Controversial: Is Nintendo currently in its golden age?

[Sprite Machine]

the idea of a golden implies a company doing well in their sales and well as pleasing the gaming society as a whole. Neither of which are happening at the moment for nintendo.

They are doing fine with sales. And they're profitable. CONSISTENTLY profitable.
It's like accusing Apple of being unsuccessful for not selling as many copies of MacOS as Microsoft sell copies of Windows - it's not very accurate or fair.

As for pleasing the 'gaming society as a whole'... no company does that.

[112]

They are doing fine with sales. And they're profitable. CONSISTENTLY profitable.
It's like accusing Apple of being unsuccessful for not selling as many copies of MacOS as Microsoft sell copies of Windows - it's not very accurate or fair.

As for pleasing the 'gaming society as a whole'... no company does that.

I meant on a wide scale in terms of pleasing the gaming society.

I was not aware they were consistantly profitable still, so my bad. But is it profitable enough to survive the long run is another issue altogether.

112

[Sprite Machine]

I was not aware they were consistantly profitable still, so my bad. But is it profitable enough to survive the long run is another issue altogether.

I predict that, if they continue the way they are, they'll gradually lose out on more and more market share until they run out of 'fans'. At which point they'll no longer be profitable doing what they do. But, what you have to remember, is that Nintendo are all about the Long Run. They're a polar opposite of Sega, who took lots of risks, spread themselves thin and tried to please everybody; and of Microsoft, who want all the market share right now using whatever means necessary. If there is any company who will ensure they stay in the game for the long-term, it's Nintendo.*

They may soon need a shake up, but for the time being, they're still doing absolutely fine (all their first-party games easily reach their sales targets, as far as I'm aware [though someone correct me if I'm wrong]).




*The only way I can see of this changing is if their handheld market is totally taken over. What with high-end mobile phones and PSPs on the horizon, they may be facing an uphill struggle.

[Captain Olimar]

Nintendo are the second largest videogame company in the world. Do a quick search in Google if you want clarification from a number of sources. They still command huge profits - mainly from actual game sales rather than hardware. Sure Sony has a rather large monopoly in terms of home console hardware sales, but Sony doesn't produce as many insanely profitable first party games. Ninty has Mario, Samus and Link. What do both Sony and Microsoft have? This is not me trying to say who's better than who, I'm just pointing out some obvious facts. Nintendo still make billions of US dollars each fiscal year. They are in no danger of "doing a Sega". They have an enormous revenue built up from various successful franchises over the years. They don't need to have the most powerful hardware (as the Game Boy legacy hhas proven), nor do they need to boast the most Electronic Arts third party cash-ins. Kudos to Sprite Machine for comparing Apple to Microsoft. I too see similar themes here. As much as I'd like to see Nintendo do better in the home console market - just having them around utilising some of their creative potential in an industry obsessed with realistical graphics, blood, gore and general violence and crime, is enough to satisfy me.

[SharkAttack]

Yeh I've said it before and I'll say it again - Nintendo are the number 1 games publisher in Japan, and the Number 2 or 3 worldwide. If they aren't flourishing then no-one is. If Nintendo are doomed, then everyone is. Nintendo are still in a VERY healthy position and this generation we are slowly seeing them put right some of the areas they were criticised on before such as third party relations, game delays, gaps between games etc. If they carry this forward there is no reason why they wouldn't continue to flourish next gen too.

[rjpageuk]

Sprite Machine - it is nice to see you posting this side of the border .

I pretty much agree with everything he said.

The last thing Nintendo need to try and do is capture some of the "realistic" genres. They stick to what they know best, and thats why many of us are fans. Nintendo are just about the only games company that give us the type of games they do, so why would they want to cover other genres which we can find hundreds of examples of elsewhere?

On the other hand I wouldnt say this is their golden age, but Nintendo do what Nintendo have always done, and I for one hope they are still around after the next generation and I expect to be supporting them all the way.

[Daniel]

I think nintendo have gotta put there ass in gear next generation to stand a chance against sony and microsoft...they have yet to realise that online play is the way instead of trying to con us into purchasing a million gba's to play a few multiplayer games.

I think the gamecube has been dissapointing, but this seems to be a tentative time for all consoles. I think everyone (especially nintendo) is watching ms and sony to see if online gaming takes off.

Can a casual audience be pursuaded to go to the cost and trouble of online gaming? Can any games guarantee subscriptions to cover the network costs each year, or is it just a fad that people will drop? Should console games even follow the largely unsuccesful attempts of pc online gaming were most multiplayer modes are poor clones that drop into obscurity?

It was meant be the big thing on the pc, and now most of the gaming providers have closed down while everyone is still playing a free mod for the cheap old ?5 game half-life. From a business perspective, that isnt very good.

[Ady]

I don't know about a Golden Age, but 've been enjoying lots of high quality gaming on my 'Cube.

Nintendo are doing fine, they just get criticised a lot for not being Sony.