Greetings ladies and gentlemen. (If this topic has been done before, then I couldn't find it.)

Today, I will ask a question that (most of) us would rather not ask ourselves. What would you do if Nintendo didn't succeed with the Wii U and 3DS, which as a result, causes them to drop out of manufacturing gaming systems and become a third party developer like Sega did?

Now before anyone tells me that such a thing is as impossible as Capcom reviving Mega Man Legends 3, you need to realize that this is entirely possible.

To begin with, the Wii U has some shocking similarities between the Dreamcast, which was Sega's last home console. Let me list them. It was the first home console to launch of it's generation, and in the Dreamcast's case, it lead to it's undoing. Both consoles also have screens on the controller (although very different screens). Astounding similarities (even though they're only two), mind you. But regardless of the Wii U's similarities between the Dreamcast, that doesn't mean the Wii U will fail. It's more than possible it could though, but nobody will know until that happens.

But let's look at the worst case scenario for just a minute, shall we? Let's suppose the Wii U launches, but it bombs in sales dramatically. Nintendo tries to do everything they can to make the Wii U successful; but in the end, nothing seems to make their new home console succeed. This also begins to affect the 3DS, as third parties begin to see Nintendo as a rapidly sinking ship, causing the 3DS to lose it's third party support while third parties move over to the Vita. With Nintendo in deep financial trouble, they have two choices. Either they can go completely bankrupt, or they can cease making hardware and become a third party developer.

Back in the days of the Genesis, if you told a Sega gamer that not only will Sega become a third party, but they will also be developing games on Nintendo platforms AND even star with that evil plumber Mario in several games, you would have been mocked beyond belief. Of course, we all know what happened. Sega is now a third party developer, and has been developing some cr*ppy Sonic games up until recently. Nintendo can go down that very same route. After all, anything is possible in the world of gaming.

So what would you do if Nintendo dropped out of making hardware and started developing games for other platforms? Personally, I see this as a major blessing in disguise. Think about it. Nintendo wouldn't have to worry about juggling making hardware AND developing games. They could concentrate on developing only games and making them better for us. Imagine an open world 3D Mario game on the Vita like Grand Theft Auto (except for the guns of course), or a Zelda game for the PS3 that was more mature and like Skyrim (since Skyrim is a totally better game), or a Metroid and Halo crossover on the 360. The possibilities are endless. Nintendo could make countless games for the Kinect, since Kinect is a million times better than what Wii MotionPlus ever was. Nintendo could embrace the world of iPhones and make million of apps that will bring in the cash faster than the entire Just Dance franchise has ever done in it's history. We could even see Nintendo embrace the world of PC gaming and possibly see a Pikmin and Diablo crossover!

In fact, Nintendo would do better financially as a third party rather as a first party. Why? Because as a third party, Nintendo wouldn't be restricted to their own platforms to develop games. They can develop games on any platform they desired, and attract gamers who haven't (and never will) own a Nintendo platform in their life. For the first time, they can experience something besides Call of Duty and play Nintendo's games for the first time. Casual gamers now mainly game on iPhones and iPods, so Nintendo could attract casual gamers like never before if they become a third party. Games like Touch Fit, Touch Sports, Touch Music, and Touch Tingle could be potentially massive money printing games for years to come if they become a reality on Apple's devices.

I could go on and on for months about how much better off Nintendo would be as a third party, but I'll stop here. Now before I'm accused of being a Nintendo hater, I want to point out that I've been a Nintendo gamer since I was old enough to crawl. Even though I now consider Sony to be a much better company than Nintendo, they still hold a special place in the bottom of my heart. Remember times can change, and companies can change. It's possible that Nintendo won't last forever. But as long as Nintendo can develop games and we can kick kittens, I think that the world will always be a happy place.

So my friends, what would you do if Nintendo couldn't develop hardware anymore? Personally, as long as they were able to develop awesome games, then I would be ecstatic. I just wish that their last handheld was the Virtual Boy Advance and not the 3DS.

Remember to play nice and keep the discussion mature!

So grab a cup of tea and just relax!

Wouldn't really matter to me as long as the games are still fun.

Wouldn't mind as its going to happen eventually.

I agree with @turtlelink. It dosen't really matter if they drop out of the manufacturing buisness as long as the games are still good

And if Nintendo settle thier differences and merge with Sony, all the better. A Legend Of Zelda game made by Miyamoto and David Cage? Maybe it's just me, but we NEED that

dont be silly.. Nintendo has enough money in the bank to survive several generations of non-sellers. Going third-party would cut their earning potential by a huge amount and makes no economic sense at all.

One World One Console. We're headed towards better days...

You brought up many good points. But Zelda being mature? Could care less about "maturity". I rather the series keep it's charm and sometimes quirky characters. We'll have to wait and see how WiU does. From what I see, there's lots of support from companies I never thought would praising about WiiU. If Nintendo does become a 3rd party publisher, I'd be disappointed because then there won't be a PURE gaming company manufacturing video games. I was upset when Sega dropped out. Also, I trust Nintendo's products when it comes to durability. I sure hope, in this parallel dimension of Nintendo developing games for other platforms, that Microsoft and Sony (especially the former) make absolutely sure there's nothing like the RROD.

Next up, cell phones. Not going to be bothered if Nintendo makes games for phones. Sorry. My life is more important than playing video games on a phone and drain the battery. I'll be getting a Vita and hope Nintendo would focus on that. Don't get me started how fragmented and corrupt Android phones are.. It's a train wreck. Then the lame manufacturers making 10 different versions of the same phones, as well as pushing phones out the door without proper QA testing. And how about them ridiculous data prices? Nope. Not interested, even though I do have a smartphone myself.. Albeit, prepaid with Virgin Mobile- $35 a month works well for me..

But that's my small take.. I just fear Microsoft buying out Nintendo and tainting their image like they did Rare :/

Going to do the how is rare's image has been tainted but thats a losing battle.

As long as they keep amking handhelds I. Good.

I guess I'd just have to bite the bullet and buy another crappy PlayStation--no wait! We'd still have Xbox, so no worries.

A GTA style Mario game? That might be okay but a Skyrim style Zelda and a Metroid and Halo crossover sound like horrible ideas to me. There hasn't been a single WRPG that I've liked the look of and that includes Skyrim. Zelda would lose all its charm if there was a Skyrim style Zelda game and I hat Halo so I wouldn't want to see it have a crossover with Metroid.

Anyway, if this did happen I'd go with a PS3 and PSV over a 360 but tbh, I'd be still have loads to play if I just kept the consoles I already have as there are still so many GBA, GC, DS, Wii, Wii, VC, Wiiware and DSiware games I need to get and the amount of 3DS, 3DS VC and 3DSware games I'd like to get is steadily increasing and I have quite a few unfinished games too. Also, it would just seem wrong to see the likes of Mario and Link on a Sony console and even more so on a Microsoft console but I'm sure it would've seemed wrong for a Sega fan to see the Sonic on a Nintendo console when Sega turned third party so I'd probably get used to it eventually if it did happen.

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Stamp Brothers left. Their IPs are in the basement. Kinect only games. Lots of people left... The list goes on.

Don't get me started

I'd die and NEVER buy a game again, I'd focus all my time on playing the games they made as a first party, and collect toys from the first party era, and the spend time with my GirlFriend (currently waiting in progress)

Dreamcast didn't have Reggie. Nintendo does.

I hope they do become third party.

I disagree with OP in the following areas:
The similarities between Wii U and Dreamcast,
The likelihood of Nintendo either declaring bankruptcy or becoming a third party developer soon,
I don't think a GTA style Mario game would work. GTA is awesome and everything but I don't know how it would work,
That Sony is better than Nintendo, I personally think the opposite.

As for what I would do if they became third party I would get a gaming pc and use that. However I promised myself I would never buy another home console again so it wouldn't change my view on anything.

As for handheld consoles I'd probably just get whatever handheld console has the best games.

But what happens if Nintendo releases an awesome game only on a PS3 or Vita? Just because Nintendo might become a third party developer, doesn't mean they'll make all of their future games available on every non-Nintendo platform.

Going to do the how is rare's image has been tainted but thats a losing battle.

Rare's image isn't tainted. Instead, they were basically destroyed by Microsoft. They are a mere shadow of their former selves.

I'm seriously considering buying a next generation Playstation or XBox when the time comes alongside the WiiU. Then only thing stopping me from committing to this is whispers of DRM locked, no-tradesies systems for the two upcoming consoles.

If I was forced to buy either a Xbox or a Playstation for my home gaming needs, and such a system was in place, I wouldn't have a problem with it at all. I'd relish the opportunity to play great games without having to dedicate myself to a single console. I'd probably adapt pretty well.

On the other hand, Nintendo have so much autonomy, being in the hardware business, it's hard to predict how it would affect their games.

I would still play new Nintendo games, preferrably on a Sony console. However, I can't for the life of me imagine a "mature" Mario or Zelda. If you want to talk about sucking out the charm, that would do the trick. That would be like Microsoft taking over Rare and bending them to their will.

I wouldn't bother with Nintendo phone games. They would never be as immersive and packed as the handheld titles. And I would be doing a heck of a lot more retro Nintendo gaming from 3DS on back.

But all of this is just for fun, I guess. Nintendo has enough money stuck in the bank to where if they kept losing sales, they wouldn't run out until the latter part of this century. That's a lot of money. I'm well aware that nothing lasts forever, but predicting the launch of the Wii U as the time when Nintendo is most likely to downgrade is like predicting that the world will end this December.

People never imagined a mature Sonic game would happen, but it did.

a Zelda game for the PS3 that was more mature and like Skyrim (since Skyrim is a totally better game)

No.
I'll never understand why people want Zelda to be like X game, I mean do they even like Zelda? Why would they want Zelda to become a completely different game?