Is Nintendo going the way of Atari?

[Grifter]

Remember the Atari 2600 console? A big seller in the early eighties. They made millions of dollars. Then it crashed and burned. Atari didn't make any new games - just more of the same. When they finally released a new console it was too late.

Code: Select all

A confession: I really really wanted one of these but I didn't have enough money to buy it.  I later got one at a yard sale for $5

The same thing is happening with the Wii. New console with new idea. But now they are just making more of the same. They are making cute games that allow you to move your arms but not do much else. There is a lumberjack game but no decent FPS games. Notable exceptions are Metroid Coruption and Medal of Honour Vangard.

So what do you think? Will Nintendo also crash and burn? Or should I stick to commentaries about Snakes and Ladders?

[Army of GOD]

I'm not much of a Wii man myself which means I'm kinda biased. I'd say get yerself a XBox Tres 60.

[john9blue]

I hope Nintendo makes better games, but it's not like I'm selling my Wii if they aren't. I'll judge the next console separately when it comes along...

[strike wolf]

Hopefully Nintendo will wake up in time to realize that they need to make better games. I doubt it's going anywhere soon but eventually? who knows. Another notable exception would be Star Wars: Force Unleashed, the Wii mote controls for that game are awesome.

[Burrito]

Preferably a PS3.

[TeletubbyPrince]

The Wii has a pretty weak library of games. Enough to satisfy a customer, but not enough to allow any real choice (it's pretty much just the standard Mario/Zelda/Metroid rehashes with a few odd (and sub-par) games like Conduit thrown in). It's also too expensive considering it's hardware. At launch, I it was fairly priced in comparison to it's 500/600 dollar cousins; however, now that the PS3 and 360 are nearing it's price, it does not look so good. Imo the Wii's only worth about $50-$100.

[AgentSmith88]

Remember the Atari 2600 console? A big seller in the early eighties. They made millions of dollars. Then it crashed and burned. Atari didn't make any new games - just more of the same. When they finally released a new console it was too late.

Code: Select all

A confession: I really really wanted one of these but I didn't have enough money to buy it.  I later got one at a yard sale for $5

The same thing is happening with the Wii. New console with new idea. But now they are just making more of the same. They are making cute games that allow you to move your arms but not do much else. There is a lumberjack game but no decent FPS games. Notable exceptions are Metroid Coruption and Medal of Honour Vangard.

So what do you think? Will Nintendo also crash and burn? Or should I stick to commentaries about Snakes and Ladders?

The Atari 2600 was unique at the time. It was the first home console. Once it started making money, companies wanted in on the new "fad". Atari didn't control ANY of the 3rd party games that came onto the market, and so many new games were complete crap that nobody in their right mind wanted to play. When people started shelling out $50-$60 for games that were half as entertaining as a new Barbie game, they started being turned off by the idea of buying new games. Atari thought they could just keep making their own games and keep making money on those. Once Nintendo and other companies started making their own consoles, Atari realized, too late, that they would need to develop a new console. They could never catch up and eventually went under ( was sold to bigger company I believe). Atari's tale of woe is the reason that Nintendo has had such a stict hold on 3rd party games that have come out on their consoles (why many games are for 360 and PS3, but not Wii) over the years. This stict control has been why nintendo has lacked in great games and why they are so dependent on their titles to carry their consoles (Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc.) nowadays.

[2dimes]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7PhJp3ciRQ

[GabonX]

So what do you think? Will Nintendo also crash and burn? Or should I stick to commentaries about Snakes and Ladders?

At this point they are already working on putting out the next systems. What most people don't realise is that Wii was, from a business standpoint, the most successful video game system in this generation of consoles. I actually did a report on this a couple of years back...

Basically, the Wii appeals to a wider audience. Some hardcore gamers will buy the system, but it is the most common choice for casual gamers. Wii offers a lot of multi player options. The system is also the cheapest console and is innately innovative. While the people who really like video games may not favor Wii, titles like Mario are classics and games like Wii fit bring in a lot of revenue from casual gamers and people who would not regularly by video games.

Microsoft and Sony sell their consoles at a loss to customers hoping to make profit on games which will later be sold. This is not the case with Wii. In fact many people who would not buy a 360 or PlayStation own a Wii because it is cheaper and is often seen as more appealing by the casual gamer.

Wii has outsold the competition. Nintendo has the largest portion of the market share and has for some time. Check out these articles, which are written from a business perspective as well as a gamer perspective:
http://www.vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?id=54177
http://gamer.blorge.com/2008/09/16/reas ... do-threat/

Nintendo is one of the great companies of Japan, and indeed one of the great corporations of the world. They started out making playing cards, little known fact.
What's next for Nintendo? Well the Iphone has video games on it, meaning that if Nintendo wants to continue to be competitive in the hand held video game market they may resolve to build a cell phone...

[King_Herpes]

I'd rather just jerk my gerkin'.

[Bruceswar]

Remember the Atari 2600 console? A big seller in the early eighties. They made millions of dollars. Then it crashed and burned. Atari didn't make any new games - just more of the same. When they finally released a new console it was too late.

Code: Select all

A confession: I really really wanted one of these but I didn't have enough money to buy it.  I later got one at a yard sale for $5

The same thing is happening with the Wii. New console with new idea. But now they are just making more of the same. They are making cute games that allow you to move your arms but not do much else. There is a lumberjack game but no decent FPS games. Notable exceptions are Metroid Coruption and Medal of Honour Vangard.

So what do you think? Will Nintendo also crash and burn? Or should I stick to commentaries about Snakes and Ladders?

The Atari 2600 was unique at the time. It was the first home console. Once it started making money, companies wanted in on the new "fad". Atari didn't control ANY of the 3rd party games that came onto the market, and so many new games were complete crap that nobody in their right mind wanted to play. When people started shelling out $50-$60 for games that were half as entertaining as a new Barbie game, they started being turned off by the idea of buying new games. Atari thought they could just keep making their own games and keep making money on those. Once Nintendo and other companies started making their own consoles, Atari realized, too late, that they would need to develop a new console. They could never catch up and eventually went under ( was sold to bigger company I believe). Atari's tale of woe is the reason that Nintendo has had such a stict hold on 3rd party games that have come out on their consoles (why many games are for 360 and PS3, but not Wii) over the years. This stict control has been why nintendo has lacked in great games and why they are so dependent on their titles to carry their consoles (Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc.) nowadays.

Lets get a few things straight...

Atari 2600 was not the first home system, but the first mass produced system. Games were not $50 or $60 back then. More like $19.95 or $21.67 at K Mart or any other department store.

The NES has over 800 titles and lasted longer than any other system. While sure they have fallen behind a bit the WII was a bit smash hit. Sold out everywhere. Scored one for Nintendo. With that said they need to keep up or else these next few years could be bleak for them.

[Timminz]

I find the Wii to be more fun than the alternatives, and we've recently traded-in our PSP for a DS.

Nintendo still wins.

[jay_a2j]

Atari still makes games for the PC.



http://www.atari.com/us/

[maasman]

You fail to understand that in EVERY single year Nintendo has made game consoles, they have had a profit. Every single one. I saw a profit chart for the big 3 current game consoles, and has Nintendo made more money in the last decade than Sony as far as game consoles, and thats with being blown out of the water sales wise. Why? Because even though Sony sold shit tons of consoles, 99.99% of them were sold at a loss, unlike Nintendo who always sells at a gain. Nintendo is not leaving video games for a very, very long time

[thegreekdog]

As GabonX said the Wii appeals to a wider audience.

For example, my parents, aunts and uncles all have Wiis (that's 9 households). None of those households have a PS3 or XBox360. Further, many of my friends who have XBox360 of PS3 also have a Wii (as do I). By appealing to a wider audience, Nintendo doesn't have to appease the hardcore (or mediumcore) gamers like me and you.

[TeletubbyPrince]

So what do you think? Will Nintendo also crash and burn? Or should I stick to commentaries about Snakes and Ladders?

At this point they are already working on putting out the next systems. What most people don't realise is that Wii was, from a business standpoint, the most successful video game system in this generation of consoles. I actually did a report on this a couple of years back...

Basically, the Wii appeals to a wider audience. Some hardcore gamers will buy the system, but it is the most common choice for casual gamers. Wii offers a lot of multi player options. The system is also the cheapest console and is innately innovative. While the people who really like video games may not favor Wii, titles like Mario are classics and games like Wii fit bring in a lot of revenue from casual gamers and people who would not regularly by video games.

Microsoft and Sony sell their consoles at a loss to customers hoping to make profit on games which will later be sold. This is not the case with Wii. In fact many people who would not buy a 360 or PlayStation own a Wii because it is cheaper and is often seen as more appealing by the casual gamer.

Wii has outsold the competition. Nintendo has the largest portion of the market share and has for some time. Check out these articles, which are written from a business perspective as well as a gamer perspective:
http://www.vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?id=54177
http://gamer.blorge.com/2008/09/16/reas ... do-threat/

Nintendo is one of the great companies of Japan, and indeed one of the great corporations of the world. They started out making playing cards, little known fact.
What's next for Nintendo? Well the Iphone has video games on it, meaning that if Nintendo wants to continue to be competitive in the hand held video game market they may resolve to build a cell phone...

They're good financially but their games really suck. Some companies like Valve and Paradox care about what they do and what their customers want. Nintendo is pretty much just another Msoft trying to milk as much money out the console market as they can. I don't doubt that the top executives at Nintendo are really happy, but their in-house programmers who don't see a lot of that revenue are probably pretty pissed at the direction they're doing.

[Frigidus]

So what do you think? Will Nintendo also crash and burn? Or should I stick to commentaries about Snakes and Ladders?

At this point they are already working on putting out the next systems. What most people don't realise is that Wii was, from a business standpoint, the most successful video game system in this generation of consoles. I actually did a report on this a couple of years back...

Basically, the Wii appeals to a wider audience. Some hardcore gamers will buy the system, but it is the most common choice for casual gamers. Wii offers a lot of multi player options. The system is also the cheapest console and is innately innovative. While the people who really like video games may not favor Wii, titles like Mario are classics and games like Wii fit bring in a lot of revenue from casual gamers and people who would not regularly by video games.

Microsoft and Sony sell their consoles at a loss to customers hoping to make profit on games which will later be sold. This is not the case with Wii. In fact many people who would not buy a 360 or PlayStation own a Wii because it is cheaper and is often seen as more appealing by the casual gamer.

Wii has outsold the competition. Nintendo has the largest portion of the market share and has for some time. Check out these articles, which are written from a business perspective as well as a gamer perspective:
http://www.vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?id=54177
http://gamer.blorge.com/2008/09/16/reas ... do-threat/

Nintendo is one of the great companies of Japan, and indeed one of the great corporations of the world. They started out making playing cards, little known fact.
What's next for Nintendo? Well the Iphone has video games on it, meaning that if Nintendo wants to continue to be competitive in the hand held video game market they may resolve to build a cell phone...

They're good financially but their games really suck. Some companies like Valve and Paradox care about what they do and what their customers want. Nintendo is pretty much just another Msoft trying to milk as much money out the console market as they can. I don't doubt that the top executives at Nintendo are really happy, but their in-house programmers who don't see a lot of that revenue are probably pretty pissed at the direction they're doing.

I agree, but I certainly wouldn't say that they're going the way of Atari (or, perhaps as a better analogy, Sega).

[jsholty4690]

No matter what happens in with upcoming systems, Nintendo is going to be here for a long long time. Nintendo has had a strangle hold on the hand held video game market since the original Gameboy came out and I don't see PSP competing with it (although it does have better graphics).

Like most people have said before Nintendo is for the casual gamer, while the PS3 and the 360 are more for the hard core gamers. And as long as NIntendo is making money it won't go away.

[Snorri1234]

They're good financially but their games really suck. Some companies like Valve and Paradox care about what they do and what their customers want. Nintendo is pretty much just another Msoft trying to milk as much money out the console market as they can. I don't doubt that the top executives at Nintendo are really happy, but their in-house programmers who don't see a lot of that revenue are probably pretty pissed at the direction they're doing.

This is absurd. Valve and Paradox are gamecompanies who don't have their own console. The games released by Nintendo (and not other parties) are usually of pretty high quality with a few horrendous exceptions (DK barrel blast). If anything you could accuse Nintendo of releasing so few games, not releasing bad games.

Sure, they've made some silly arcade games but this is fucking Japan we're talking about. Land of the weird shit were a game about riding a metro-train around is played.

[Snorri1234]

but no decent FPS games.

A Nintendo-console without a lot of FPS games? Colour me suprised Batman.

[TeletubbyPrince]

They're good financially but their games really suck. Some companies like Valve and Paradox care about what they do and what their customers want. Nintendo is pretty much just another Msoft trying to milk as much money out the console market as they can. I don't doubt that the top executives at Nintendo are really happy, but their in-house programmers who don't see a lot of that revenue are probably pretty pissed at the direction they're doing.

This is absurd. Valve and Paradox are gamecompanies who don't have their own console. The games released by Nintendo (and not other parties) are usually of pretty high quality with a few horrendous exceptions (DK barrel blast). If anything you could accuse Nintendo of releasing so few games, not releasing bad games.

Sure, they've made some silly arcade games but this is fucking Japan we're talking about. Land of the weird shit were a game about riding a metro-train around is played.

If their games didn't have the words "Mario" or "Zelda" slapped onto their titles they wouldn't be well recieved at all. Even with franchises backing them up, Nintendo's games are generally viewed as being inferior to those made in the N64 era. Those defending Nintendo are generally kids who never experienced Ocarina of Time or Mario64 (or kids who've never experienced other games period).

[Frigidus]

They're good financially but their games really suck. Some companies like Valve and Paradox care about what they do and what their customers want. Nintendo is pretty much just another Msoft trying to milk as much money out the console market as they can. I don't doubt that the top executives at Nintendo are really happy, but their in-house programmers who don't see a lot of that revenue are probably pretty pissed at the direction they're doing.

This is absurd. Valve and Paradox are gamecompanies who don't have their own console. The games released by Nintendo (and not other parties) are usually of pretty high quality with a few horrendous exceptions (DK barrel blast). If anything you could accuse Nintendo of releasing so few games, not releasing bad games.

Sure, they've made some silly arcade games but this is fucking Japan we're talking about. Land of the weird shit were a game about riding a metro-train around is played.

If their games didn't have the words "Mario" or "Zelda" slapped onto their titles they wouldn't be well recieved at all. Even with franchises backing them up, Nintendo's games are generally viewed as being inferior to those made in the N64 era. Those defending Nintendo are generally kids who never experienced Ocarina of Time or Mario64 (or kids who've never experienced other games period).

If you compare Mario 64 to Galaxy, Mario 64 is by far inferior. It was the first attempt at the modern Mario formula, and had a lot of rough patches. It certainly paved the way for the series as it currently stands, but those that view the N64 game as superior are blinded by nostalgia. Zelda has gotten quite repetitive though.

[john9blue]

If their games didn't have the words "Mario" or "Zelda" slapped onto their titles they wouldn't be well recieved at all. Even with franchises backing them up, Nintendo's games are generally viewed as being inferior to those made in the N64 era. Those defending Nintendo are generally kids who never experienced Ocarina of Time or Mario64 (or kids who've never experienced other games period).

Don't even pretend that you're not biased against Nintendo. That 'best villain' thread was just ridiculous. Clearly you think you're above such a "kiddy console". I wonder how many first-party Nintendo games you've actually played?

[Snorri1234]

If their games didn't have the words "Mario" or "Zelda" slapped onto their titles they wouldn't be well recieved at all. Even with franchises backing them up, Nintendo's games are generally viewed as being inferior to those made in the N64 era. Those defending Nintendo are generally kids who never experienced Ocarina of Time or Mario64 (or kids who've never experienced other games period).

Super Mario Galaxy is better than Mario64. The only way you could consider Mario64 better is by taking into account impact. Super Smash Bros Brawl is also better than the first one.

In fact, the N64 was pretty horrible looking back at it. The controls were shit and the graphics not outstanding or anything. But what made it great was that it was so much fucking fun to play.

[pancakemix]

Another thing to consider is that Nintendo is the only one of the big 3 companies with all its eggs in the proverbial video game basket. Sony and Microsoft won't crash if their consoles fail. That means Nintendo is at higher risk in that regard, but they can put more into it. They also have the benefit of being the household name, a humongous advantage in the casual crowd.

And no one can beat Nintendo in the handheld market. The DS is outselling the PSP 2:1. And since the PSP Go dropped a lot of reverse compatibility, that's not likely to change very soon. And Pokémon. Nintendo has Pokémon.