3rd Party Nintendo

I know this is a controversial topic, but I am torn. I am on the fence to whether Nintendo should go third party or not.

On one hand if they do, here is what I think. Once they do, they will probably keep the handhelds where the exclusives are, but handhelds have probably been eaten up by mobile gaming now, so idk.

If they go 3rd party, then think about the money Sony or Microsoft would give them just to have ONE of their series exclusively for that system. I'm talking about $10 billion dollars just for Mario ALONE.

Also the AAA American 3rd parties can't compete with Nintendo. Those 3rd party games are getting trashier and more boring each time one comes out; Nintendo will easily step on them and destroy ALL of the American 3rd parties except for Rockstar and Bethesda.

On the other hand, if they go third party, they won't be as successful as COD and friends, and will be about as bottom line as Sega is now. Plus the industry will die without innovation from them, and Sony and Microsoft aren't doing anything innovative anytime soon.

Plus some of the people that want them to go third party are not super appealing to agree with, and they look like they are jealous cows and lems that know the Wii U gets better 1st party games, and they want them on their system.

To back up that point: Although Sony have some great exclusives coming soon, as well as great franchises, comparing that to Nintendo's franchises are like comparing a kitten to a lion. Don't even get me started on Microsoft by the way.

Sorry to be skeptical to some pro-3rd parties supporters, but how many hardcore, non fanboy, PS4/XB1 gamers REALLY want to play Nintendo made games? Nostalgia doesn't count either. Just food for thought.

Anyway, what ground are you on? I know there is a ton of middle ground between the two hands, and it's not a poll. Therefore hopefully, it's not a False Dichotomy fallacy. So tell me about the middle ground if you are on there. Let me know what you think about this! Make sure you think about the points I made first though.

I doubt they'd ever make games for MS and Sony without first doing something exclusive with Apple.

I have said this for years and years now. Nintendo is just way too damn good to go 3rd party. Going 3rd party means limited freedom, they will be force to do whatever Sony/MS tells them what goes around here on there platforms. We all saw what happen to Sega, they went 3rd party and it mess them up and ruin there own legacy. If should Nintendo ever give up, I for one would rather see them go straight out of business then for them to become slaves to Sony/MS. Nintendo games would never sell well on other platforms on PlayStation or Xbox. So screw seeing Nintendo going 3rd party, just go out of business I say. But I hope that never happens to Nintendo. Ever!!!

Nintendo should never go third party. I think it would be straight up weird if Sony and MS were to be the only ones in the console market.

Nintendo is not SEGA. No matter how you look at it, Nintendo won't go the SEGA path, and I'm a big SEGA fanzz

They don't really dictate to other publishers, they have set rules with regard to publishing on their system regarding royalties and certification and no third party AO titles but beyond that nothing that I'd see as prohibitive, unless MS/Sony are bankrolling their games then Nintendo can make whatever they want for either.

If Nintendo goes the third-party route, that will be one less unique company and one less choice in the home console business and the beginning of the two party system for video games.

Well, they won't have a choice if the NX turns out to be a dud like the Wii U. That is one reason why I hope the NX flops, so I can play Nintendo games on my Playstation. I have no interest in purchasing another console just to play its exclusives.

SHUT YOUR MOUTH

No, never gonna happen, no chance in the world. I'll burn every game I own if that happens.

They're not going to go third-party if NX flops. They'll ride it out for a few years and trying something new again. You know that I'm right. You probably said that GameCube's flop would make them go third-party,n but the Wii still happened. You probably thought that Wii U flopped hard enough to make them go third-party, but it clearly didn't.

Also, hoping that something flops before you even know what it is or if you'll want to buy it is pure stupidity.

They should go third party because they dont offer anything worthwhile as a console manufacturer.

they won't go 3rd party..too much pride for that..if anything they will just stick to handhelds and mobile phones games, heck even create their own mobile/cellphone OR even just get the hell out of the video games business taking all their IPs with them & do something else....if they feel no wants their console anymore. :P

Are we in kindergarten? Too much pride? Smh

I never said anything about the Gamecube as it was irrelevant to me at the time.

Nintendo has never released two flops in a row before so you'd think they wouldn't chance it a third time if the NX does indeed flop. Just because Nintendo has a ton of money doesn't mean they will continue to throw money down the drain just to try and stay in the console business. Two flops and you're out. Name me any other company that kept trying to sell a product after two consecutive flops in a row.

No other company has had the money to continue making consoles after two flops.

Either way, they'd most likely go handheld only or even mobile only instead of making games for Sony and MS.

I dunno, that DeNA deal seems to be leaning that direction. Not to mention, now Sony is opening mobile development studios, just seems to be where the Japanese market is going.

Oh, and mobile games is big money, more money than Nintendo is earning with traditional gaming. These are businesses after all, they're gonna follow the money. You're getting Mario themed Candy Crush, deal with it.

I wouldn't mind them releasing their previous console's games on other consoles. For example, if they wanted to release a version of Donkey Kong Returns for Xbox and Playstation I would think that would be a good idea; but I don't think it would be quite as good an idea if they did it for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.

It would make no sense to me for them to drop making consoles though.

There is no long-term future with dedicated handhelds. 3DS won't even sell 50% of the DS install base and the next Nintendo Handheld will probably sell only about 70% of the 3DS sales and it just keeps dropping from there on.

Mobile and going third party is the only way they can stay relevant.

I specifically meant the Apple part.

Can I borrow your crystal ball? I need Powerball numbers.

Oh. Well, way I see it, I think they'll party with anybody willing to partner with them that's not signalling defeat to Sony/MS, someone who is strong economically, has money to grow, and can bolster Nintendo into new emerging markets, and whose image already matches or surpasses Nintendo's stature; that's Apple. I can see maybe Nintendo streaming service like PS Now on Apple set-top-boxes, with exclusive access to new and exciting games. And I'm sure Apple is willing to make the deal to win the set-top-box war, if they can get something more permanent this way, after all deals like first crack at stand alone HBO app weren't going to remain effective very long but something like this has a better shot, especially with casuals.

I mean, also, Apple is a status symbol too, and Japanese love iPhones and iPods and iPads and all that shit, and they're pretty picky about what they culturally appropriate from the round-eye gaijin infadels so yeah if Nintendo stood a chance to partner with any non-Japanese company it'd be Apple. Doubt it'd be Samsung, they're Korean, they don't like Koreans, they make them change their names when they immigrate and they refuse to acknowledge the awesomeness of Psy. And Korea's booming electronics industry has come Korea headhunting Japanese electronics experts, causing Japan to slip in cutting edge to just another country that outsources to China; surely they know this, and resent it. So yeah, no Samsung-Nintendo partnership, besides Samsung is trying to dig their hooks in Sony (and/or vice versa), they already headhunted their most experienced engineers and now Sony wants PS Now in Samsung TVs. It only seems fair that Apple, Samsung's nemesis, would counter with partnering with Nintendo for their set-top-boxes.

Why would they need to partner with anyone? They aren't some small company that can't stand on its own feet. I don't know why you immediately came to this conclusion. **** them if they ever do it, and **** Apple just because they're Apple.

Its called marketing trends. Dedicated Handhelds are a dying breed. Kids these days are growing up playing on Tablets and Smartphones, so they already have a handheld for gaming.

Do you honestly think the next handheld will sell as well as the 3DS? Come on now let's think rationally here.

We'll see. We don't even know what their next handheld will be. You're too biased to be considered rational; the only thing you care about is getting these games on hardware that you already have, so of course you'll see things in the way that benefits you the most. If I said that I want the next Playstation to fail because I want Uncharted on OC, you'd call me crazy and selfish. It goes both ways.

Unless their next handheld doubles as a tablet/phone it won't sell as well as the 3DS because less people care about dedicated handhelds these days.

Thankfully, Sony makes consoles people actually want to buy so they won't have to worry about going third party anytime soon.

It makes no sense for them to go third party. They make so much money from software sales because they make hardware that those games are designed around.

Putting Mario on a PlayStation wouldn't have the same effect, and wouldn't be as stupendously profitable for them.

And really, what casual PS/Xbox user is going to have an interest in a Nintendo product? They already for the most part couldn't care less about Nintendo's offerings, and the sheer number of high quality exclusives Nintendo has put out this generation should have inspired all those truly interested to buy a Wii U.

And who says that it won't?

It would probably be a smart move on Nintendo's part, but I don't see them releasing their own Tablet. Also, there is a ton of competition in that market.

That's about all they're doing, standing. Lose money on consoles, make it up with handheld sales.

But when they actually gain higher profit margins off the mobile market, they're gonna take notice, and shift their endeavors in that direction.

And no, they can't compete with what Sony and MS are doing, they can't get the kind of online infrastructure to manage user accounts, or at least didn't until a year ago; Sony and MS had that figured out a decade ago. They're still behind times on rights sharing between devices, something even Sony allowed pretty well with cross-purchases of games on PSP/PS3/VIta (not so much recently but better in past at least). They couldn't even bring in game/party chat to the Wii U, or even attract third parties, and they didn't even have a 1st party line-up to pick up the slack. They have a severe problem balancing production between their console and handhelds. And, they're just never going to get the same kind of support with the third party market like PS/Xbox have. Yeah, I say they need help.

Also, they're very frugal with their money, making sure not to waste it when things are down. So yeah, worse comes to worse they've done well not to let it effect them as much and sure they can maybe survive successive generations of disappointing consoles but I don't think that's their plan to keep trying until they get it right. Companies need to grow, and partnering and expanding if there's a market for it. That's what I feel the DeNA deal is doing, it's testing the waters. No, maybe you're right, maybe they might not need to partner with Apple and just release products on Apple Store and Google Play as third parties but nonetheless I can see Nintendo making drastic shift in the direction they're taking.

You're a fool if you think that mobile is a sure bet for huge profits. Either way, going full mobile would require a huge restructuring including selling off all but 2-3 studios and then firing most of the people in those studios. Nintendo is too big to survive on mobile alone as-is. No mobile-only company is worth even half as much as Nintendo. Also, they were losing money on Wii U, but that changed in less than two years. They'll be more careful about NX and sell it at a profit.

Show me examples that prove that it's easy for Nintendo to make big hits consistently in the mobile market without it eventually dying out on them and taking the company with them.

They wouldn't have to fire people to go mobile, they could just re-purpose their current studios. But, also like I said way above they might be able to deliver a more traditional experience through a PS Now kind of method, a streaming experience that doesn't require pricey hardware, just a set top box and internet connection and a subscription. That might sound out there but Nintendo isn't above gimmicky gambits.

Also, it was also stated when Nintendo stopped losing money on Wii U that the reason was because they lost money producing inventory of units that didn't sell, they had a surpluss. What that means is in successive quarters they made profits those quarters because far less money would actually go into production and they only needed to sell their surplus inventory that they already lost money to produce in previous quarters. I've no doubt somewhere along the way it actually became cheaper to make than it sold for but as far as I know they never actually announced that being the case. But again, this isn't about breaking even, this is about growth, if they grow in the mobile market that will dictate where their business goes.

Anyhow, about you're "show me examples"... like I said before, Nintendo is testing waters with the mobile market, that's what the DeNA deal is. They just put out Miitomo (which doesn't even look that interesting at all) and people ate it up. It's already surpassed 4 million downloads and ranking in $250k/weak. My prediction, they're gonna make loads of money going into the mobile market with bigger IPs, more ambitious projects, and a bigger catalog. I've more reason to believe that'll happen than I do that Nintendo will rally third parties to their console in any successful way. That people will shun their PS4 and Xbox One consoles and buy an extra piece of hardware that'll play the exact same third party games. I have more faith in Nintendo making money on the mobile market than I do Nintendo delivering a fraction of the features gamers expect on systems like PS4/XBO that have come to shape the console experience. I've more reason believe Nintendo will pursue a mobile focus if the NX should have an even worse cycle than the Wii U, and surely there's gonna be many Wii U owners that'll shun the NX on account of short Wii U life cycle and premature withdrawl of first party support, so there might not be that committed Nintendo fanbase spearheading the charge on getting an NX. And, there's the whole catch-22 with the NX, if they make a powerful console then it won't be cheap to get lots of people to run out and buy it, but if they make an affordable console then people shit on it for being a generation behind on hardware again.

Anyhow, just my predictions. You can disagree all you want but I'd say the real hail marry coming out of any of this having any sense of optimism Nintendo is going to be successful in their NX endeavors. If you believe that is the case, then you should be the one telling everyone else why you think that's going to be the case even though I'm sure it's much easier for anybody else to shit on your predictions that it is for you to shit on mine.

$250k a week is only $13m a year, and I can assure you that this number will drop quickly. They'll need a lot more that to make it work. Also, do you see studios like Retro or Monolith wanting to make mobile BS? No. (Hell, I don't even know if they could convince Game Freak to make a full mobile Pokemon game.) Do you see any company as big as Nintendo or even pulling in as much annual revenue as Nintendo that's mobile only? No. They would need to restructure and trim a lot of fat to make it work and while they would be more profitable, a lot of that profit will come from a reduction in expenses. They're games would also turn to shit since they'd all need to be freemium bullshit. **** that. If that happens, I'll never play a game again and I'll ban my future kids from playing games.

$250k/week off a Mii app. They haven't broke ground with anything bigger yet. What would happen if they made a mobile Pokemon game and threw in micro-transactions? That'd be crazy whatever happens there, surely.

Anyhow, it might not be what they're plan to make a huge shift for mobile, but it just might be where they end up in the end. Their console endeavors can't go on shitting the bed forever.

Also, studios like Retro, Monolith making games for Nintendo. Yeah, they're testing the waters too. Studios did it with Wii U, put out late overpriced ports of Mass Effect 3, Need For Speed Most Wanted, Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Even Ubisoft seemed most optimistic putting out a console exclusive like ZombiU only to pull support from the console in short time. I wouldn't be surprised if all Monolith did was put late overpriced port of Shadow of Mordor GOTY Edition or released a port of Shadow of Mordor 2 alongside PS4 and Xbox One and PC ports, only to sell a season pass for it and just like happened on Wii U games pulling DLC support due to low game sales. So yeah, their support might not amount to nothing more than a tentative commitment, and it really just depends on factors of how well does the system sell and whether NX gamers buy third party games (which is another huge hurdle for Nintendo and their patrons to overcome).

Anyhow, yeah, you might not want to touch another Nintendo game again if it went that route, but many non-traditional gamers might, that might just be the unfortunate reality of it. And yeah, with your kids, lots of parents gonna hate if there's a Pokemon with micro-transactions and parents get their cellphone bill and the kids had to collect them all bought $1500 in booster packs in a month; parents gonna hate that, but Nintendo's going to love it.

I dont care at this point. I wouldn't buy many of their games even if they did.

Actually, they can't keep the handhelds if the consoles fall. It's like having a table with a leg missing (the best analogy I can come up with on this), and further, going third party is asking for nothing but trouble.

If Sony & Microsoft want to lose potential sales they'd go down that route imo.

First of all, I meant Monolith Soft (Xenoblade series). My mistake. Both Monolith Soft and Retro are owned by Nintendo, so they aren't testing anything. (Side note: I really want to know what company you were thinking of when I said "Retro.")

A full-fledged Pokemon game isn't likely to happen on mobile unless Game Freak saw no other way to survive. (Game Freak is not owned by Nintendo and can't be forced to make such games.)

I'm not going to respond again until you show me convincing proof that a company of Nintendo's size can go 100% mobile without selling their AAA studios. Also tell me what kinds of games said studios would make.

You, again with the proof. But you're right, no point arguing, just one of those things where only time as tell.

But, fingers crossed you're right, I wouldn't want to see that future either.

I don't think that's an inaccurate thing to say at all. Nintendo's exceptionally prideful, and they'd probably look at developing for the competition as a form of defeat.

If they went 3rd party they would probably go PC first. Especially because that would still allow them to make exclusive hardware if they really wanted to. In fact they would have to if they would want to capture Japanese gamers to get PC's. I think they could though, if they really wanted to.

It's also not full 3rd party as you can still have an exclusive corner on the PC. I think that would be the first thing they look at and go for. Also in terms of audiences, going to MS or Sony would make no sense. Whereas Nintendo and PC have some crossover.

They are already defeated since the PS1. Not going third party will not change that fact.

Not in their own minds though.

And thats why I called them childish. They are running a business and not some fanboy club.

They don't gain anything by going 3rd party, but they lose a lot. SEGA went 3rd party because it wasn't paying for itself, Nintendo can pay for itself ad infinitum... It's like asking Toyota to stop making cars and just supply engines to Honda and Suzuki - it does nothing for them.

You think just because they run a business that they can't hold hubris?

Nintendo exclusives are tied to the specific hardware that they set out at the get go. You take away their ability to make their own hardware and you hurt the creativity of their studios and their games because now they're forced to deal with whatever hardware is given to them. Obviously it would be more powerful than what they offer now, but Nintendo thrives on its gimmicks as well exploring new areas of gaming. Harder to do that when you're strictly third party.

Hah hah, No!

I'm surprised cows and lems haven't damage controlled this post yet.

Nintendo's future is smart phones and going 3rd party

I think they should go 3rd party.

Hush, let me sow my seeds.