Topic: Nintendo shouldn't wait for E3, it needs another Switch Direct.

@Whitewatermoose To be fair, Apple, like any company, registers thousands of patents that likely never see the light of day all the time. And for me, it seems far too un Apple. It doesn't seem to fit in with where Apple are heading.

Then there's the software side of things, unless Apple has suddenly created a bunch of studios to create first party games, they are going to rely entirely on third party support. I am not sure who Apple would be looking to attract with such a device? The normal Apple consumers won't care and the people who play on consoles already are very likely to stick with Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo.

I don't believe a direct is coming this week, but neato if I'm wrong.

@GrailUK It's still coming, first half of 2018 IIRC, but no release date of course. But it's just another Ouya.

@Whitewatermoose Honestly, Nintendo is in the best place out of the three major companies when it comes to having games with manageable sizes. Worst case scenario for PS4 and Xbox games is retail only, it's Steam that's going to take the brunt of any size caps blow. Of course, my internet has always had a cap of 1TB per month (which is a much better solution than per site caps imo), but it's those per site caps that are going to make it difficult.

@Whitewatermoose You can still download 4K content next year. Just like you could in 2015, when net neutrality wasn't a thing either. Net neutrality is a whole other can of worms, there's pros and cons, but they want us to think it's our issue, it isn't. You and I won't hardly notice a difference. It's a tug of war between media companies and network providers.

I concur, I don't see a situation where this would take place for several reasons.

1. Nintendo was just named the richest company in Japan, with Sony of course coming in fourth. A company with Nintendo's current standing I would think would disregard any buyout offers.

2. I remember reading an article years ago stating Nintendo could survive 35 years or so of running deficit. Obviously that range has been increased due to the information above, but Nintendo appears to be very very far away from any financial scares.

3. We are talking about Apple branching out, but Nintendo is really doing the same. With their new movie and themepark sections coming out, they could really diversify their income assuming they work out.

@Nintendoforlife It's actually 40 years, and then some, if they use their IP and other assets, so they're more than likely to survive every other gaming company out there, let alone new parties giving it a go for whatever reason. Here's the original article:
https://www.gamesradar.com/nintendo-doomed-not-likely-just-ta...

Sony is in FAR more danger than Nintendo will ever be: just think that only 4 years ago, Sony's credit value was labeled "junk", which is about as bad as it gets, and although they're doing pretty good right now, thanks to PS4 and their insurance department, which is actually their biggest cash cow, they had to sell off their PC department, and seriously cut down on other departments, causing thousands of employees to lose their jobs, and giving Sony a very much needed cash injection of an extra 250 million.

With that, they were able to get things on track again, but not without considerable damage. Nintendo never suffered such losses, or had to take such measures, to survive. Even with the Virtual Boy they just lost investment, and more recently with the Wii U, they only had relatively low losses, mainly because of R&D not being recuperated and sales expectations having to be lowered twice, if I remember correctly.

All in all, Sony still runs the risk of going into bankruptcy much, much sooner than Nintendo. The latest estimates (numbers from around the beginning of last year) put Sony at 79% risk, and Nintendo only at 22%, which might now even be less because of the success of the Switch.

A big factor in that is that Nintendo is the only party that is a dedicated console and video game manufacturer, where as both Sony and Microsoft are multi-product/multi-service manufacturers, which means that Nintendo only has to focus on one thing AND has all of its budget available for that one thing, while the other two have several other departments and they all have to be kept running with the respective budgets of these two companies.

To paint a clearer picture, just imagine three armies, all more or less the same size:

One army only has to fight and win/succeed on one front, and the other two have to fight several simultaneous battles on different fronts, spreading their forces thin. Obviously, the armies having to spread their forces are the ones running the bigger risk.

Or if you don't like armies or war, just imagine a juggler, spinning either one plate on a stick, or several plates on several sticks, and trying to keep all of them spinning at the same time. Guess which one is easier...

These simple facts are the main reason that I always have to smile and shake my head in disbelief, every time some anonymous online idiot says things like "Nintendo is doomed" or "Nintendo should go third party", because neither one of those will happen any time soon, and they are SO far from the truth that it almost isn't even funny anymore.

But for now, it still makes me laugh at fools believing stuff like that.

For completeness' sake, I'll add that Nintendo IS of course branching out, but the main difference is that they aren't doing most of the work themselves there. The movie is made by someone else, their mobile games are largely made by other people, with only minor direction from Nintendo, and their upcoming theme park is also more a thing of lending out their IP, but it's not like they are doing all that stuff by themselves, which would necessitate them spreading themselves thin.

EDIT:
More recent numbers and financial overview for those interested...

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/11/nintendo_tops_toyo_k...

https://amigobulls.com/stocks/NTDOY/cash-flow/quarterly

@Whitewatermoose Just one thing about your Direct prediction - usually, when Nintendo announces directs, they do so about two days in advance (so on Tuesday if the direct is for Thursday). Although they could certainly change that pattern up.

@shadow-wolf Wasn't the 2017 Switch presentation the day before! Also, that mini Direct wasn't even announced lol.

@Whitewatermoose I made an edit to my previous comment to add current numbers and stats, if you're interested.

@Whitewatermoose

P.S.

Totally off-topic, but I like your taste in TV shows...

@GrailUK Which 2017 Switch presentation are you talking about? The big one in January was announced a few months before. And while the mini direct wasn't announced, there were so many rumors that they probably just decided to have some fun with it all by trolling.

@Whitewatermoose Since you're already watching a CW show and seem to like DC, I recommend you watch Flash, it's a great show

I'm interested to see what direction they take 3DS this time regarding the next Direct. After Detective Pikachu, I think there's only 3rd party localizations left regarding announced games? Is Nintendo abandoning the system or is there more 1st party support incoming like the rumoured Link's Awakening remake and Wario games?

@Whitewatermoose Also good shows, so apparently, your good taste hasn't changed...

I'm currently watching both old and new shows: iZombie, Salem, The Exorcist, Lethal Weapon, The Blacklist, The 100, Powers, Gone, NCIS, Hawaii Five-0 and Black Sails.

@shadow-wolf you might want to check out his profile before making any recommendations...

@Grumblevolcano I doubt Nintendo is outright abandoning the 3DS in terms of new releases but I do think it any new games will be all by outsourced developers, allowing Nintendo to focus on the Switch. That would make the most sense.

@ThanosReXXX You took the words right out of my mouth and then some. I guess the only thing that remains to be seen if where Nintendo plans to take Labo. Are they going to keep it a relatively small lineup, or this something they plan on expanding year by year.

When did this become the moose pretends to be NeoGAF thread?

Anyway, if there is a Direct, whatever. My prediction at any point between now and the heat death of the universe, there will be a Direct.

Now lets all rest our breasts and chill tf out.

If there is a Direct on Thursday, cool I guess. If there isn't, like the numerous Direct rumours thus far, then lol, the world keeps on turning.

Games will be announced when they are good and appropriate to be named. Nintendo isn't SquareEnix after all.

@Whitewatermoose Idk that's pretty dark. Flash season 2 was excellent too. I think they made plenty of mistakes but the show is still worth watching. It's good that it deviates from comic book material, cause otherwise it'd be too easy to predict.
@ThanosReXXX Good advice, but too late lol.

@NaviAndMii This is exactly what I was thinking. Though I disagree on your Xenoblade direct comment. I would not mind another game specific direct, so long as it was for a Switch GAME. Labo, is a toy(and that is fine but should be considered secondary) and mobile games are bottom barrel jokes but Xenoblade, though the genre doesn't appeal to everyone, is a REAL Top quality Switch release. Though I would prefer a more general Switch themed Direct, a Direct for a specific major Switch release would be just as good in my book.