@KomicZ

Not many Xbox gamers care if their games are 1st-party or 3rd-party (Halo is an exception, of course). Most people don't even pay attention to who developed or published the game, they just want to play something good.

The only time people care about 1st-party games is when it's Nintendo related. Microsoft could do a better job at broadening their 1st-party development if they truly want to compete with Sony and Nintendo on that level. Sony has dozens of exclusive studios around the world, and Nintendo does most of their development in-house.

Yes, Microsoft did work on the OS of the Dreamcast (on the front of the system, it says Powered by Windows CE), but no- Microsoft wanted to buy out Nintendo, but they refused and apparently a rep said "We're not for sale." Not sure if that's true, but yeah, MS did want Nintendo.

Yes and the Internet is the ideal place for reading all about what would have been confidencial meetings between businessfolks. But hey, if a REP said it!

Also, being "not for sale" once upon a time doesn't mean a company's going to be "not for sale" forever. If Apple wants Nintendo, Apple's going to buy Nintendo, and there's very little Nintendo can do if Apple offers dissatisfied shareholders a good number.

... What?

The first piece of sentence is screwy. Reread my post then get back to me.

Either way, don't see anyone aquiring Nintendo in a long time, so whatever. If it happens it happens. Plus, if Apple did try, I doubt it'd happen instantly or near immediate. Nintendo isn't really suffering that much. You can argue, "It doesn't matter if they are." but I don't think Apple would be the one to acquire Nintendo.

sighs. Let's spell it out real simple for you:

but no- Microsoft wanted to buy out Nintendo, but they refused and apparently a rep said "We're not for sale."

Take that with a massive grain of salt (and any reporting on the business side of the games industry. There's very few games 'journalists' qualified to report on that stuff).

but I don't think Apple would be the one to acquire Nintendo.

Well, we agree there. Apple's not the only company out there, though. Nintendo's position isn't going to get better. Makes it a good acquisition target.

Pretty moot point considering this was many years ago if it happened.

Yes, it was going to happen. I didn't get this from som journalist or fan- It came directly from the people at Microsoft in the ICONS chow on G4.

My only major concern about Apple acquiring Nintendo would be hardware- Would they charge much more than what Nintendo would offer. Would they do yearly revisions- sometimes affecting games in that say Gen one of the consoles can not play games made 3 years after release (or properly), as it's somewhat of an issue with some games on the iPhone and iTouch.

I say Nintendo won't be acquired any time soon because, for example, Sega. They were struggling and they're similar to Nintendo- well, maybe not a lot, but you know, some company could have easily acquired Sega.

I realize things have changed from then to now, but to assume Nintendo is going to be acquired is a bit farfetched. I'm no analyst, but I do apply some logic- whether it be true and not, whatever..

I don't even know what else to say and if I made sense.

But if Apple were to acquire Nintendo, I think it'd be good for both parties because they have some simalarities. There's this saying: "You get what you pay for." in regards to Apple products, and it's true. It's just damn, they're products are too expensive for my budget and it could make it hard for me to get games by Nintendo if such a thing were to happen. I'm lucky to even have a Mac Book Pro, my first Apple product and love it. Best computer I've had even though it has draw backs in terms of gaming- but thanks to Steam it's not too bad.

(Need to stop ranting.)

If Apple acquired Nintendo, then say goodbye to inexpensive consoles. A $1000 Nintendo console? No thanks.

And to all you people who say Nintendo is "struggling"... Nintendo has been in this position before. Remember the GameCube and N64? Nintendo just needs to stay confident and produce that one killer app that will make everyone want a 3DS. That price cut definitely helped ($169 is the perfect price for a 3DS, IMO), they just need to ramp up on game development (both retail and eShop).

And don't forget that Nintendo was on top of the sales charts for years and years with both the Wii and DS, they made tons of profit off those systems. The Wii might have slowed down, but all consoles do at this point in their lifecycle. The PS2 has been dead for years, yet Sony still manufactures new units and markets it as a budget console. I don't see anyone complaining about that. The DS is still selling at a brisk pace, and that may be what's holding Nintendo back. DS sales are cutting into sales of the 3DS. Nintendo just needs to focus solely on the 3DS from now on if they want sales to pick up.

I can't see Nintendo being acquired in general...soooo, whatever.

My only major concern about Apple acquiring Nintendo would be hardware- Would they charge much more than what Nintendo would offer.

I'm pretty sure Nintendo and Apple have enough smart cookies in their offices between them to work something out if it came to happen.

I say Nintendo won't be acquired any time soon because, for example, Sega. They were struggling and they're similar to Nintendo- well, maybe not a lot, but you know, some company could have easily acquired Sega.

Times change, and Nintendo is not the same as Sega. You can't assume the business environment now is the same as it was 10 years ago, or what happened to one company will happen to another.

And even if you do insist on the Nintendo/ Sega comparison, Sega was acquired.

I realize things have changed from then to now

Then you should also realise that you can't apply market conditions from then to today's environment.

but to assume Nintendo is going to be acquired is a bit farfetched.

No it's not. Nintendo is just a corporation. If it makes sense for another, bigger, corporation to acquire it for their own strategies, then they will.

I'm no analyst, but I do apply some logic

You're not analyst or business owner. You don't have any business qualifications. What logic, exactly, do you apply to this?

I could "apply logic" to open heart surgery, but that doesn't mean I'm going to do it right. It amazes me that people assume they can understand business without any training or experience.

But if Apple were to acquire Nintendo, I think it'd be good for both parties because they have some simalarities. There's this saying: "You get what you pay for." in regards to Apple products, and it's true. It's just damn, they're products are too expensive for my budget and it could make it hard for me to get games by Nintendo if such a thing were to happen. I'm lucky to even have a Mac Book Pro, my first Apple product and love it. Best computer I've had even though it has draw backs in terms of gaming- but thanks to Steam it's not too bad.

I don't think it'll be Apple that does the acquiring. It's not interested in gaming, for one thing, and for the other if it was interested in gaming, it's got the resources to come up with something better than Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft could do put together.

I believe that someone else will acquire Nintendo. I believe it will be someone like Panasonic, or as a curveball, Disney (which is an acquisition-happy company, and has a similar philosophy to Nintendo when it comes to entertainment).

Hey now, I never expected a simple joke to invoke such a heated reply! I'm genuinely sorry if my banter rubbed you the wrong way. Lesson learned eh? No joking with Snoozerbears.

Jokes aside, my opinion is that if Nintendo can make "last gen" hardware and "gimmicky" motion controls the best selling console of all-time (not including handhelds,) then I would at least give them a shot at the Wii U before declaring incompetency in the hardware-making business.

I'm not going to pretend I read your entire reply, but I do respect other opinions. I just have the habit of jumping at the chance for humorous banter. May I suggest learning a lesson from YellowChocobo? He may disagree, but he took the joke rather well in my opinion, even if it wasn't aimed toward him.

Oh look. Tendoboy's made another assumption without any basis for it.

And to all you people who say Nintendo is "struggling"... Nintendo has been in this position before. Remember the GameCube and N64? Nintendo just needs to stay confident and produce that one killer app that will make everyone want a 3DS.

Nintendo had the Game Boy and GBA to see it through those years. Now it's got old consoles no longer bringing in money, a new console in the horizon that no one believes in, and a 3DS console that is struggling, not least of which because Apple is ripping Nintendo's marketshare from it.

Yeah. This is exactly like it was 10 years ago.

And don't forget that Nintendo was on top of the sales charts for years and years with both the Wii and DS.

That is relevant now, how? Previous successes just mean future expectations are even higher in the business world. There's no such thing as sitting back on past successes.

The PS2 is practically dead now, yet I don't see anyone complaining about that.

What? Is anyone claiming that Sony can just sit back and be a successful company because of the PS2? Because if there is, they're rather stupid.

The DS is still selling at a brisk pace, and that may be what's holding them back. DS sales are cutting into sales of the 3DS. Nintendo just needs to focus solely on the 3DS from now on if they want sales to pick up.

Yeah. That's all it is. Nintendo just needs to pull DSes off the retail shelves and the 3DS will be a massive hit.

Apple isn't interested in gaming? Lol wut? Then why is the iOS platform the most popular digital gaming platform in the world? And Apple even promotes it as such.

What would Panasonic want with Nintendo? They've only manufactured discs for the GameCube and Wii, they'd have no reason to enter the console market. And Disney is content being a 3rd-party publisher (even they have been struggling in the games industry).

If anyone were to acquire Nintendo, it would be either Microsoft or Apple. Microsoft is trying to march into Nintendo's "kiddie friendly" territory with Kinect and Xbox Avatars, and if they could get their hands on Nintendo's most famous IP's then they'd have a much better shot at winning over the casual market.

Apple's design philosophies are very similar to Nintendo. I think they'd work well together, I've seen many comparisons between Nintendo's recent hardware and Apple products (Wii specifically). Iwata is also apparently a big fan of the iPhone (ironic, since the company is directly competing with Apple in that market).

I don't care what they do, I just hope they stay Nintendo!

Or is Nintedo's design philosophy very similar to Apples? http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/08/04/is-nintendo-stealing-f...

if Apple were to buy out Nintendo would that mean we get less costly apple products or most expensive Nintendo products, also im only up for it if nintendo makes there systems and just gets apple to fix were they go wrong, not have Apple use Nintendo for there own gain to the Big leagues

Yeah...maybe Apple would just help out hardware-wise and all that. Just don't mess with the handhelds, lol

Guys, you're not thinking ahead enough! What will happen after whatever happens after the not-yet-released Wii U?!

I take over Nintendo and everything becomes above awesome. lol

Apple isn't interested in gaming? Lol wut? Then why is the iOS platform the most popular digital gaming platform in the world? And Apple even promotes it as such.

Yeah, don't mistake "letting things happen and reaping the rewards," with "caring about gaming." The iOS is the most popular digital gaming platform because it's cheap to create games for it, and millions of people don't mind spending $1 for a game to play on the bus.

Apple promotes it because Apple is not a stupid company. If Apple cared that much about gaming, though, it would have bluetooth controllers and/ or gaming consoles on the market already. If you actually watch the ads, Apple's iPhone and iPad marketing is more along the lines of "it does everything," than "hey look! This is awesome for gaming!"

What would Panasonic want with Nintendo? They've only manufactured discs for the GameCube and Wii, they'd have no reason to enter the console market.

Because Panasonic has an option for every other electric and whitegoods product in the house, except for gaming. Given it would be too expensive to build a console business from scratch, the only way Panasonic is going to get a leg into that industry is through acquisition. Cue Nintendo (or possibly a smaller player, like OnLive).

And Disney is content being a 3rd-party publisher (even they have been struggling in the games industry).

Well crap, I didn't realise you sat on Disney's board and heard them say "hey we're happy just making games."

If anyone were to acquire Nintendo, it would be either Microsoft or Apple. Microsoft is trying to march into Nintendo's "kiddie friendly" territory with Kinect and Xbox Avatars, and if they could get their hands on Nintendo's most famous IP's then they'd have a much better shot at winning over the casual market.

Ridiculous logic. Microsoft is making its own investments in gaming, Nintendo's vision doesn't gel with Microsoft's current direction at all, considering Microsoft is all about cloud and cloud gaming, and Nintendo is hopelessly incompetent when it comes to online, let alone cloud.

Apple's design philosophies are very similar to Nintendo. I think they'd work well together, I've seen many comparisons between Nintendo's recent hardware and Apple products (Wii specifically). Iwata is also apparently a big fan of the iPhone (ironic, since the company is directly competing with Apple in that market).

Except Apple doesn't make big acquisitions. It would be a good match, yes, I agree, but that doesn't mean Apple will do it. Its business philosophy is to expand internally rather than through acquision. Nintendo would be a big acquisition. You know, the kind that Panasonic (Sanyo) and Disney (Marvel) make.

@YellowChocobo: With Steve Jobs gone, who's to say Apple's directions won't change slightly?