Do You Think Nintendo's Near Death?

[Kschreck]

After reading IGN's latest "The Nintendo Minute" Volume 10 askes George Harrison the following question:

This week's question: According to retail release lists, PS2 and Xbox have about 20 games apiece coming out -- many of them top-quality efforts -- in April. Oppositely, GameCube owners will only see a single new release for the month. The question is, how do you hope to maintain a GameCube audience if you don't release new games on a consistent basis?

And got this answer:

George Harrison, senior vice President of marketing, Nintendo of America: From the retail lists we've seen, several of the triple-A titles you mention launching on other systems are being carried over from late Q4 of last year as titles that didn't quite make it in time for the holiday season. This kind of spill-over is natural in Q1 and has definitely placed a high number of titles on the calendar for some systems in April.

Looking ahead towards early summer, Nintendo GameCube fans will soon get their hands on Geist, Nintendo Pennant Chase Baseball, Killer 7, Rainbow Six: Lockdown, Medal of Honor: European Assault, Batman Begins, Fantastic Four, and more. And that's just in the month of June alone. So don't let the month of April fool you -- there are plenty of Nintendo GameCube hits to fill your gameplay calendars between now and this holiday season as fans anxiously count the days until the next Legend of Zelda hits store shelves. Looking at the complete 2005 calendar, Nintendo GameCube has over 60 titles set to ship from Nintendo and all major publishers this year alone.

The late Q1 and early Q2 periods are not traditionally the busiest time for launching new titles. But periods of slow product release are nothing new for the games industry. Though we may not have many Nintendo GameCube products on the horizon for April, we do have a healthy selection of new handheld products for the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance, including Polarium, which is a triple-A puzzle title soon to be used in the same sentence as Tetris around the world.

Nintendo's GameCube will only be seeing one game this month while Microsoft and Sony gets games like Doom 3, God Of War, Brothers In Arms, KOTOR 2, Jade Empire, Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict, ETC and thats just a sample. The only umcomming GameCube game that seems any good is the new Zelda game. Some may find other upcoming games good, but the fact of the matter is that the games list is very very small compared to Xbox and PS2 and though the Nintendo DS did well in hardware sales, the games that have been released so far are crap (My Opinion) and theres not many decent titles that have been announced. Not to mention the systems hardware is not even within comparison to Sony's powerful handheld the PSP. Anyways the whole point of this topic so basically to get your opinions on Nintendo as a company and whether or not you think they are near death. So what do you guys think about Nintendo's state of being and Nintendo's future?

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

no need for the apostrophe, but I doubt nintendo is near death. They dominate the handheld market (psp doesen't even came close to what gameboy is to the world) they own several game franchises that are held dear to many americans, and are simply more respected across Japan. No nintendo is not near death.

 

[Lucid]

I think Nintendo shall remain flourishing for years to come.
The DS was just released and has received high praise.
The GC's life cycle isn't over yet either buddy.
They're far from death, I'd say they've been reborn.

 

[Javes]

They're far from death, I'd say they've been reborn.

How would you say they've been re-born? I'm no anti-nintendo person. Ive owned nearly every console and handheld by them since the Snes and I buy nintendo only magazines and to me it all seems to be going downhill. I don't know if this is due to me getting older, but that means the 'Nintendo is for kiddies!!!111ONE' argument has some merits?

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

Sony make the most revenue.

Nintendo make the most profit.

They far, far from death.

 

[embers.]

After reading IGN's latest "The Nintendo Minute" Volume 10 askes George Harrison the following question:

This week's question: According to retail release lists, PS2 and Xbox have about 20 games apiece coming out -- many of them top-quality efforts -- in April. Oppositely, GameCube owners will only see a single new release for the month. The question is, how do you hope to maintain a GameCube audience if you don't release new games on a consistent basis?

And got this answer:





Nintendo's GameCube will only be seeing one game this month while Microsoft and Sony gets games like Doom 3, God Of War, Brothers In Arms, KOTOR 2, Jade Empire, Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict,

the artcicle even stated that its because the GC games are overrunning into june instead of april and all the games you mentioned there are PC Games And/OR Sequels....not that impressive really

 

[KU_]

No where near death. The DS and GBA rack in alot of money, and games like RE4 and Zelda really helps sell the Gamcube.

 

[StardogChampion]

Nintendo have been in this position before with the N64 not having as many games as any other consoles. They won't die yet.

 

[Cole]

I bet they still have a $ made be the first NES(Nintendo Entertainment System) lying around somewhere..

 

[jimbo118]

they wont die,if they get into a really bad situation someone will buy them out and their games will continue,its nintendo after all

 

[VirusType2]

I used to be a hardcore nintendo fan when the SNES was thier super system.

Except the new Zelda, and I think Metroid has a ton of promise in on thier next-generation hardware, I don't even care for Nintendo's hardware or software anymore - not since goldeneye on the N64, but for children ( really, 17 years and under) and the responsible parents of children, it is the only good option. Kids of all ages can play thier games, and still stay innocent.

Nintendo will never die, trust me

 

[Warbie]

Of course they won't die.

As long as they continue to make some of the best games around, and produce great hardware, there will be a market for them.

 

[satch919]

I'll support Nintendo forever. I think most gamers can agree.

This is the company that we grew up with. They've always created extremely unique, high quality games. If Nintendo fell, so would the gaming industry.

 

[Axyon]

Japan alone will support them for a long, long time.

no need for the apostrophe

If you're talking about the title, it actually does require the apostrophe.

 

[Kangy]

It certainly is lacking a lot of 3rd part support right now, but their incredibly strong in-house development potential really makes up for that.

 

[Calanen]

I already thought it was dead.

 

[Direwolf]

Reports of Nintendo's death have been greatly exaggerated.

Really this is nothing new and they're not going anywhere.

 

[Lt. Drebin]

I think the proportion of great games from Nintendo on all of their systems really says a lot. So few games, but how many of them are incredible?? Five of the top ten games of all time lie on Nintendo systems.....that's incredible....(from gamerankings.com)

Further....that kiddie thing is crap. Just because a company makes games for children or has more available than other companies.....does that honestly warrant the kiddie title?? Nintendo is far more diversified in the kinds of games you find on its systems....that's not bad and it doesn't make them a kiddie company. The GameCube is a kiddie system, but Capcom chose to devote the entire, almost, Resident Evil series to it....one of the most violent game series ever.....that makes loads of sense. The kiddie tag is false for the most part but still something that Nintendo has to fight with no matter how ridiculous it is....the sad thing is I believe it takes away from their console sales to a degree....but it's a load of shit.

 

[Asknoone]

Not yet

 

[Laivasse]

I'd say the GC might be dying, if not Nintendo. In any shop here in the UK the GC section has been massively downsized in comparison to all the other consoles. As an owner of various doomed consoles in the past, I know this to be a sign of a machine's impending demise. It's not so bad, since all of the other machines are also somewhat nearing the end of their lifespan, with the PS3, XBox2 all close to being unveiled, but the GC seems to have had a little less stamina.

How the DS will shape up against the PSP in the passage of time remains to be seen, but the starting line up didn't do it any favours at all.

Nintendo want to be careful - the N64 was something of a weak console too, regardless of the fact that the Saturn came out bottom of the 3-way fight at that time. One too many shoddy consoles and they could end up in the same position as Sega, where not even a great console can save them from their recent reputation (ie, Dreamcast with Sega). Who'd have thought, at the height of Sega's power, that they would be forced out of the console market altogether?

Having said that, unless Nintendo goes insane, their marketing strategies probably wont ever be as bad as Sega's at their worst.

 

[Warbie]

imo the N64 is the greatest console there has been - 4 out of the 10 best games ever made were on that system, imo (closely followed by the snes)

The GC also has easily as many 'must have' games as the Xbox and PS2. Forget the ok/good games guys, it's all about the classics - which this is why Nintendo will always have it's place, continue to sell a crap load of hardware and software, and remain the most respected developer in the industry (which they have been for years and years and years)

 

[SimonomiS]

Kill the GC after the Zelda game comes out. Would be a nice way to end it with a bang, then bring on the Revolution.

 

[Delicious Bass]

the n64 = one of the worst consoles? I think not. you cant beat zelda: oot, golden eye, perfect dark, conker. The n64 was amazing and so is the gamecube. I am a die hard nintendo fan, revolution is my next console!

 

[Fishlore]

Yeah Nintendo is going to die. Afterall they were supposed to die when the Sega Genesis came out. They were going to die again when the Dreamcast came out, again when the PS came out and again when the Xbox came out. Now that the PSP is out and the next gen consoles are starting to be fleshed out, it's time to declare Nintendo dead again.

LOL, the haters come out like clockwork.

Even with it's diminished market share, Nintendo is still sitting in the driver's seat with regards to innovation. Nintendo has forgotten more than Sony and MS will ever know regarding console gaming. Proof of this fact will be when Sony and MS implement touch/pressure screen control inputs a year or so down the line.

 

[Direwolf]

I think he meant the N64 was a weak console from a technical standpoint. While it was built solid enough to survive the apocalypse, it could have used a little more refining.

 

[EVIL]

imo the N64 is the greatest console there has been - 4 out of the 10 best games ever made were on that system, imo (closely followed by the snes)

The GC also has easily as many 'must have' games as the Xbox and PS2. Forget the ok/good games guys, it's all about the classics - which this is why Nintendo will always have it's place, continue to sell a crap load of hardware and software, and remain the most respected developer in the industry (which they have been for years and years and years)

Good games doe nto guarrantee good consoles

IMO? the SNES was best, still got that old dog hooked to my TV and play games with it so now and then, still has value for me and that makes it a good console

 

[KagePrototype]

Good games doe nto guarrantee good consoles

IMO? the SNES was best, still got that old dog hooked to my TV and play games with it so now and then, still has value for me and that makes it a good console

That makes no sense. A console is defined by it's games, and consoles have as much value as the games that come out for it. Bad games aren't going to have lasting value, are they?

 

[Agent.M]

Personaly I love nintendo, nintendo so to say poped my cherry into the gaming world with the NES however I honestly do think they are slowly dieing, I really hope they pull something off with the revolution cause if they dont....I doubt they will be around for much longer.

 

[Cole]

That makes no sense. A console is defined by it's games

It's all about how you define "Good". Good from a Technical standpoint in how fast it runs and everything is diffrent than if you use game as in the way you did then well it really matters how your define "Good".

Then there is also like this,
All the games on the console might be kick ass, but lets say it used cartridges or something. They like to screw up real real easy on ya for some reason. Thus you can use it in that sense to..

....

 

[Zerimski]

To answer the question, no. Nintendo could afford to self-fund a multi-billion dollar blancmange simulation machine, with a touch screen and a massive neon sign saying "WE'RE NOT FOR ****ING KIDS" from the profits of the Gameboy alone. They are far from dead.

 

[Lt. Drebin]

To answer the question, no. Nintendo could afford to self-fund a multi-billion dollar blancmange simulation machine, with a touch screen and a massive neon sign saying "WE'RE NOT FOR ****ING KIDS" from the profits of the Gameboy alone. They are far from dead.

Well said. :cheers:

 

[Ennui]

To answer the question, no. Nintendo could afford to self-fund a multi-billion dollar blancmange simulation machine, with a touch screen and a massive neon sign saying "WE'RE NOT FOR ****ING KIDS" from the profits of the Gameboy alone. They are far from dead.

Amen.

What's with everyone going "OMFGCAKE THEY'RE TEH DIEING OMFG"? They're still uber-rich and they're still very much alive.

 

[Lt. Drebin]

Personaly I love nintendo, nintendo so to say poped my cherry into the gaming world with the NES however I honestly do think they are slowly dieing, I really hope they pull something off with the revolution cause if they dont....I doubt they will be around for much longer.

The N64 sold over 30M consoles. The GameCube is somewhere around 20M. The GameBoy (both advance and regular) are at like 200M. This company is not dying. They don't need to pull off any miracles...they need to keep doing what they're doing....selling around 25-30M consoles(home) by the time the next-gen rolls around.

In comparison....by the time of Sega's exit from the console market...they had sold a little over 10M Dreamcasts and 10M Saturns. Nintendo is still pretty far from these numbers still.

 

[^Ben]

They are not going to die, but I wish they would bolster 3rd party support.

Well anyway, what are the must have games on the xbox or ps2?

Halo
Halo 2

---

GTA
MGS

And 3 of those games are on the PC.

You have just as many classics on the GC.

 

[Kazuki_Fuse]

IMO the N64 was a piece of shit. I know it had some great games, but really it was a piece of crap. Nintendo need to start making decent controller's, being the fighting game freak, and proclaimed the Larry Bird of fighting games, the N64's + GC's controller just doesn't cut it.

Plus they need to ditch whatever agenda they have with mature games. They also need to reform to using normal discs, people don't want to buy a console where they can't pirate games on. I love Nintendo, I bought a GC about a month ago and I love it, but it definately has it's problems too.

 

[Lt. Drebin]

IMO the N64 was a piece of shit. I know it had some great games, but really it was a piece of crap. Nintendo need to start making decent controller's, being the fighting game freak, and proclaimed the Larry Bird of fighting games, the N64's + GC's controller just doesn't cut it.

Still all depends on who you're talking to. The GameCube controller and the MS Controller S fit me much better than the PS2s controller. The PS2 controller feels too small in my hands and causes me to fumble around too much.

That might be a good thread...which console controller is the best??

 

[Dumb Dude]

I don't beleive that Nindendo is nearing its death. I do however think they are going down, way way down. I mean, the DS games that are out right now (only exception being Mario 64 DS) are minigames. I myself do not want to spend 150 for a system not utilized correctly and definetly do not want to spend 30 bucks for a collection of short lived touch games. I mean, Yoshi Touch and Go?? WTF is that?? Not worth the money. Wario Ware is a good game, but it works the SAME on the GBA, the only difference now is the "touch screen" big stupid woop there. Another thing to mention, the DS is the new N64. And we all know how Nintendo has taken a liking to making money off of making old games "new". Yeah, thats right, more PORTS.

I think nintendo has been trying WAY, and I can't emphasize that enough, WAY to much on trying to be "innovative". The DS in my opinion is just one big flop. I cannot see any games with "real" gameplay on the DS. I loved the Golden Sun games for the GBA and I cannot see a game like them on the DS at all. All in all, I'm just trying to say that the DS is just a huge gimmick with the touch screen. However, because it is Nintendo, and we all know how rabid Nintendo fanboys are, they will continue (for now) to make medicore titles on the DS and everone will love them. So, to get back to the question, I don't think Nintendo will die anytime soon.

 

[Lt. Drebin]

Yeah, thats right, more PORTS.

What exactly is new on the PSP??

I think nintendo has been trying WAY, and I can't emphasize that enough, WAY to much on trying to be "innovative". The DS in my opinion is just one big flop. I cannot see any games with "real" gameplay on the DS. I loved the Golden Sun games for the GBA and I cannot see a game like them on the DS at all. All in all, I'm just trying to say that the DS is just a huge gimmick with the touch screen. However, because it is Nintendo, and we all know how rabid Nintendo fanboys are, they will continue (for now) to make medicore titles on the DS and everone will love them. So, to get back to the question, I don't think Nintendo will die anytime soon.

DS is a flop?? Tell that to the over 3M who own one. DS is a gimmick?? Again....gimmicks don't sell....that's a tag you lay on something after it fails. The DS is currently a huge success.

 

[Dumb Dude]

Yeah the PSP has ports now, but I don't think it will have as many as the DS.

And also, I said that in my opinion it is a flop. And I don't mean sales flop, I mean a flop as in all the bad games with poor gameplay. And no, the DS's gimmick is the touch screen, people bought it because of the touch screen, and it is the touch screen what continues to sell it to kids of all ages. So long as it has its "innovative" touch screen interface, people will buy it.

And another thing, I was reading over my initial post and realized I made myself sound like a nintendo basher but I ain't. I love the Gamecube and I love my gameboys, I just don't like the DS.

 

[diluted]

I don't think Nintendo is dying, but I don't think they're as great as they used to be either. The most fun I ever had with video games was had with the SNES. In fact, I think I'll go play some Super Mario RPG right now.