DailyTech - Nintendo Not Going Mobile, Working on Health Product for 2015 Instead

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Gadgets Nintendo Not Going Mobile, Working on Health Product for 2015 Instead
Tiffany Kaiser - January 30, 2014 12:00 PM

18 comment(s) - last by CZroe.. on Feb 1 at 11:20 AM

Nintendo didn't supply many details about the health product, but made it sound like it could be used beyond the living room

You know how Mario constantly finds castles at the end of each level expecting to find the princess, but she never ends up being there (until the very end)? He always seems to encounter Toad instead, who gives him some vague direction that the princess is in another castle.

Well, lets just say Nintendo is Mario, constantly on the search for a winning product; all the castles without the princess are its most-recent products, which are a total disappointment for the company and seem to be repetitive these days; Toad is everyone telling Nintendo to go mobile, and the princess is that one product or service -- the one completely different from what it's doing now, different from all the other "castles" -- that Nintendo will hopefully create for a comeback.

But it doesn't look like Nintendo is going to heed warnings to go mobile. In fact, it doesn't look like Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata will take part in wearables either, as he pitched a "non-wearable" product for 2015 that will focus on keeping its users healthy.

While Nintendo has already released a health product called "Wii Fit," Iwata said this new product is nothing like that. He didn't supply many details about it, but some believe it could be used outside of the living room (but probably not on your smartphone or tablet).

"Looking after your health requires effort and many people quit quite soon after starting something," said Iwata. "But we, as an entertainment company, can help people get over the difficulty of continuing their efforts in a fun way."

This wasn't exactly what investors were expecting, as stock was down 4.3 percent at closing and investors dropped $1.2 billion from the value of Nintendo's Tokyo-traded shares today.

_{[SOURCE: wordpress.com]}

Investors were likely unhappy to hear Iwata say that mobile is not a huge priority at this time, even though many have urged the company to take it more seriously during a time when smartphone and tablet sales are booming.

According to technology research and advisory firm Gartner, devices running Google's Android mobile operating system alone will achieve 1.1 billion shipments in 2014. This represents a 26 percent boost from 2013's total. Apple's operating systems (iOS for mobile and Mac OS for desktop) will see combined shipments of 344 million for 2014, which is a 28 percent jump from last year. When it comes to Microsoft's Windows OS, Gartner says 360 million new devices are expected to ship this year, up from 328 million last year.

Overall, Gartner says combined global shipments of all devices will achieve 2.48 billion units for 2014, up 7.6 percent from 2013.

Many hoped Nintendo would put Mario on smartphones and tablets, and there was even a rumor that the company would offer demo versions of games on such devices. However, Nintendo denied such rumors and said mobile devices would merely be used as advertisement platforms for its consoles and games.

"I'm not pessimistic about video games. We are not going to change our essential business of offering integrated hardware and software platforms," said Iwata.

But Iwata did say that handheld and home game console software would merge, hinting that gamers would be able to download and play the same game across platforms at some point.

Earlier this month, Nintendo announced that its anticipated Wii U units sold from April 2013 to March 2014 would be changed from a previous 9 million to just 2.8 million. This represents a staggering 69 percent drop, and Wii U software doesn't look any better, with sales expectations falling from a previously reported 38 million to just 19 million.

The company also had to revise sales expectations for its 3DS, dropping from 18 million to just 13.5 million units sold. As for the original Wiis, Nintendo is cutting their sales expectations from a previous 2 million to 1.2 million.

With so many sales revisions, Nintendo is also decreasing its financial forecast, which includes a loss of 25 billion yen ($240 million USD) -- down from a previously reported 55 billion yen profit.

Lets hope this health product is Nintendo's "princess."

Source: Nintendo

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By bah12 on 1/30/2014 12:38:49 PM , Rating: 1

quote:
"I'm not pessimistic about video games. We are not going to change our essential business of offering integrated hardware and software platforms," said Iwata.

Hey moron get a clue you are a GAME company not a hardware company.

How can the board still let this idiot drive the boat. There are literally thousands of small companies that would pimp out their sister for the brand recognition Nintendo already has. Mobile games are probably 20% game play and 80% marketing. Does anyone really think angry birds was a gameplay revolution, or was it simply the main game played in early iPhone commercials.

How they let him continue to horde all of that IP for the few bucks they make on the hardware side is insane. Gimme Zelda/Mario on my phone/tablet and you will make MILLIONS.

RE: ug

By Sunrise089 on 1/30/2014 1:44:38 PM , Rating: 2

I'm uncertain if this post is a parody, but assuming it isn't...

*Games like Doodle Jump and Angry Birds were hits due to simple yet fun gameplay. The Angry Birds marketing expansion happened after the quality gameplay made it a success.

*Angry Birds was released two years after the iPhone debuted.

*Nintendo has made billions off of its current business model, even while dealing with hardware failures. Billions > MILLIONS.

Nintendo may want or even need to pursue other paths, but despite the "thousands of small companies" that would like Nintendo's brand recognition, part of managing a brand is knowing what not to slap your name on. Sonic the Hedgehog used to be roughly as valuable of a property as Mario, but was used too often in too mediocre of products. Nintendo has to be careful not to make those kind of mistakes with their IP.

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RE: ug

By Motoman on 1/30/2014 1:58:33 PM , Rating: 2

Nintendo will, for all intents and purposes, cease to exist the moment they begin licensing their IP for non-Nintendo hardware.

Any moron can see this, and it's exactly why Nintendo isn't doing it. The moment that happens, 99% of Nintendo disappears, and they become the next Atari/Sega.

Game over.

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RE: ug

By robinthakur on 1/31/2014 6:45:55 AM , Rating: 3

You seem to be suggesting that gameplay doesn't matter as long as Nintendo's brand is being pushed into everybody's faces attached to mediocre, shallow games delivered through App Stores supplemented no doubt by lots of in app purchases and all the other ways that seem to make money these days. That is certainly a surefire way to creative and economic bankruptcy and the end of Nintendo, just ask Capcom. Having played Nintendo since the days of the orange Game and Watch Donkey Kong, I disagree with this me-too strategy.

If Nintendo does want to approach mobile, it will not be with a gun held to its head by the same so-called analysts and reviewers who wrote off the Wii, the DS, 3DS and various other hits for Nintendo that eventually came good. It will also be a natural progression for its 3DS and DS touch-enabled titles which Nintendo has been doing since before the first iPhone was released.

Nintendo is very good at releasing interesting devices which didn't exist beforehand and are sitting on a mountain of money from their past successes, so what would analysts primarily using historic data to predict the future know? Not every product can be a massive world beating hit, realistically, and this constant unhealthy expectation of bigger bigger BIGGER and design by committee is absolute death when creativity is concerned.

Nintendo make profit on all their hardware unlike many hardware makers, and that means that the scale of the disaster that the failure of the Wii U could cause is not as bad as, say, the PS4 failing would be for Sony.

I very much enjoy the Wii U and its concept, but freely admit that the software catalog, once again, is poor outside of Nintendo's first party ones and Nintendo did a poor job with marketing what it was exactly to the industry and audience. It is rather ingenious device and hasn't been done before, once you actually try it, and similar remote streaming is now included with the PS4 which is flattering.

I'd be happy setting my kid loose on a Nintendo console knowing they would be pretty safe, whereas on an Xbox or PS4, I certainly wouldn't. Nintendo already capitalise on this younger market with the 2DS and 3DS, so they need to make it more explicit on their home consoles as well, in my opinion, instead of courting the hardcore.

Its like with the 2DS. When that was announced, the Internet did a collective WTF?!? Why would anyone want that? Whereas actually, loads of parents who avoided the 3DS for their kids previously due to the possible negative effects of the 3D are now buying it. Nintendo aren't always right, but they do know their audience and have been in the game since long before many analysts were born.

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RE: ug

By Motoman on 1/31/2014 10:04:41 AM , Rating: 2

quote:
You seem to be suggesting that gameplay doesn't matter as long as Nintendo's brand is being pushed into everybody's faces attached to mediocre, shallow games delivered through App Stores supplemented no doubt by lots of in app purchases and all the other ways that seem to make money these days.

That's exactly what these dipsh1ts want. They're utterly incapable of seeing how this is what kills Nintendo...not what saves it.

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RE: ug

By ritualm on 1/31/2014 3:01:47 PM , Rating: 2

Want to know just how far a brand can fall into disgrace by plastering its image on everything? Simple, look at Arm & Hammer.

Nintendo doesn't need to be Arm & Hammer 2.0.

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RE: ug

By Fallen Kell on 1/31/2014 6:33:17 PM , Rating: 3

I think you need to get a little more history and realize why Nintendo is acting the way it does about its games and consoles. They entered the entertainment market at the height of the video game collapse in the early 1980's. The reason the market collapsed back then was because of too many crap games released in essentially the wild west where anyone could go out and release a game on the Atari, Colecovision, Intellivision, etc., etc... This led to games like ET, and even porn.

Nintendo created strict rules for their system, requiring licensing of games before they could be made for the system, and limiting developers/companies to only be able to release 2 games a year (in other words, forcing the companies to only release something they felt was actually good because they could just spit out 100 games hoping one of them would be a hit all the while flooding the market with crap games). This single handedly turned the course of the video game industry around within the first 2-3 years of being on the market.

Nintendo as a company still remembers these things and still operates with some of those ideals in place. Nintendo was also historically a card/card game maker which then moved into toys and eventually electronic toys which lead to consoles. They have always been about the hardware since at their roots, they always made the physical objects.

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2014 titles

By troysavary on 1/30/2014 3:33:54 PM , Rating: 3

When I look at the 2014 line-up for the 3 consoles, Nintendo's actually looks the best. I was excited for Titanfall until I saw some leaked gameplay footage. It doesn't play like a giant robot sim at all, but more like Call of Duty with medium sized robots(hardly Titans), tacked on. I was hoping for something more like MechWarrior and less like CoD. X on Wii U looks to have the giant robot game nailed way better than Titanfall.

Bayonetta 2 looks somewhat interesting. The next Zelda game is looking pretty appealing. And of course there is the new Mario Cart and Smash Bro for the kids and me to have fun together.

There isn't much in the upcoming PS4 or Xbox One lineup that interests me. And much of that will also be on the PC anyway.

RE: 2014 titles

By wired00 on 1/31/2014 8:25:59 AM , Rating: 2

I agree Xbox and ps4 are both boring lineups and obviously released far too early for decent game support. They both just wanted to race to market. Now it seems Xbox is soon releasing a cheaper console with no disk drive and I bet right in time for the more meaty game releases. Makes me wonder if people are now doubting spending sooooo much on their launch console. I actually think I'll buy a Wii u before a ps4 xbox

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RE: 2014 titles

By troysavary on 1/31/2014 11:53:03 AM , Rating: 3

I would recommend you do. I don't regret my Wii U purchase at all.

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Fusion?

By arrandale on 1/30/2014 5:05:18 PM , Rating: 2

This rather innocuous paragraph stood out for me:

quote:
But Iwata did say that handheld and home game console software would merge, hinting that gamers would be able to download and play the same game across platforms at some point.

I'd be curious to see what the actual quote is because it sounds suspiciously similar to the rumors of a new Nintendo console and handheld being released at the same time, called Fusion. Could the plan be to release a Wii U and 3DS replacement that can play the same games or is that just my own wishful thinking?

RE: Fusion?

By inperfectdarkness on 1/31/2014 2:42:13 AM , Rating: 2

Turbo Graphix did that back in the early 90's. I'm just waiting for Nintendo to allow DS gameplay on the WiiU.

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RE: Fusion?

By robinthakur on 1/31/2014 6:50:34 AM , Rating: 2

That would be interesting, but i'm not sure it would be a great business. I'm more used to Nintendo games on a handheld or SD for a while now so If i play in 1080P Mario 3D World on a TV it feels ultra luxurious!

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really guys

By lagomorpha on 1/30/2014 12:23:38 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
health product, but made it sound like it could be used beyond the living...

... room.

Talk about misleading headlines that get your hopes up. It sounded like Nintendo was working on health products that could be used postmortem.

RE: really guys

By Motoman on 1/30/2014 2:13:49 PM , Rating: 2

Yeah, well on the XBox you can play COD with zombie Nazis.

On the Wii U you can have Zombie...U.

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It's not about MOBILE

By Da W on 1/30/2014 2:00:46 PM , Rating: 2

Will people get a clue???
Mobile is NOT killing Nintendo.
-Look at 3DS sales, that's directly in competition against mobile.
-Look at Xbone/PS4 sales -> prrof that mobile ain't killing console sales.

Nintendo is loosing the console war against OTHER CONSOLES!!!

Jesus Christ is it that hard to understand? Putting Mario on an iPhone won,t save the Wii-U, and it will only be a port of Mario 3DLand (3DS version) that IS ALREADY selling. It's Mario 3D world (console version) that's doing bad.

RE: It's not about MOBILE

By arrandale on 1/31/2014 12:22:58 PM , Rating: 2

I agree. I don't think it would be in Nintendo's best interest to move into the mobile space. Mobile apps would be a way to chase after the casual market but mobile gamers are notoriously unstable sources of revenue. Nintendo needs to refocus their console efforts on their core fans and attempt to pull away Xbox and PlayStation fans instead.

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It isn't "Toad."

By CZroe on 2/1/2014 11:20:18 AM , Rating: 2

That wasn't "Toad" in the other castles. It was a different Mushroom Retainer in each one. "Toad" has since been perverted to mean anyone of that species from the Mushroom Kingdom, but they were specifically called Mushroom retainers in that game (see the manual).

Psst: You were supposed to be rescuing them too. It wasn't one guy following you around in the game to make fun of you for barking up the wrong tree. Despite his lack of proper punctuation (missing comma), his thanks were sincere.

For the longest time Toad was just one Mushroom Kingdom resident given a made-up name by the American TV show and shoved into the English version of Doki Doki Panic (Super Mario Bros. 2). It wasn't originally even a Mario game in Japan (starred turban-wearing characters) and they made sure to attribute any perversion to us when they re-released it in Japan as "Super Mario USA."

According to the manual, the majority of the Mushroom Kingdom inhabitants were turned into blocks, coins, and enemies (Goombas) by Bowser and his loyal clan of turtles. Notice how I called him "Bowser" and not "King Koopa?" "King Koopa" is another one made up for the US TV series. His correct name and title is "Bowser, King of the Koopa clan" but the show writers were idiots who couldn't even read the manual before forking something out for the cash-er, kids. Maybe they were deliberately avoiding accusations of being antisemitic ("Bowser" is a Jewish name) but it stuck. Koopa just means turtle (Koopa Troopa, Koopa Para-Troopa, Para-Koopa) but now it's his family name (Koopa Kids). Actually, they may not even be his kids in the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 3 because he has only a single child in Super Mario Sunshine (his Junior).

Toad's Japanese name is "Kinopio" with other Mushroom Kingdom residents named similarly ("Hinopio" in Super Mario RPG, for example). I can't blame you for not knowing this. Heck, even Nintendo Power was oblivious and insisted that "Pinocchio" was going to be in Super Mario RPG when they first previewed it (obviously thought it was Geno's name).

Nintendo eventually adopted the perversion for English audiences. Similarly, Peach was not "Princess Toadstool" in Japan. They decided to start calling her "Peach" in English games with Super Mario 64. Her full name and title is now "Princess Peach Toadstool."

So why am I writing all this? So that it's at least printed SOMEWHERE on the Internet. :)

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