Why does Nintendo insist on creating new home consoles?

Most of you know Nintendo has seen declining home console hardware sales since the SNES, with the original Wii being an outlier. The Wii U should have been the end of their home console division if you ask me. IMHO, they should just stick to handhelds for as long as they can.

Think about it. The Wii U has been on the market for over 2.5 yrs and has only recently managed to sell 10 million units with some of the biggest Nintendo franchises already getting released on the console. There is nothing they can do to reverse the declining sales trend unless somehow they create another gimmick that will attract casuals again.

People just don't care about Nintendo home consoles anymore and I guess its gonna take another failure for them to get the message. So, if the NX doesn't sell any better than the Wii U, will you then agree that Nintendo should just stop making home consoles for good?

Sony pulled out of the handheld market after the Vita tanked, so why doesn't Nintendo do the same when it comes to their home consoles?

They make money. When they don't, then maybe then they'll pull out of consoles.

I think the problem is that they are always first out the gate.

This is one time where coming in 1st is a bad thing.

They are starting gen 9 in maybe a year and the curent consoles are bare naked.

I say wait , see what the competion is bringing , then show us what you got.

And i know that being last is a bigger risk , but since the Gamecube , they always try to be 1st with the tech.

It worked for the DS and WII , not so much for the 3DS and WIIU.

So Nintendo can keep releasing consoles that only sell 10 - 15 million units and still make enough profit to keep their home console hardware division alive?

Oh be quiet. You don't know what they are going to do.

http://venturebeat.com/2015/07/16/more-hints-that-amd-is-building-nintendo-nxs-processor/

We’re guessing that AMD will supply the main processor for the upcoming Nintendo machine. That’s not too much of a leap of faith, as AMD already supplies the chips for Wii U, Sony’s PlayStation 4, and Microsoft’s Xbox One. It’s an important chip project, as the processor is key to whether Nintendo’s next machine will be competitive and affordable. And for AMD, which has reported losses for a couple of quarters, it could be a safe haven for bruising competition with Intel.

Nintendo could make the leap from IBM’s PowerPC to x86-based (AMD and Intel) architecture. It would make sense for Nintendo to continue its relationship with AMD (which makes the graphics chip for the Wii U) and switch to use x86 architecture in its next-generation design, which Nintendo announced would be called the NX.

AMD classifies its game console chips as “semi-custom.” These “accelerated processing unit” (APU) chips combine a central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) on a single chip. Intel makes such chips as well, but AMD had an edge in the previous generation of consoles because it focused much more on the graphics side of the chip. AMD successfully sold custom versions of its APUs to Microsoft and Sony. AMD succeeded with the argument that it could cut out one chip from the system with its combo chip design.

Simply yes. Do you think they would if they were loosing money?

@Ant_17: I can't think of the last time they were 1st out the gate besides the Wii U.

PS2 and Dreamcast released before the Xbox and GC and I feel like the Xbox released a week earlier than the GC.

Saturn and PS1 released before the N64

360 launched before PS3 and Wii.

Genesis was out before the SNES

NES was out before the master system but Sega launched the Mark 1000 the same day as the NES in Japan so this one is up in the air.

OT, they don't stop making home consoles because they think they can still win their core fans back and who am I to say they can't. They just need to get with the times a bit and I know a bunch of people would be right back on their bandwagon. Also, you don't need to finish first to be successful.

While it would be more convenient for me if they went third party I still think they should make their own console. competition is good, and we the consumer get the benefit from it. they are losing though and the late Iwata had to cut from his own salary so that none would be fired last year and I respect them for that.

Maybe they should try to listen more so they could profit. listen to third party developers and to your fans Nintendo. that's all I have to say on this matter.

Really , the Wii lanched after the 360?

But the DS came out before the psp , same as the 3ds and the Vita.

I guess it really is lack of interest thats killing Nintendo.

We know the NX isn't simply one form factor. It is Nintendo's answer to Apple's IOS. Iwata basically confirmed this earlier this year.

Actually I do. I think they are too proud to give up.

If their portable division can cover the losses, which they can't. Wii U is only barely alive because they haven't dropped the price so the 10's of people buying it gives Nintendo money. Will they do a price drop this year outside of BF deals? Probably not.

No still some value for the company

Nintendo covers 21% of the market be stupid to give that up

This is all over the place.

If we are talking nationwide American release dates, than NES/SMS/7800 released the same day, If you're talking Japanese release date than the Master system doesn't count. Because that was 2 years after the Sg/Famicom release.

The fact they still haven't dropped the price significantly is a head scratcher. They have a ton of stock just sitting on store shelves and instead of dropping the price to move more units they would rather just have them be dust collectors.

@TigerSuperman: Yeah it's hard to say unless a region is selected, but I just don't think releasing 1st is a big issue for Nintendo, I think it is the outdated way of thinking while MS and Sony are delivering what gamers want these days. Nintendo could get it back, they just need to do something to make people say "Oh shit, Nintendo is back" and people will eat it up. Look at the PS4, there isn't really a big reason it is selling as well as it is (exclusive games wise), but hype has it moving units like crazy. Oh and Nintendo needs to stop with the idiotic names for their consoles. The Wii U was a debacle from day 1.

They had an enormously successful console last gen, so it's pretty ridiculous to suggest that they should stop making home consoles. I know you're going to come back with "it was an outlier" or "teh casuals" but those are not good arguments.

They still see it as a profitable business, and they still have plenty of money

Well casuals is a good argument for the success part of their last console. It clearly isn't working for them now. However I have no opinion on them continuing or not on making consoles.

Because they would instantly take a loss, which they won't do, but it may be necessary for a good marketshare transfer tot he new console.

"Sony pulled out of the handheld market when the Vita tanked,"

When? Because there is a difference between dropping one system and leaving a part of the market entirely. I have never heard Sony say they are done with handhelds.

Besides that, why the hell shouldn't they? God forbid they have their own areas for their game development and have a place where fans accept them. I'm SURE they will be right at home on the other systems mainly consisting of fanbases who LEFT them and/or doesn't give a flying f*** about them (and there is straight up irony in cows and herms asking them to go third party). Worth noting is that they are struggling in their relevancy, how will killing their hardware and making games for other platforms fix that?

because they could land another wii or nes or snes. hell even N64 numbers would probably keep them ticking over. they dont have to be no.1 in the market to make it worth their time..they just have to make it profitable.

getting out of the console market is a very big decision because once your out, your out so if you can make it work then stay in.

the wiiu is a cluster*BEEP*. i know it, you know, nintendo knows it, eddie knows it (have a crack at that reference :P)....its a disaster. there is no metric anyone can use to call it a success really (yeah exclusive games...but most sell badly and they aint selling many consoles. limited appeal). it was a badly thought through, overly complicated and ill concieved mess.

nintendo will dust themselves down, wipe ther bloody nose and take another crack at it. maybe, with the NX, they will land another hit.

I couldn't agree more with what this guy said in this video. I think he nailed it 100%.

There is a very good chance the NX home console will fail if Nintendo continues on the same path.

So what is a good argument for the Wii's success?

We can't be too sure if the NX really will be a home console. It could be some kind of handheld-console-tablet hybrid, for all we know.

You're using a video of one of the most infamous cows, who cares about as much about Nintendo as DSP does, and was driven out of System Wars... just saying.

Sony has confirmed that they will never make a handheld again?

If I don't like something no one else is allowed to like it. It should die and be unavailable to others.

Because only what I enjoy is important.

I like how I didn't even had to check the user name to know who you're talking about.

Arbitor365's montage thread will never be removed from SW's history.

@nintendoboy16: holy shit is that really the same arbitor?

Iwata confirmed it wasn't a hybrid. It will be a range of products from home consoles, handhelds and possibly other form factors.

Doesn't change the fact that what he said in the video is reasonable. He made good points that I think most would agree with. If Nintendo fails to change then they will eventually become utterly irrelevant.

Gamers and fanboys don't know jack shit about anything. Telling Nintendo how to run their business is laughable.

So basically, a unified architecture of some kind.

Yep, found that out a while ago when Blab posted a video of him in a lounge.

It is Nintendo's answer to Apple's iOS.

More like giving constructive criticism. Sorry, but some of us want to see Nintendo actually improve as a company. If you don't see an issue with how Nintendo is being run currently then you are part of the problem.

Because Nintendo watches youtube and reads forum comments. OKAY. Real constructive. I hope those who care so much are writing letters to Nintendo because the internet hole they're yelling into is not doing any good.

They are well aware of whenever a product of theirs gets an overwhelmingly negative reaction. Metroid Prime: Federation Force is one obvious example.

http://www.vg247.com/2015/07/01/reggie-no-sugar-coating-negative-reactions-to-metroid-prime-federation-force/

You mean attempt. No way they get near to ios level of cohesiveness, and functionality. Well, at least not on their first try.

Hardware division? You have access to where X and Y funds go? I'd bet its all interconnected.

Not saying it will be a direct competitor, but a unified architecture/platform is what Nintendo clearly wants to pursue.

And Nintendo turned around, cancelled the game, and got started right away on that metroid game everyone's been asking for.

That happened, right?

Right?

Nope, they said wait and play it, you're overreacting you cry baby internet whiners who don't know what the hell you want anymore. We wouldn't have sold 100 million Wii's if we listened to your dumb asses trying to tell us what to make.

There has to be a point where they would make more money just releasing their games on as many platforms as possible. Sure, the NX is their first attempt at achieving that by having all their future hardware be able to play the same games, but if the hardware fails to sell well then what's the point?

They're business doesn't work like that. The hardware and the way they price things gives them more R&D freedom, with schedules that don't pertain to other another party. Nintendo wouldn't work as a 3rd party. Too many schedules to hit, etc. What happens when a publisher asks them the time frame on X game and Nintendo says, "it has been put on hold, we're moving x and y ideas to this new concept". That sort of thing wouldn't fly between two partners. And you can't say "well nintendo could publish all their games" either. They could feasibly do so for a minute but every release would put the company at risk.

The Wii sold 100 million units because of casuals, not core gamers. The Wii's overall library sucks compared to the 360/PS3's library. There are some gems, but in general the Wii is loaded with shovelware and super casual garbage games.

Please, don't try and assume that I don't know what I really want from Nintendo anymore. I'm actually a huge Nintendo fan, been a fan for over 25 yrs when the NES was slaughtering the competition. I know exactly what I want from Nintendo, but it seems that they just don't care about the generation of gamers that supported them in the early years. All they care about it seems is creating unnecessary gimmicks and doing everything they can to regain that casual market they lost with the Wii U.

I enjoy my Wii library a whole lot more then my PS3 library. Its not even close for me. PS3 library was a major let down for me.

Seems gamers want Nintendo to be everything but Nintendo. Makes no sense to me. I love them just the way they are.

Because they can. Why does it bother you?

I'm not saying that the Wii wasn't boosted due to casuals; I'm saying that the fact that it was fueled by casual is no argument for Nintendo not making home consoles anymore.

How do we know if we like specfic items on the market if not released?

Nintendos biggest fault this gen where.

1 hardware which was neither last gen or this.

Poor supply of games in the first year.

Controller should have been sold as a accessory rather than as part of the system.

concern over 3DS and its poor start to the gen moved support from the WiiU

Not ready for the HD transition

released to early against PS4 X1and to late for ps3 360.

Saying "Were going for core gamers" and failing from March 2013 as we had MH3U and nothing until sept which was W101.

confusion with the name and Gamepad.

poor marketing.

Because its what they do? They wouldn't be doing it if they didn't make money. Just because the Wii U did poorly doesn't mean "Game over" for Nintendo. *eye roll*