Should Nintendo leave the home console market?

Given the Wii U woes that have engulfed the Wii U for the past 11 months I was thinking would it be better for Nintendo to leave the home console market?

As someone who owns a Wii U I have found that Nintendo just don't seem as committed to the Wii U as they do the 3DS family consoles.

I see plenty of great games coming out on the 3DS and there's virtually nothing coming out on the Wii U. I see 3DS advertisements and virtually nothing about the Wii U or its games.

I read an article where Iwata states that mergers and acquistions may well be needed in future and Nintendo is prepared to lease out their franchises to third party developers.

This says to me that Nintendo does not have the infrastructure in place to support two devices. Now whether or not this is correct is not something I can say for sure, though it does seem rather strange given how much first party software was released on the DS and the Wii which were operational at same time.

Given the popularity of the DS and the fact that the 3DS is the best selling console week in week out, would it not be more beneficial for Nintendo to focus purely on the handheld market which is where they are dominant? The DS destroyed the PSP and the 3DS is destroying the Vita.

Handhelds are cheaper to manufacturer, the games are cheaper to develop for and the appetite for Nintendo handhelds is still strong, despite the popularity of smartphone and tablet gaming.

If I take Wii sales out of the equation, Nintendo sales of their home console hardware seems to be by in large decreasing.

The NES sold around 61m units. The SNES sold around 49m units. The N64 sold 32m units. The Gamecube sold around 21m units and the Wii U? I think there's a great chance that the Wii U will sell less units than the Gamecube and that worries me because it signals that gamers aren't interested in Nintendo's home consoles.

As much as I loved the Wii and enjoy the Wii U, I'd rather buy one less console and be able to get Nintendo console games on other platforms as well as multiplats.

No. That's like saying should Microsoft stop making PC's. Should Apple stop making Iphones, and Ipods. A company shouldn't stop making their main product. Whether you care or not, Nintendo will outlast Sony and Microsoft in the gaming industry. Wii U could fail and their next 3-4 consoles after could all fail before Nintendo would actually be in big trouble. Nintendo is all about honor and respect so they wont just give in. Even if Nintendo employee's were the only ones to buy their system they would still continue to do it.

Spelling bee class! Read this N O.

I wasn't suggesting that Nintendo should stop making hardware and become a third party developer and publisher, what I'm saying is that Nintendo may well benefit from leaving the home console market and just focusing on making handheld devices and games as this seems to be their bread and butter.

Nintendo handhelds sell very well, in fact they've sold more handheld devices then they have home consoles.

Microsoft don't manufacture PC's do they? Also Microsoft's business and operating systems sectors are their most profitable, that their bread and butter and they are successful in their main fields, the same applies to Apple. Didn't they sell 51m iPhones last year? I'm not saying Nintendo won't out last Microsoft or Sony, I don't know one way or another, I do know that Nintendo are due to post their third successive fiscal loss in March (according to reports) and it seems that the Wii U is a large cause of their fiscal loss for the last financial year.

Also on your point about failure, can Nintendo really afford to fail? If the Wii U fails then isn't that a sign of consumer fatigue in Nintendo's home console hardware and software offerings? Also a failing/failed product could lead to further losses in consumer faith couldn't it?

I watch Nintendo's Directs and most of those directs are dominated by the 3DS. Just take a look at the big Direct of 2014, it was mainly about the upcoming games on the 3DS. The Wii U owners were thrown a few tidbits about Bayonetta 2 and X with a sprinkling of Mario Kart 8.

I get the impression that Nintendo are really focusing their energy on the 3DS and the Wii U is getting the short end of the stick. This is further compounded by the fact Iwata has stated he is looking at smartphones and tablets. Could Nintendo be ready to exit the home console market and focus on handheld-on-the-go gaming?

lol...wiiUs line up for this year is the best of all systems...even the 3ds.

but yea...3ds gets much more marketing and sales.

idk....nintendo probably feels they make good money on home consoles...or else they would have stopped after the n64.

nope , even if wiiu pushes slightly past gamecube numbers nintendo will be fine because they have the 3ds , 2ds and all that cash made from ds and wii already , you gotta remember sega had virtually no room for any more mistakes they never were profitable enough to keep afloat which is why dc was segas last console ,

@19James89: @19James89: there's a lot of people out there waiting for more Nintendo games to come out before buying the system. I'm one of them. I'm waiting for Mario Kart before I buy one.

To answer the original question whether Nintendo should quit on home consoles: My answer is no.

If they can keep the old franchises running strong, and develop some new franchises worth keeping around, I'll always be a fan.

I think Nintendo should push along with the Wii U for another 3.5 to four years until they release a new console which will hopefully not repeat the same mistakes they made with the Wii U.

I say this mainly b/c people buy a console expecting several years of games to come out for it. If that were not to happen and Nintendo were to do to the Wii U what Sega did to the Saturn, people would probably lose faith in the company, as pulling a console early is more or less the equivalent of admitting it was a failure.

@19James89: There is no doubt the Wii U has major issues but that's cause of Nintendo. Nintendo is making far to many mistakes these days. However there are to many issues to mention why the Wii U is suffering, the name is partially to blame, MAJOR lack of advertisement, Nintendo haters and media bashing Nintendo has continued to grow and damage Nintendo's reputation. Even Miyamoto said Nintendo failed to get kids to get their parents to buy the Wii U. Iwata said he got the western market wrong, so once you hit the bottom of the barrel you can only go up. Yes Nintendo's 3rd fiscal loss. Boo hoo after 30 years straight of pure profit it makes no difference. Which is sad cause Nintendo is letting all their money go to their head and ignore their core fans who are trying to help them out. And yes the 3DS is getting a lot of focus. But Nintendo is showing off what they can when they can in Directs. Excluding Zelda HD which will be revealed at E3. If Nintendo lays off the 3DS for awhile to focus on Wii U, then the 3DS could lose its insane momentum. That's not something Nintendo should risk. The Wii U will have a very slow turn around, now it wont "win" the console war but I think it will come in 2nd. Xbox One will come in 3rd. Wii U will do okay in the end. It will be a Gamecube situation again which is fine. A system those who have can enjoy with quality games. As for the Smartphones thing. Iwata said they will find a way to USE Smartphones. He has said it more then once. MARIO WONT BE ON ANYTHING BUT A NINTENDO SYSTEM. More then likely they will make an app for Smartphones so you can watch Nintendo Directs and trailers for upcoming games or something.

No.

Once Nintendo pulls their heads out of their asses and get their shit together they will make an amazing console. Its possible for them to do it, for some reason they just choose not to. They make a lot of questionable decisions, hopefully next gen they make better choices. I'd love to see more interaction between nintendo's consoles and handheld, maybe even go down the fusion route, though it is just a rumor. A powerful console and a powerful handheld in one, course that is a disscusion/ speculation ofr another thread.

No, plain & simple..always need triforce/trinity/paper, rock, scissor to balance each other out so to say..just look at the cpu situation where there's only 2 competing against each other..what's the fastest cpu we have from Intel? since AMD cannot compete.

No, I think they should listen to their consumers and learn how to do things properly in that way. People keep asking for a Pokemon MMO, they should try to make one and figure out ways to prevent it from failing. People want a proper online account system, they should be trying to figure out how to do this as I am typing this, only they probably are not doing this like they should be or even see it as a priority. People want online multiplayer in games for Wii U, they should try to include this and acknowledge it as a need for certain people and realize that not everyone can use local multiplayer, even people in Japan.

Nintendo's console right now is dead to me. The U is the first Nintendo system I've not bought, and I don't see myself buying one for some time to come unless radical change is enacted.

I don't know about anyone else, but I've never, NEVER felt such a massive degree of laziness, predictability, and apathy behind any company's product before. It's insane. No advertising, huge droughts, routine by-the-numbers offerings, and the ones that aren't are budget titles or some eshop shit. It's like Nintendo isn't even TRYING. Like they don't care. Absolutely no feeling of any type of ambition, drive, and desire. 'Meh' would be their attitude in a word.

So since they seem not to care, why should I? I think what we're seeing currently with the U is Nintendo paying for being arrogant. They have become a lazy, arrogant, and complacent company. Last gen's Sony. The Wii/DS's successes seriously inflated their heads. They thought they could just slap on another gimmick, keep the Wii name, and have the money come flooding in with very little effort. That's exactly what it feels like. **** hubris, I'm glad to see they're paying the price for it.

I really couldn't care if Nintendo stopped releasing consoles, because they're doing it so poorly that it's not worth bothering with anyway. When they decide to come back down to Earth and start working for their money instead of believing they can half-ass their way to a fortune piggybacking on gimmick novelty appealing to the casuals is when I'll start supporting them again.

And that ain't going to happen with Iwata and co running things. But they won't leave, so I think Nintendo's in trouble.

I hope I am wrong but I'm guessing the 1989 in the OP's name is the year of his birth. If so, he might not be too familiar with the Virtual Boy which was the definition of a flop and if it didn't cause Nintendo to leave the home console market the WiiU won't even come close.

Software on those platforms was less resource intensive than the 3DS and especially the WiiU. Iwata admitted that they weren't prepared for the leap that comes with HD graphics.

That's why the 3DS is seeing more support from Nintendo. If they want to produce WiiU games at the same pace as they did with the Wii, they need to either boost their dev teams or go the Ubisoft route and outsource portions of games to other teams.

I could see the more traditional heads at Nintendo resisting both of those options at all costs. Doing everything internally with relatively small teams is part of what makes Nintendo's games so tight and polished. I can understand their trepidation, but they need to figure out a solution or profit won't stand a chance of keeping up with development costs.

No Nintendo should just make a traditional console for the 9th generation. A console with up to date tech/power. Even include Blu-ray/DVD/CD play back with their next console. Have up to date online MP

Price this console at $400-$500 if this console uses up to date technology for CPU/GPU etc. If it is up to date it will sell. Just have a regular controller like Sony and MS do. Forget about chasing the casual demographic.

Nintendo has 2 more shots at making a console. If their 9th and 10 generation consoles fail then their are doomed. But for now if Nintendo can learn from their mistakes with the Wii U they still have a chance.

The wanting of DVD playback in Nintendo consoles has always been stupid. They're a gaming company, not an all around media company like the other 2, and they would have to pay fees to do that.

If somebody doesn't have a device that can play disc media in 2014, they obviously don't care about it anyways.

Was disappointed with the Wii U last year. Love it this year. My PS4 is collecting dust. I play my Wii U constantly now. I think they will slowly sneak up and kick ass in their own way. Nintendo always took forever to make console games, but they were always fun.

I disagree. DVD/Blu-Ray playback is not something that should be considered special or extra, and thus, should not be a big deal or expense to implement. Many people hang up their TV's on the wall and have limited space under it. The less components, the better.

It is also something that's perceived as value when your console can do multiple things. Plus, it's the benchmark these days that your devices perform multiple functions. This is in line with Nintendo needing to catch up to today's standards.

Nothing to do with standards really. Nintendo has to pay to be able to use DVDs, licensing fees. I believe the U is fully capable of playing DVDs with a hack, they simply don't pay to enable it. Cheap, cheap, cheap. I can understand their excuse, but it's still cheap.

They really need to decide if they're solely a game box or a media machine. Nintendo's suffering an identity crisis at the moment.

Poor marketing is what is killing the Wii U. People still do not know that it is a new console. I had friends over my place last night and they didn't even know the Wii U was a new system by Nintendo. Wii U is an awesome system with much potential but because of Nintendo's arrogance and neglect of 3rd party publishers, the wii U continues to falter. I think in the long run the system will sale fine but it won't be at the levels of the Wii.

It would not be a bad idea for Nintendo to go handheld only. most of its titles are single player. The company does not seem to be making any 3D entries in the majority of its titles outside of Mario. Not that consoles cannot have 2D games, but most Wii U exclusives do not even push the power of the system. Mario Kart 8 and Mario 3D World look great graphically, but Donkey Kong, and Mario Bros U do not push the system hardly at all. These games do not look terrible, but why build a system that has a good bit more power than the Wii and then not use it? The gamepad is not used for much outside of offscreen play, so why did the company spend money on it? Nintendo's first party seems to focus more on 3DS anyway, so why does it need a second pillar?

I do not know where the notion that NIntendo has all of this money comes from. People do realize that companies spend the majority of the money that they make from games. It is not like they leave millions of dollars sitting in the bank. Once one game is done, then another project is put into production. Nintendo does not make a profit on Wii U consoles as of right now. Most of Nintendo's money is spent on making games. The company is not sitting around saying, "we should save a few hundred million in case a console fails." The games industry is a risky business. You are always producing either or hardware or software. If neither one of those two things are happening, then you are out of luck. Obviously there are exceptions such as Valve.

I admit that, since it has an internet browser and all this online functionality, disc media playback would not be totally out of place. However, that online functionality is at least used in games, playing movies have nothing to do with games.

And again, it's 2014... the clutter argument doesn't fly because who is ONLY going to own a Wii U and care about that at the same time care about disc media? Look at all the consoles that play disc media.

There is little reason for Nintendo to have dvd/blu-ray playback in their consoles when it costs them. I call Nintendo out on their shit every time, but this isn't an issue.

Lets hope not....

No.

For as long as I play games I want to play Nintendo consoles.

n + o = no

This is the thread that doesn't end, yes it goes on and on my friend, some people, started commenting not knowing what it was, and they'll continue commenting forever just because (Repeat)

I don't think they should. Personally I hope for these two scenarios:

Scenario 1: Actually listen to third parties, ask them what hardware they want. Do the non-Nintendo thing and use PC parts like other consoles now or close to it. Launch in 2017 and get some serious 3rd parties on board. I'm talking Rockstar, Gearbox, Valve, EA, like the big commercial companies.

Use AMD CPU/GPU for dev familiarity, dumping Wii U BC for a time. 6 to 10 core AMD CPU around 2Ghz, AMD GPU around 900Mhz and 3-4.5 Tflops and 16GB RAM, maybe 64MB eDRAM with a 500GB HDD to cut costs. This gives Nintendo the most powerful console on the market until 2019-2020 when their competitors launch systems with better specs. I think all of this could somewhat fit into a $300 package by fall 2017 so long as they use a standard, $10 or so to produce controller like a revamped Wii U Pro Controller. Also, call it NES7 or something like that.

Scenario 2: Make a hybrid handheld/console. Call it the Hybrid Developer's System (HDS). Pack in an AMD version of the upcoming 16-Core ARM CPU and 16-core GPUs. Give the device a 5.5-6inch fold-able 720p screen, two circle pads, four shoulder buttons. It will be small when closed since the screen actually folds but big enough to be near a tablet in terms of viewing pleasure when un-folded. Pack in 4GB-8GB mobile RAM, make it multi-touch. Play DS/3DS games but not Wii U games of course. Have a dock that charges it also have an HDMI port on it so it can hook up to your TV.

Those are just my two fantasy scenarios which I don't think will happen. Chances are in 2016 we'll get a 3DS successor a little bit more powerful than the PS Vita for like $150 hopefully and a Wii U successor in 2017 with a 8-core PowerPC CPU, 6-10GB RAM and little more.

Nintendo needs to survive if you love console gaming, CONSOLE not PC gaming Microbribe has been forcing on the world since the inception of the Xbroke. If Nintendo goes under then it's time to give up on console specific gaming enjoyment. I'm more of a Sony user but even they have been pushed far right of console gaming and entered PC'ish gaming with most focus on shooters/FPS/or 3rd person. Japanese gaming needs to make a comeback and the heart of it is Nintendo and Sony, more so Nintendo. It can't die or it's over.

The Wii U is picking up. It started bad yeah but don't forget Xbone are the ones miles behind in last place.

Nintendo, as a company, has tremendous wealth and is in no danger of running afoul of their bottom line any time soon. The Wii U completely tanking won't even impact that in the slightest, nor will a failure next-generation.

The real question is "When?" - When will Nintendo decide to launch a non-niche system and actually compete with Sony and Microsoft?

The Wii U and the financial problems its caused are simply symptomatic of longstanding underlying issues that are causing Nintendo's troubles. The question is, how long can Nintendo's bankroll endure until they decides to wisen up, modernize, and fix these problems?

@nini200 said:

This is the thread that doesn't end, yes it goes on and on my friend, some people, started commenting not knowing what it was, and they'll continue commenting forever just because (Repeat)

I was just thinking, "man, getting sick of these doom & gloom articles. Maybe I should just keep answering this thread every time I see it with an ambiguous "No."

No

No. They should just do better.

It took awhile for the 3DS to catch on....the Wii U will probably do well enough until they get their next console out. But I don't see Nintendo wanting to make games for competitors. I think they'd just do their handhelds in that event.

Why do people make threads like this...

Everyone thinks they're an armchair CEO and knows what's best for Nintendo.

Should Sony have left the videogame console business when the PS3 launched and cost them nearly 3 billion dollars during its first years? Where was that discussion?!

... lol

Nintendo isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

http://www.gamesradar.com/nintendo-doomed-not-likely-just-take-look-how-much-money-its-got-bank/

Did you even read what I wrote? I'm not saying that Nintendo doesn't have money, and I'm not saying they'll be gone soon. But they suffer from problems that money will not be able to rectify, only temporarily alleviate. They are outdated in their philosophies, they are stubborn, they are arrogant. And they're losing money due to it. I don't care how much they have in the bank, it can disappear very quickly. In fact, since '11, Nintendo has lost over a billion dollars, and has lost more than 80% of its value (I'm not talking liquid assets).

btw, that article is almost two years old and is no longer reflective of their financial standing.

They can't afford to stand on one leg, you know.