Is Nintendo Going Down Hill?

[broncoFan!]

Well... what do you think? Recent trends are showing that it is...

[SBboundBRONCOS]

stick a fork in em

[InsaneBlaze23]

Nintendo is dying slowly.

They aren't like Sega and just die over night, but they are getting there.

They are just to far beyond in tech for gaming. Their idea of sticking to family games over other types is killing, plus they are the only of the 3 consoles not focused on taking down the PC.

Xbox and PS are aiming for PC gamers and PC graphics, while Nintendo is aiming for xbox and PS.

[Jay3]

Each time I think they are dead, they suprisingly come out with something successfull.

All they have to do to survive for sure is exit the console wars. They can live on for years as a company that licenses their considerable properties.

[Foez]

As long as they keep selling new systems and Zelda games they will be fine. I'm sure they do alot better over in Japan than they do here. Either way I'm a big fan of the Zelda series and I always buy their new gen system just to play the new Zelda games. Still have to get me a Wii.

[Amari24]

Nintendo is dying slowly.

They aren't like Sega and just die over night, but they are getting there.

They are just to far beyond in tech for gaming. Their idea of sticking to family games over other types is killing, plus they are the only of the 3 consoles not focused on taking down the PC.

Xbox and PS are aiming for PC gamers and PC graphics, while Nintendo is aiming for xbox and PS.

The PC really has nothing to do with it. PC's and Consoles, appeal to two completely different types of gamers. Consoles will never "take down" PC's, because they aren't trying to. If you're a casual gamer, or if you want to play with your friends online, you'd probably go with a console. But if want to max out all your games, and see them in the best visuals, and don't have a problem with upgrading year after year, PC's are the thing for you.

Not to mention, PC's are capable of much more than just playing games. You can do things on PC's, that you can't do on a console, therefore consoles will never top PC's in the eyes of those who already game on their PC's.

Nintendo's problem is that they are simply making stupid moves, and killing the loyalty between their fanbase. Look at the 3DS. Not only did Nintendo screw over the fans that originally bought it for $250, they screwed over everyone who bought it by releasing the 2nd analog, as an add-on.

Their whole "innovation" philosophy is getting stale. They are really setting themselves up for fail with the Wii U. It's as if they don't care anymore, they're taking every risk imaginable with the Wii U. First they come out and say they're trying to win back hardcore gamers like in the old days, then they come out at E3 and showcase a gimmicky tablet controller, that looks too uncomfortable to play anything on. Brilliant move.

They hold on to their IP's from the cradle to the grave. Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, etc. Will only sell so long. Come out with something that makes your system worth buying. Come out with a big name shooter that challenges Halo (MS) and Killzone (Sony). Make a game that's something like the Uncharted series. Do something different. No one aside from casuals, are looking to play the same 20 year old remakes, time and time again. And as you saw with the GameCube, N64, and somewhat the 3DS now, you can't always win with the casual market.

There was a report a few months ago, how their market share took a drastic drop. The 3DS isn't doing all that well, and the Wii is no longer bringing in any bucks. If the Wii U doesn't catch on, Nintendo will be right alongside Sega as software-only developers.

[getlynched47]

Yes, because they're targeting the least-profitable target market.

[Broncofanfolife]

Nintendo is going after a different market then Sony or MS well they ever be # 1 again I doubt it are they dying not ye tNintendo is more about party/family gaming are they going to be able to compete in the FPS market I doubt it noir do I think they should they need to stick with what works for them. I have a P3S and a Wii but I spend 80%+ of my time playing on my PS3 but when I have a party or want to have family night the Wii is great for that.

[Puddleglum]

Nintendo is dying slowly.

They aren't like Sega and just die over night, but they are getting there.

The sad thing is that I loved my Dreamcast. Sega was beaten by stiff competition, wheras I feel Nintendo is just missing the point.

They are just to far beyond (I think you meant behind) in tech for gaming. Their idea of sticking to family games over other types is killing (them).

It's not that any of these companies are "behind" in technology, Sony and M$ and Nintendo license technology from other companies to build their consoles. Nintendo simply chose to compete in a way that would give them an edge...cost.

It worked too, for the quite some time Nintendo had the largest userbase, I myself have a Wii even though I own no other consoles and rarely use it. The problem with the Wii is content, the only good games on the darn thing are the ones on their download store from the N64 era.

Nintendo directly decided it did not want to compete with Xbox 360 and PS3, and make no mistake there is a space for such a console in the market, I just feel that Nintendo started sucking after the N64 was done and the Wii was it's last hurrah. It would be smart to take it's winnings and leave the console market now to go strictly into game development and publishing, where I believe it would be even more successful.

Plus they are the only of the 3 consoles not focused on taking down the PC.

Xbox and PS are aiming for PC gamers and PC graphics, while Nintendo is aiming for xbox and PS.

I know there was a past thread where Amari, Hoserman, myself and countless others went at it over the semantics of PC Vs Consoles. We compared pricing, games, etc. It was cute, it really was, because when it all comes down to it they are not in direct competition. In fact, I'd go so far as to say they need each other far more than compete with each other.

Even though most homes in America have a computer, only a small percentage of them are used for gaming. It's getting worse too, in an effort to cut costs big brand PC makers are removing actual video cards in favor of on-board or "integrated" graphics cards which cannot be upgraded, cannot play any graphically proficient games of the last 5 years and so ALWAYS suck.

That technology that builds the consoles, where do you think it comes from? Nvidia and ATI are always releasing new chip sets to compete with each other statistically, graphically, and economically on the PC. There are entire websites like Tom's Hardware built around testing these products. When a console maker decides to build a new console they get to pick a company with a long track record of WORKING products thanks to the PC.

Console makers get to go nuts and cherry pick the best bits from the PC to put into their new console. For instance, I would be SHOCKED if the new consoles did not have a Solid State Drive (SSD) when they come out. SSD's are new and expensive but offer a VERY SIGNIFICANT decrease in read and so loading times. Not only that but the actual games for the consoles are made on PC's, consoles have been trying to become more "PC like" ever since the N64 where you could upgrade the memory available to the system.

People might sneer at the idea of mods for a game but I know Bethesda actively hires good modders from the community, and ultimately their work will end up on your console in their next game. Modding is the PC community showing the game industry what they want in their games, and it keeps things fresh and exciting. The PC market is a sort of testing ground for game studios where they can decide if they have what it takes to make a push onto consoles.

It's not a one way street either, the Xbox 360 and PS3 included the first legitimate hard drives in consoles, something that had always been expensive for PC users. Don't get me wrong hard drive prices had been dropping but when the consoles came out hard drive prices crashed through the floor. It's thanks to you buying that 20gb PS3 that I can buy a 2,000 GB drive for $80. I expect the same thing to happen to SSD's when the consoles include them.

When it comes to graphic power on the consoles Nvidia and ATI need to show not just for next year like they do with the PC but for YEARS ahead, this ultimately benefits PC's as well. If it weren't for this generation of consoles, I and a huge proportion of other PC users would still be using Windows XP a 10 year old operating system, because I didn't want to pay $100 to upgrade and I didn't like Vista. That was until my hard drive crashed and a game called Just Cause 2 caught my eye which is a game that requires Direct X 10 which meant I needed to upgrade and I'm ultimately glad I did.

The consoles now have distinct sections for strictly downloadable games, giving gamers a whole new flavor. Maybe I don't want something as intense and heavy as the Witcher 2, I've been playing Orcs Must Die and had an absolute BLAST with the game. Sure, games like this can make money on the PC alone but between the PC and consoles games like this can THRIVE and make MORE of want I want.

In the end I still believe that the console and PC markets are just VERY different even though the feed off of each other. Consoles are a way of getting a quality video game experience with the least possible technical know-how and no I'm not referring to console users as "stupid" in any way. People by and large don't know much about the innards of their computers, don't know about port forwarding, think modding is too complicated. However, everyone can plug in a power cord and an HDMI cable.

In fact if you're not careful as a console gamer, one day you might just turn into a PC gamer as I did.

Nintendo's problem is that they are simply making stupid moves.

Bingo

[Charlie Brown]

The last Nintendo system I owned was a Nintendo 64.

When the Gamecube was announced I was immediately turned off by its cartoony appearance compared to the other gaming consoles.

I turned to X-Box (and recently bought a PS3) and have not looked back.

[aberdien]

Gamecube is underrated.

I honestly think Nintendo just needs to rerelease their older systems. I'd rather buy those and play those games than Wii U or whatever.

[Foez]

Gamecube is underrated.

I honestly think Nintendo just needs to rerelease their older systems. I'd rather buy those and play those games than Wii U or whatever.

I agree that Gamecube was underrated but because they didn't sell enough with it and make enough money they didn't have enough releases with it. I still have one and play it but there aren't too many great games on it sadly.

[Cahill]

Gamecube is underrated.

I honestly think Nintendo just needs to rerelease their older systems. I'd rather buy those and play those games than Wii U or whatever.

I'm just not a fan of the Gamecube controller so I never really wanted to buy it as I would be playing with that horrible thing. I know a lot of people love it but I honestly have never been a fan of any Nintendo controllers for the most part.

[Amari24]

Gamecube is underrated.

I honestly think Nintendo just needs to rerelease their older systems. I'd rather buy those and play those games than Wii U or whatever.

Not really. Aside from being the most powerful system behind the XBox, the GameCube didn't have much to offer in comparison to the PS2, XBox, and even Dreamcast imo. The only games on the GameCube I cared about were multiplats.

And why would Nintendo re-release their older systems? That would defeat the purpose of the Wii's Virtual Console. Besides, you can easily find mint condition SNES's, NES's, and N64's for great prices.

[aberdien]

It didn't have very many good games, but the good games were real good.

On the topic of rereleasing older systems: vintage is in, everybody loved them. I think they'd sell alot to the kids who grew up with the 64 and snes wanting to buy it for nostalgic value. I'd buy the 64 and the games I used to play on it.

Virtual console isn't the same as the real thing.