Nintendo won't pay to have exclusives to their platforms

Nintendo won't join Microsoft and Sony and pay developers to make their games exclusive on Nintendo platforms, the company has said.

[NYC_Gamer]

It's because Nintendo doesn't have deep pockets like MS&Sony..

[ChickeyCantor]

You do realise that MS and Sony don't draw money from different divisions just for exclusives( I'm assuming people have this believe that Sony and Ms are up in the billions for games because they sell other products as well).

Nintendo surely got the money, they simply don't do it. They rely on their own software...It's Hard headed Nintendo we are talking about.

[NYC_Gamer]

I know MS and Sony aren't just about video games...That doesn't change the fact Nintendo can't afford to get into some bid war with MS/Sony over software......It's also doubtful that Nintendo would spend millions of dollars to create first party games like Sony....

[dotwithshoes]

Why is it doubtful that they would spend money to make a game? I'm sure Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 only cost them a couple hundred thousand to make.

[ChickeyCantor]

You missed the point there.
I'm saying that just because they have more divisions doesn't mean they can spend THAT money on games.

"It's also doubtful that Nintendo would spend millions of dollars to create first party games like Sony...."

What?
Sony doesn't make games directly. They buy game-companies to do it for them. Nintendo has in house gamedevelopers ( Miyamoto ? ). And in addition they have developers like Retro Studios, Camelot Software ( Golden sun ). Their projects sometimes expand to ~5 years. Also, a lot of money goes to R&D. And if you payed attention to Nintendo's history, game ideas are basically born there.

[Army_of_Darkness]

Microsoft however..... lol!
Besides, Mario might get offended if nintendo used his hard earned money on 3rd party exclusives;-)

[Hisiru]

@NYC_Gamer
This article says you are wrong:
Source: http://nintendoeverything.c...

Nintendo has a lot of money and they could even lose money for more than 40 years and still play in the gaming business. Take a look at this part:
"enough for it to take a 20 billion Yen loss (£163/$257 million) every year until 2052"

They have the money, but they don't want to use it or buy exclusives.

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

I think both NYC and Sidar are right.

In my understanding, every division of a company is granted a certain amount of money at the beginning of the fiscal year.

They have to budget with in that time and the following the year they are awarded more or less depending on there needs, performance, and justifications.

If Sony has this same business model then they are able to allocate a healthy sum to the games division and R&D.

[guitarded77]

From article
"According to Satoru Iwata, Nintendo is “open to Wii U exclusives”, but they are not willing to pay developers for it. Iwata told gaming trade publication Gamasutra that they do not wish to enter a costly bidding war with the likes of Microsoft in order to get a title exclusive to the Wii U console. However, Iwata did point out that Nintendo is very interested in partnering with third parties who have a “very unique use of the Wii U functionality”. But the company won’t flat out pay just to make a game exclusive. This might also explain why some of the recent Wii U games like ZombiU and Rayman Legends have been rumored to be in development for other platforms."

I think Nintendo's point is deeper than the initial headline and understandable. Nintendo does invest money into exclusives from their developers, but they aren't willing to pay for stuff like timed exclusive DLC, which I can appreciate. Also, Nintendo is willing to work with third party devs to bring exclusive gameplay experiences to the Wii U. Not really much to debate when you look at it as more than a headline.

[shackdaddy]

Actually Nintendo is extremely wealthy. They have about $10.5 billion in the bank alone...

Plus Nintendo has 0 debt.

[TenkoTAiLS]

I don't understand how you are getting disagrees my friend. Both points you made are fact backed up by financial analysts and yearly reports. You didn't even slide a personal opinion in there or anything. Disagrees for facts that are proven and true is like disagreeing that the world is round >.<

[miyamoto]

The original title of the articlre was: "Nintendo not interested in buying Wii U exclusive titles"

a slight change in wording " Nintendo won't pay to have exclusives to their platforms" made it sound arrogant.

nintendo can make their own multi million units seller no doubt but they have to make sure wii u is 3rd party friendly as well & this title ain't helping that goal.

[PopRocks359]

Or maybe they just don't want to get into the same shit fest that Capcom keeps getting themselves into with timed exclusivity.

Nintendo's business model has always been different. I don't see the difference between them paying for exclusive titles when they can work with developers to make games for their platform instead as oppose to simply paying a developer to make a game and keep it on their platform. The former seems just as efficient and more cost effective to me at least.

[TenkoTAiLS]

Can't afford to? How so? It's been proven time and again with financial reports and analysts write ups that Nintendo has more money in the bank than both Sony and Microsofts game studios. $10.5 billion to be exact, which is enough to take a $257 million dollar loss for the next 40 years and still be in the black. Also counting the $6 billion they reportedly have on site and in investments etc, they have plenty to spare. They also have recently had their first loss in 30 years as of last financial year.

Not sticking up for them, it's just financial facts. Nintendo isn't going anywhere any time soon, and they certainly have more than enough money to out bid the other two for exclusives. They just don't, and never really have followed that business strategy. The last time I can think of was when they had Resident Evil Remake and Resident Evil 0 made for them exclusive on the Gamecube.

I guess they rely on their own 1st and 2nd party exclusives to differentiate themselves from the competition rather than dumping a whole lot of cash into a game or two for timed exclusive release etc. Their strategy seems to be working too, or they wouldn't have so much in the bank.

[neogeo]

Nintendo has WAY more money in the bank then Sony. (not MS)

How many people have any clue how big Nintendo is?
Nintendo is bigger then:
1.Sony
2.Target
3.Nike
4.Yahoo
5.Panasonic
The list goes on.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Thatguy-310]

Nintendo is like Sony. They will rather invest on its own IP that's developed by one of there many studios.

[corrus]

Actually they have but they love money that's why they don't want to give it i have heart they have 10 billions

[avengers1978]

That is a fail, shell out the money, and give people more of a reason to buy your system... I know they have there own exclusives, but sony and MS make there own games but still, pay for third party exclusives as well, and nintendo def has the money.

[Elderly_Cynic]

I appreciate their integrity, but it's a questionable decision from a business standpoint...

[WrAiTh Sp3cTr3]

Yes, your name explains it all.

[Pedantic91]

But i remember reading somewhere about a Sony spokes person (i think) saying that they don't pay for exclusives, that they'd rather try to earn the 3rd party devs respect or something.

Back on topic: I wouldn't know how this works out in a business standpoint but Nintendo themselves make a lot of exclusives for their own hardware so imo it makes sense.

[DaThreats]

SONY doesn't pay
It's just M$

[hellvaguy]

@Dathreats

Your coompletely dillusional if you think sony doesnt pay for exclusives. Let me explain a common sense concept to you about something called a profit. A software company isnt going to just make ther game for system A out of the goodness of thier hearts and politely pass on making 50 million dollars but not releasing it on system b.

Common sense (well not so common it turns out).

[CGI-Quality]

What exclusives (games - not exclusive DLC, which has a minimal impact overall) have Sony payed for? They've put the majority of their money into their own exclusives (or IPs they're publishing - such as Beyond: Two Souls).

Maybe during the PS1 era when they were trying to establish themselves in this industry did they "moneyhat" 3rd party titles, but these days, the only money (I imagine) going towards any games are their own. How else could FFXIII, GTA IV, Tekken 6, & Ace Comabt suddenly become multi-platform? Sony didn't throw money at them to keep them exclusive.

[hellvaguy]

lol @ CGI

Fanboy pretending to know where and how sony spends thier money. Do they consult you before any business decision, so much failure. Your ignorance is kinda puppy dog cute.

[humbleopinion]

A few examples from the PS3 era:
- Yakuza series
- Metal Gear Solid 4 exclusivity deal
- Quantic Dream games (Heavy Rain started development as a PC game before Sony payed for it)
-LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule was still an independent developer back then).
... You get the idea.

Similarly, Nintendo also pays for exclusive games, be it from external developers working on Nintendo franchises (the last Metroid from Team Ninja) or third party publishers (The Last Story).
The only thing they said is that they will not go on a bidding war - which is a good strategy if your pockets aren't deep enough. But they will pay for exclusivity if they think the content is right and the asking price isn't too high. The entire headline here is misleading.

[Roper316]

the only one of the 3 that pay for exclusives ( most of which are timed ) is Microsoft. Sony has stated that since the PS3 first released and they were getting crap about all their PS2 exclusive franchises launching on the 360. Sony & Nintendo can make their own games and MS can't and that is the bottom line.... Why pay someone else to do what you can do yourself?

[Thepcz]

Im not bothered. Why? Because nintendos 2nd party games are incredibly strong and totally exclusive. Retro studios, and the studios that made xeno, last story and pandoras tower. Those are excellent partnerships. Not to mention nintendos in house games. Im looking forward to the wiiu nintendo partnerships with other devs, like they did with metroid and temco. Nintendo will kick ass. Fuck call of duty, who cares. Nobody buys a nintendo to play a 3rd party franchise you can play anywhere.

[Theyellowflash30]

They dont have to pay for exclusives. Mario, Metroid, zelda, kirby, donkey kong, star fox. Kid icaris. Smash bros. The list goes on. They dont need to pay for 3rdexclusives party exclusives

[Nutsack]

So WiiU goes the same route as the Wii I guess...

Good 1st party games but same old same old Mario&Zelda. 3rd party doesn't care a lot. Certainly with a low installed base compared to combined 130 Mln PS360's out there. It'll just get 3rd party ports.

[linkratos]

This makes sense, exclusives are definitely NOT Nintendo's problem. They have the most prestigious exclusive titles in the industry if you go by scores and sales. Paying outside developers to make games like Sony or paying for timed exclusivity like Microsoft makes no sense for Nintendo, they really need to spend that money helping 3rd parties. That's where the gaping hole in their lineup is.

[NeoBasch]

I'm pretty sure Sony said something similar a couple years ago. lol

[etownthree]

Lol... I was just about to say that.

[supremacy]

@sider

Did you know who the senior director for legend of dragoon was?

The same man who today like miyamoto runs the dev teams and like miyamoto is no longer directly making games.

The name is Yoshida shuhei.

Nintendo is no different than Sony, both employ very similar business models. Nintendo has its in house development studios and so does Sony. Every investment Sony makes is no different than those Nintendo makes.

Heck Nintendo sign on tecmokoei to handle metriod m, so this whole notion that they are entirely different is blind and purely wrong just based on facts.

Sony has been in the business now since 94 and by now we can all agreed they have a name and a pedigree in both game development and studio investment.

I hope no one here thinks Nintendo still has the same staff and number of people it did when they started. Things change with that and so does the staff of a company. Only the main honchos usually remain, other than that things change.

[Salamander]

I can understand their stance on this, N has many exclusives but if they were willing to pay for timed exclusives, that to me would say "Yo core players, were very serious about those games you like". That would make me even more eager for their new console, regardless if i liked the timed exclusive or not.

[omarzy]

it would be nice, but they do not need it. they have every money making, and very popular first party titles available only on nintendo consoles, 2nd party is first rate, and people overlook nintedo 3rd party titles because they do not sell as much as first party. you would be shocked at how many 3rd party games on nintendo consoles sell well, then bam, mario is released, and you know what happens after that

[DivineAssault]

They need to if they want more customers

[ozstar]

http://www.thesixthaxis.com...

Nothing is worth 75 Million

except maybe Mario exclusivity

[ShaunCameron]

Well for the most part they get 3rd-party exclusives on their platform anyway. A far cry from having 3rd parties sign a contract stipulating that they're barred from making multiplatform games and making a game for one platform then porting it over.

[HalfNerdHalfAmazing]

Nintendo don't need to pay 3rd party developers to make exclusive games for them Nintendo got a great team they don't need nobody.

[Lord_Sloth]

Mmmmmmmmmm...Double Negative...