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Re:Nintendo Opens Door to Smartphone Games by TazeTSchnitzel on Tuesday March 17, 2015 @08:55AM (#9217542)
This is rather surprising. Nintendo's IP is basically the main selling point of their hardware. Without that, they'd just be SEGA. Their hardware sells very well, too - the Wii U didn't, maybe, but the 3DS is doing great and previous generations have done great.

I don't see this going anywhere good for the company. There's a risk of this cannibalising their hardware business. Why buy a DS if I can get Mario and Zelda on my phone?

Re:Nintendo Opens Door to Smartphone Games by jdub on Tuesday March 17, 2015 @09:36AM (#9217764)
There's a risk of this cannibalising their hardware business.

Yes, but there's also a risk of them not having a business.

Considered the install base of Android + iOS vs. Nintendo portables (or even consoles)?

There's only one rule in Cannibal Club: Cannibalise yourself.

Re:Nintendo Opens Door to Smartphone Games by Touche on Tuesday March 17, 2015 @11:15AM (#9218449)
The smartphone game business is not an especially profitable or stable one. That's not where their stockholders want the future of the company to be.
Re:Nintendo Opens Door to Smartphone Games by mcphage on Tuesday March 17, 2015 @12:31PM (#9219115)
> That's not where their stockholders want the future of the company to be.

Unfortunately, they might not have a choice in the matter—hardware development is becoming more and more expensive, and I'm not sure Nintendo has deep enough pockets to keep up. Their common tactic of underpowered hardware that's cheaper to manufacture and develop for hasn't really worked out with the WiiU. So it might be, no profits, or smaller profits.

I wouldn't worry too much about "stable", though. Nintendo knows how to sell their software.

Re:Nintendo Opens Door to Smartphone Games by emsy on Tuesday March 17, 2015 @12:36PM (#9219143)
It is very, very profitable, just not for everyone. So you might want to rephrase that. However, I can see an established brand like Nintendo getting foothold without a problem.
Re:Nintendo Opens Door to Smartphone Games by TazeTSchnitzel on Tuesday March 17, 2015 @12:58PM (#9219346)
> Yes, but there's also a risk of them not having a business.

How? The 3DS is doing pretty well...

Re:Nintendo Opens Door to Smartphone Games by jdub on Wednesday March 18, 2015 @07:28AM (#9224735)
So was Blackberry.

(Risk is not about now, it's about next.)

Re:Nintendo Opens Door to Smartphone Games by intopieces on Tuesday March 17, 2015 @09:08AM (#9217602)
>Why buy a DS if I can get Mario and Zelda on my phone?

The article states that the titles on the mobile devices will not be ports of existing games, so it looks like it will be accessory applications like the PokeWalker

Re:Nintendo Opens Door to Smartphone Games by TazeTSchnitzel on Tuesday March 17, 2015 @09:35AM (#9217751)
Ah! If that's the case, it makes sense then. Actually, I think Nintendo have done similar things before.
Re:Nintendo Opens Door to Smartphone Games by Igglyboo on Tuesday March 17, 2015 @09:40AM (#9217788)
There's no risk of cannabilizing their hardware business, mobile still hasn't figured out controllers. A modern Zelda port to iOS would be a horrible experience.
Re:Nintendo Opens Door to Smartphone Games by macspoofing on Tuesday March 17, 2015 @09:08AM (#9217600)
>This is rather surprising. Nintendo's IP is basically the main selling point of their hardware.

It's not that surprising. There is precedent. Nintendo has licensed their characters to other platforms before("Mario teaches typing" anyone?). It's just that those games were never really the same type of games, and of the same quality. I can see Nintendo having free-to-play offshoots of Mario, Zelda and whatever else.

I don't see them releasing first-party AAA titles on smartphones.

Re:Nintendo Opens Door to Smartphone Games by TazeTSchnitzel on Tuesday March 17, 2015 @09:36AM (#9217761)
Yeah, this strategy would make sense. Could be a great marketing tool, too. Try out F2P Mario on your iPhone, like it? Get a Nintendo console to play their full games.
Re:Nintendo Opens Door to Smartphone Games by mattdotc on Tuesday March 17, 2015 @12:59PM (#9219350)
It is my understanding that Kodak invented the core technology digital camera but didn't really do much with them because they didn't want to cannibalize their film business.

What are they up to now? Certainly not leading photography market.

Re:Nintendo Opens Door to Smartphone Games by TazeTSchnitzel on Tuesday March 17, 2015 @01:04PM (#9219393)
Nintendo is, in fact always has been, leader of the portable console market. The 3DS isn't dead, quite the opposite.

Kodak seems a poor comparison.

Re:Nintendo Opens Door to Smartphone Games by impostervt on Tuesday March 17, 2015 @09:48AM (#9217836)
My 5 year old just got into Mario, and I was surprised I couldn't buy a copy of the original Super Mario Bros for her iPad. So I bought it on the Wii (not a great experience btw), and she loves it.

They'd get my money either way. Nostalgia is a great marketing tool.

Re:Nintendo Opens Door to Smartphone Games by prezjordan on Tuesday March 17, 2015 @12:06PM (#9218887)
FWIW the typical flow is to just run to the store and pick up a disc :) Digital downloads on Nintendo consoles are pretty... terrible.
Re:Nintendo Opens Door to Smartphone Games by jimmaswell on Tuesday March 17, 2015 @12:57PM (#9219331)
Why do you say that? Digital downloads on Nintendo devices have been just fine for me.
Re:Nintendo Opens Door to Smartphone Games by TazeTSchnitzel on Tuesday March 17, 2015 @01:00PM (#9219360)
The experience is pretty smooth:

1) Open the eShop

2) Find a game (tons of features sections, look by category/rating/genre, or search)

3) Tap purchase

4) Add funds if necessary, just a tap or two to use your existing credit card details

5) Purchase

6) Download immediately, or put your 3DS into sleep mode and it'll download hands-free

The only real problem is Nintendo's system for transferring to new devices.

Re:Nintendo Opens Door to Smartphone Games by prezjordan on Tuesday March 17, 2015 @01:26PM (#9219603)
This is exactly what I meant.