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Topic: Why can't Nintendo make their own mobile phone instead of releasing games on IOS & Android?

Posts 21 to 40 of 100

Socar

@skywake: I'm not talking about porting their games to smartphones. I'm talking about how they are gonna market their exclusive phone games because marketing phone games is a nightmare and its the hardest part of making any profit for the game industry. Some are lucky and some aren't.

If Capcom and SEGA are struggling in the mobile market, how is Nintendo going to ever compete with them by releasing exclusive mobile games?

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Therad

skywake wrote:

Socar wrote:

But honestly, I feel that Nintendo really can't do much on a phone.

Says the person who made a thread advocating for Nintendo to go all in on mobile and effectively abandon their portable line. Really, you're the only one here arguing in favour of Nintendo putting full games on mobile. Everyone else is simply supporting Nintendo's current strategy.

I would support some of their games to be ported in full. As an example, I think that Mario vs DK could work very well on mobile. I wouldn't be surprised if it would do better on mobile than tipping star did on 3DS/Wii U. It also has the name recognition, without competing with their main DK and Mario games.

Therad

Octane

@Socar: Because it's Nintendo, and that already makes a difference really. The idea of Nintendo making a mobile game generates way more buzz than Capcom or SEGA. Still, if they don't succeed, that means they're not going to make more mobile games. They might've lost some money, but that's not going to hurt a company like Nintendo in the long run. Remember that they're not going all in with all their resources, they're just going to try some games and see how well they fare.

Octane

Therad

And if (and that is a big if) nintendo would ever do a phone, they would need to use android to leverage the existing framework and apps. Either they go full-on android (like samsung, lg etc) or their own fork of android (like amazon). Otherwise it would be DOA.

Therad

Socar

@Octane: But that's the problem. Nintendo's investors want Nintendo to go mobile because its a quick money for them but what they don't realize is that mobile marketing like I said earlier is a gamble. Honestly with how outdated cellular phones are now in Japan, why is it difficult to just add phone features on their systems?

It also depends on what IP Nintendo uses on Mobile so something big like Mario is most likely the case and honestly, Mario seems to be the only one that prints easy money for Nintendo. But really, how does that alone make Nintendo dominate the mobile market easily.

Nintendo can easily just ignore mobile and just use basic features that are on a phone for their next portable system. I mean, I have no doubts that no matter what IP Nintendo puts on the phone, its far riskier than the Wii U even because again its marketing mobile and Nintendo can't spend millions of dollars for the marketing alone.

Fine, let's say that Nintendo keeps making games on phones. But then what? What platform is Nintendo to pick on? Obviously the Android one because well, I think that the apple products are for those who can afford a LOT.

If it doesn't do well, then what? Make another game? And if that fails, then what? Its just hopeless and they are just wasting time releasing games on either platform.

Also, if Nintendo by some miracle does manage to do huge like how they usually do, guess what? Google and Apple would want to buy them still whether Nintendo doesn't want it or wants it. So really, I still don't understand why Nintendo can't make a phone.

They have strong bonds between Sharp and Samsung so why not collaborate with those two. After all Samsung did manufacture the game boy in China right?

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jump

^Releasing a Mario mobile game is riskier than the Wii U so Nintendo should just make their own phone...it's comments like these is why people don't take you seriously.

Edited on by jump

Nicolai wrote:

Alright, I gotta stop getting into arguments with jump. Someone remind me next time.

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MadAussieBloke

Region locked, no chat, charger sold separately, service providers jumping ship... A Miyamotorolla would be a terrible idea

MadAussieBloke

jariw

Socar wrote:

Fine, let's say that Nintendo keeps making games on phones. But then what? What platform is Nintendo to pick on? Obviously the Android one because well, I think that the apple products are for those who can afford a LOT.

If it doesn't do well, then what? Make another game? And if that fails, then what? Its just hopeless and they are just wasting time releasing games on either platform.

FWIW, according to the investor meetings during the past year, the main thing with mobile initiative isn't to sell games.

jariw

Shinion

Because they're not Apple.

Shinion

Octane

Socar wrote:

Octane: But that's the problem. Nintendo's investors want Nintendo to go mobile because its a quick money for them but what they don't realize is that mobile marketing like I said earlier is a gamble. Honestly with how outdated cellular phones are now in Japan, why is it difficult to just add phone features on their systems?

It also depends on what IP Nintendo uses on Mobile so something big like Mario is most likely the case and honestly, Mario seems to be the only one that prints easy money for Nintendo. But really, how does that alone make Nintendo dominate the mobile market easily.

Nintendo can easily just ignore mobile and just use basic features that are on a phone for their next portable system. I mean, I have no doubts that no matter what IP Nintendo puts on the phone, its far riskier than the Wii U even because again its marketing mobile and Nintendo can't spend millions of dollars for the marketing alone.

Fine, let's say that Nintendo keeps making games on phones. But then what? What platform is Nintendo to pick on? Obviously the Android one because well, I think that the apple products are for those who can afford a LOT.

If it doesn't do well, then what? Make another game? And if that fails, then what? Its just hopeless and they are just wasting time releasing games on either platform.

Nobody wants a Nintendo phone, let's get that idea out of your head. Nobody wants to use their handheld system as a phone, and it's far more easier to develop on an already existing platform. Nintendo doesn't need to ''dominate'' the market either, it's far too big for that.

Who says that Nintendo needs to spend millions of dollars on marketing? Announce a game and the media will do most of the work for you. Even if they don't spend a single penny of marketing, if it's just a few bucks, millions of people will download the game because it's from Nintendo anyway. Also, their games are coming to both Android and iOS, it's not that difficult to develop for those two systems.

This isn't rocket science. Nintendo release some games on mobile; If they do well, good for them. If they don't, too bad and they'll probably forget about the mobile platform again.

Socar wrote:

Also, if Nintendo by some miracle does manage to do huge like how they usually do, guess what? Google and Apple would want to buy them still whether Nintendo doesn't want it or wants it. So really, I still don't understand why Nintendo can't make a phone.

Err.. I think you're making up stuff again. We get it, they're doomed, mobile is going to be the downfall of Nintendo. Enjoy your Nintendo games while you can, because it isn't going to last much longer

Octane

skywake

Socar wrote:

@skywake: I'm not talking about porting their games to smartphones. I'm talking about how they are gonna market their exclusive phone games because marketing phone games is a nightmare and its the hardest part of making any profit for the game industry. Some are lucky and some aren't.

Except you're not talking about marketing at all. You're talking about Nintendo making a piece of hardware for mobile games. Effectively you're suggesting that Nintendo should turn their next portable into a phone. A suggestion which I think misses the entire point. The reason mobile is attractive is not because of the hardware. It's because everyone has a phone or tablet and even TVs these days come with Android built in. Nintendo being on mobile isn't about replacing their other businesses. It's about existing on a hardware platform that everyone already has in their pocket in addition to their existing businesses.

Pretty much every major gaming publisher has some mobile content. Even the ones that don't have games have apps on there to support either their games or services. Microsoft, Sony, EA, Capcom, SEGA, Valve, Rockstar, Ubisoft, 2K, Activision etc, etc. The list goes on. Everyone but Nintendo. And now Nintendo has said they're going to dip their toes into that market. It's not the end of the world.

Edited on by skywake

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Socar

@Octane: Hmph. Shows how negative you guys are towards Nintendo's goal.

Well....guess there really isn't much to complain about here....might as well lock the thread.

After so long...I'm back. Don't ask why

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Shinion

@Socar: Well it only took two pages for the low-level troll to appear. All so predictable as far as that is concerned. I think it's obvious who that is. I agree thread should be locked especially as there is a more active one on a similar topic.

Shinion

gcunit

Octane wrote:

Nobody wants a Nintendo phone, let's get that idea out of your head. Nobody wants to use their handheld system as a phone

This isn't just directed at Octane, this question is for everyone interested in this topic, or the idea of portable gaming in general:

IF the 3DS had the ability to take a sim card and make and receive calls, would you see it as a positive or a negative feature of the hardware?

Me personally (and yes, I'm repeating myself from many months before), if a piece of hardware, designed primarily for portable gaming, but also had a decent camera and basic mobile phone capabilities, then I would want one more than one without. If the 3DS could do phone calls I'd have got one much earlier than I eventually did. Doesn't mean I wouldn't own a separate smartphone necessarily (but there's not actually many android apps I feel are 'must-have', and I'm sure Nintendo could replicate them), but it would mean I could forward calls from my smartphone to my portable gaming hardware when I wanted to travel light.

Nintendo don't need to make their own smartphone. But if they just put a sim card slot and an antenna in their next portable it would surely not add much to the cost.

Edited on by gcunit

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jump

MadAussieBloke wrote:

Region locked, no chat, charger sold separately, service providers jumping ship... A Miyamotorolla would be a terrible idea

Miyamotorolla is a great name.

Nicolai wrote:

Alright, I gotta stop getting into arguments with jump. Someone remind me next time.

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Octane

@gcunit: Sure, but I don't even want to think about how expensive that's going to be, and I don't think the extra sales will make up for the extra costs that went into making it a semi-portable gaming/phone device. They are two different devices for different purposes. You could make one in theory that does both, but it's going to be a lot more complicated to develop and more expensive to make. I just don't see how such system could be profitable.

Octane

Luna_110

@gcunit In this case, Nintendo wouldn't take that bet due to evidence that a cell phone/gaming Console hybrid did terrible in the market - the N-Gage. In business, one of the first steps is to search previous companies that tried to do those things and evaluate their experiences. I'm not saying that they could not do it right, but will they take that risk? From a business perspective, they won't, because the investment required to participate in the cell phone business for the big N is quite big - they don't have the know how, they don't have the technical expertise to code an entire phone OS (they would have to pay extra to Google for Android)
At the end, It is too big an investment for a risky market, where moat big players are being absorbed by big companies (Nokia by Microsoft, Motorola by Lenovo, BlackBerry is almost bankrupt) and the market is clearly dominated by two companies.

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gcunit

@Luna_110 @Octane: Admittedly, I know jack about what it takes to construct a basic mobile phone, but they are selling at Argos for £4.99, and that includes the battery, which is a cost already accounted for in a portable games device. I don't understand where your ideas that it would be expensive to do or risky come from. The basic electronics will be very cheap and the software required to operate it would be minimal. It wouldn't even have to be marketed as a phone in any way, just make it an 'Oh, and by the way...' feature. I think it cold really take off in the 5-15 year old market, as kids pestering their parents for a phone and handheld gaming device could instead pester their parents for this one solution.

Blackberry, Mototrola and Nokia do not have Mario, Pokemon, Animal Crossing, or Zelda on their phones, and don't market themselves towards children, principally as gaming/entertainment products. Kids don't dream of owning a Blackberry, but they do dream of owning a portable games device, and if it makes calls too then it's the dream ticket.

Whatever Nintendo's next portable will be, you can bet it will have a touchscreen, a camera, a microphone, quite possibly a GPS, a gyroscope, probably super-stable 3D, adding the essentials for telephony will probably be peanuts and affect the cost very little. The biggest challenge will be finding the space to integrate the sim card slot.

Edited on by gcunit

You guys had me at blood and semen.

What better way to celebrate than firing something out of the pipe?

Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

My Nintendo: gcunit | Nintendo Network ID: gcunit

Luna_110

@gcunit
If you are from the US, what is the main way to get a phone? Through the contracts plan with the providers. To get the phone in the market, Nintendo would have to invest in marketing and make deals, or it would be money lost and a flop.
Regarding basic electronics.... I don't know if you know what mobile phone that age group has nowadays - it is a smartphone, and Developing one is not cheap. Nintendo's technical expertise is geared towards making game Consoles - do they know how to engineer a phone that works well with different bands (not all countries work with the same band). Would they develop a high end phone or a Middle end phone? Can they compete with companies that can probably develop a similar phone for less, since they already have knowledge? The phone market share is already taken by Smasung and Apple, followed by many others. What would make a Nintendo phone different enough to sell and not be a flop?
It won't their IPs. There is a reason Nintendo is Developing games with Dena - the mobile users don't care about Mario, zelda, etc and the group that does, most likely already has a game Console. So what would make a Nintendo phone a good investment for the company? High investment and uncertainty (which translates to risk) are the worst combination for a conpany and its directors.
Kids are handed their parents old phones and teenagers want something with brand recognition to.fit in, there is a reason Why teens prefer Xbox and Ps4 to Wii U.
The one selling at Argod, I bet, are the really basic models that can barely send SMS. Sure, those are cheap, but will they don't sell well.

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Now playing: Okami HD, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

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skywake

gcunit wrote:

IF the 3DS had the ability to take a sim card and make and receive calls, would you see it as a positive or a negative feature of the hardware?

I'd personally buy the WiFi only SKU. I also don't think I would be the only one because for everything but mobile phones that tends to be the most popular SKU when people are given the option. More people buy the WiFi only iPad, so many brought the WiFi only Vita that they discontinued the other SKU.

I wouldn't say it was a negative if it did exist I would just wonder why they even bothered. It wouldn't hurt me as a consumer, it wouldn't dampen my interest as long as there was still the cheaper SKU without it. It would probably cost them money though.

Edited on by skywake

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"Don't stir the pot" is a nice way of saying "they're too dumb to reason with"

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