL, that people can take criticism on this website without it becoming personal. If you disagree its instantly "fanboyism".

I can almost guarantee that i have been around here, and active longer than most users including mods and admins. My profile says June 1, 2006 but that is only because there wasnt a profile system before. I have seen trends of fanboyism come and go. I actually have gotten to the point to where i try and see how many disagrees i can get haha.

So yeah there was a time where you could have conversations here, and actually disagree with people and still maintain a level conversation. But like all things the internet took over that and now we just have people complaining for the sake of hearing themselves... about everything.

Welcome to n4g xD

[vergilxx3]

It is how it is , you can't say anything bad about Nintendo or give zelda and mario less than 10/10 cuz people will eat you alive or will send you death threats , i own switch and i dissagree with a lot of what ninty is doing like lack of media apps and crappy online
you just can't have your own opinion enymore on this site

[EddieNX]

Switch is the coolest console out.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Handheld and I agree

[subtenko]

the hottest name?

Its had a resurgence

[Veneno]

Lol the headline is quite hyperbolic. Yes it is doing well deservetly but if Nintendo is "the hottest" then Sony must be a volcano?

[FreddyFazbear]

Sorry to burst your bubbles guys, But Mario odyssey and breath of the wild cant keep the switch selling Forever. problem is, Nintendo takes much longer time to develop exclusives since they also have few studios under their belt. So after this season your going ti wait several years for another mario or zelda. There is not even a release date for rumored pokemon switch and metroid.

[DwightSchrute01]

Your not bursting anyone's bubble with your uneducated opinion that shows you lack knowledge and clearly haven't done your research.

Apart from nintendos excellent 1st party games they have attracted a lot of third party developers and have announced that switch production will increase to 30 mill next year.

The whole nintendo only has mario and zelda argument is so lame, overused and false now.
I mean name one nintendo console that only has zelda and mario to play.
That argument is so stupid.

[Outlawzz]

The attach rate for Zelda and Mario is insane. They don't need another one because the games will continue to sell, at full price too. Nintendo hasn't even announced it's games lineup for next year that usually happens on a direct towards New year's so your comment isn't really credible at all.

[deafdani]

Counterpoint: Nintendo as always made and published a lot of games, every single year. It's just that they usually had to distribute them along two platforms: one home console, and one portable console.

Now it seems they're slowly leaving 3DS behind, and focusing all of their publishing efforts on the Switch. The fact that it's got so much Nintendo stuff to play on its first 8-9 months alone may be an indication of this, so I'm hopeful for their future, to be honest.

[_-EDMIX-_]

It might simply be an indication that multiple titles were cancelled on the Wii U in simply ported on the switch.

You also have to consider with the combined teams simply working on one system you might see an increase of sales because you're also now combining consumers that otherwise would have either bought a 3DS or Wii U which actually means Nintendo themselves are likely going to get around the same units sold simply on one device as opposed to separated by 2.

You're seeing the perception of increased sales...

I don't see any evidence that there was really anything on the Nintendo switch that otherwise was going to get someone to buy it that was not going to buy a 3DS or Wii U.

[deafdani]

@Ed: I didn't say anything about sales at all, mate. Go see a psychologist or something.

[quantoxtech]

Mario and Zelda aren't the only games that are keeping the Switch selling. Many indie titles, as well as 3rd party titles such as SF II and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 sold extremely well on the device, considering that SF II was priced at 40$ and DBX2 was a port of a year old game.

Then, you have the runaway hits like Mario + Rabbids, which was received extremely well by critics, Fire Emblem Warriors which did fairly well considering it's a Warriors game ( I love Warriors games, but I admit that they aren't for everyone. ), ARMS, Splatoon 2 which is probably the highest selling game in Japan currently, Pokken Tournament DX which is a great fighter and Mario Kart 8. Yes, Pokken and Mario Kart are "Deluxe" editions, and that's fine. I didn't have a WiiU and neither did many people out there, and it makes sense that Nintendo would port them over.

Now, we still have, out of first party titles that are announced... what? Only small games? You know, like Pokemon, Fire Emblem, Metroid Prime 4... Yoshi, Kirby? And Xenoverse 2 which launches in less than a month.

Then you have the three games Bandai Namco is going to announce, the brand new Shin Megami Tensei 5, No More Heroes, Project Octopath Traveler, and many more that I probably forgot about.

When you talk about "much longer time to develop exclusives" I believe this won't be the case with the Switch, considering all of their studios are coming together under one roof. It's like you get all the amazing games that were usually 3DS/DS exclusive, as well as the console games on one device.

Sony does still hold the torch when it comes to the sheer number of games available, but this is only the first year for the Switch. And in its first year, we already have two GOTY contenders and two games that were probably the highest rated this year... granted, they were probably the heaviest of hitters when it comes to Nintendo, but I'm personally a bigger fan of Fire Emblem and Pokemon.

But, only time will tell how the Switch fares in the future. My hopes are that it ends up doing great, because why would I, as a gamer who enjoys amazing games, hope that a console and its games fail? I hoped that X1X would do extremely well too, and I do respect what Microsoft is trying to do with the console and how open they are with cross-play too.

Anyways, those were just my thoughts, enjoy.

[Einhander1971]

Nintendo have never been dead, and with regards to not screwing their user base. The trolls here are the ones who buy probably buy all the shit DLC going, to line EA's pockets. At the End of the day I love Nintendo always have always will, gameplay is KING!! Nintendo deliver deal with it.

[Skankinruby]

Hottest name? Not even close. Best recovered? Even that is TBD.

[michellelynn0976]

i am so glad for Nintendo.