Industry veteran and Eidos life president Ian Livingstone has once again aired his opinion that Nintendo should develop games for other systems.
Speaking at the Bristol Games Hub — a non-profit organisation based in the South West of England — Livingstone warned that unless Nintendo embraced other platforms, it could risk losing a massive potential audience:
Nintendo should have their IP on every platform. Otherwise a whole generation of young people will miss out on their games.
It's not the first time such a suggestion has come from Livingstone's lips; in a recent interview with GamesTM magazine, he asked his close friend Peter Molyneux if he would put Mario on the iPad.
Nintendo's history has been tied to hardware for years, and the company's top brass insist that it will remain that way for the foreseeable future. But could going multi-platform result in larger sales for the firm? Is Nintendo missing out on a potential audience much larger than the one it current enjoys? Share your own opinion in the comments field below.
[source pocketgamer.biz]
Comments (179)
Ian, Ian , Ian.You just don't get it.....That's why people buy Nintendo consoles you Silly Billy. Nintendo would rather not follow the rest of the lemmings off the edge of the cliff.
That "whole generation of young people" should buy Nintendo consoles. I don't see the point of his statement.
ok, that's technically true, but he conveniently forgets that Nintendo doesn't want to help out the competition.
Um, no. Nintendo hardware is generally more affordable than the other two, and I think the industry would seriously flounder without their hardware. Who else dares step outside the box in terms of hardware?
Gee. Top hats asking Nintendo to put Mario and co on stuff like the Xbox and the iPad because everyone else is doing it. I haven't heard of that one before.
lol i never want to see mario on the other console
Just look at that guy's face. Even if I agreed with him I'd pretend not to.
Personally, I don't care. Most young kids now are out of control anyway because they have bad or uninterested parents. When I have kids they're going to play Nintendo and love it because that's what I grew up with, and their games are more fun that most else that's out there anyway.
Plus, a friend of my enemy is my enemy. AKA. he's friends with Molyneux and I don't care for him so therefore I don't care for either of them.
another one. Reason Everybody knows Nintendo create the best games available, but Publishers want people to buy Playstation and Xbox due to numerous reasons, non of which are actually to do with the WiiU's capabilities, truth be told, the actual reasons are easy to figure out if you look close enough at the various statements from some publishers, MS and Sony.
Eidos, EA and others GET OVER IT, Nintendo are going to be producing great games for MANY YEARS beyond Sony and Microsoft and keep releasing those games on innovative Nintendo Hardware.
Nintendo shouldn't ever release games on other platforms just to please Publishers who simply are too reliant on the back-handers they recieve from Microsoft and Sony.
Nintendo games would also lose a lot of things if it went to all platforms
They are making excellent games this way, so better stay like this
It's like he doesn't understand how businesses work. Good reason, but that would be entirely counter-productive.
Also what makes his opinion 'news' anymore than the hundreds of other people who also have just blindly stated this?
Like what's already been said, how does a generation miss out on the best game franchises like Mario and Zelda, because they aren't on a simple mobile device (like a phone)? Nintendo does still have the Wii U and 3DS on sale there man.
People can have fulfilling game lives without Mario, believe it or not.
Mario vs Kratos in All Stars Battle Royale. Make it happen.
My daughter loves and will continue to love Nintendo and I don't want crappy dumbed down gameplay for better graphics. That's what happened to Halo and Gears and now I'm not getting an Xbox one.
I do wonder if Mario would shift more copies on a sony or microsoft console than it can on its own consoles, it just might.
Why doesn't anyone insist Xbox or PS games on Wii U? Oh ya, because every console matches what the creator of the games wants it to do. Nintendo doesn't have Kinect, because they don't need it for their games, and Nintendo operates their business differently, which effects their console. Blind statements like this, prove how naive people are.
/ignore
"Otherwise a whole generation of young people will miss out on their games."
I know right, its like Nintendo doesn't have any consoles of there own to be able to play these great games.
Whats wrong with buying much more "child" apropriate nintendo konsoles to not miss out on nintendo games ?
And even IF nintendo should, for whatever reason, go multi: these children wont care anyways, since "yu cant kill da mudda wit a snipa gun ! Heddshodd mudda !!!" ... i hate todays children...
Which reminds me, happend to me a few minutes ago on the streets. Firstly, you should know that in germnan, you genderize nouns with different words (three types of "the" basicly, male, female and neutral)
A little boy shouts loudly: What a stupid son of a — (using the wrong pronoun in broken german)
His mother looks at him angrily and i expect her to scold him for his potty mouth, but instead she corrects his spelling error and calls him, roughly translated, a — (which is an insult over here, not used for, say, "hyperactivity, but to say that someone behaves like a mentally ill person)
Todays generation...the cure for has sadly not been found
Mind the language, please - Raylax
@Midnight3DS
Do you know how much of a failure PS Battle Royal was? It sold like half a million copies. Nintendo would never allow Smash Bros. to sell that poorly.
@SCAR392 as big a hit as SSB is, I really don't think nintendo can disallow it to sell poorly, not that I predict it will besides my understanding is namco is doing most of the work on that right now.
Nintendo has a wonderful knack for making a new console while affordable to consumers, still profitable despite the competition. So why would they kill such a great business model. Even the Wii U is a perfect example. Historically this is the first system that Nintendo has sold at at loss but the sale of a retail game of one game has them in the black. Unlike other companies that put so much in, they run at a operating loss for a number of years until either enough hardware is sold or gaining ground from software sales. Perhaps that's why both Microsoft and Sony want to curb used game sales. It's odd really but when you think about it all. Nintendo has been doing well financially for years. It's just the stigma that so called hardcore gamers would rather not have a Nintendo console for the fear of being caught with a casual gaming device in their hardcore gaming setup.
Nintendo will always have a system for their IP's regardless. As those games are the bread & butter of their income and selling a system too, why not?
How is this News this is like just click bait and hate wars in the comments.
Awesome! That way people wouldn't buy Nintendo's consoles, brilliant! Oh, wait...
So all the young people in the new generation who are enjoying 3DS and Wii U don't count?
@Reala
Smash Bros. happened first, too, so that definitely plays a part in which game people take more seriously. PS Battle Royal is a decent game, but Smash Bros. overall is a better game, and has more respectable characters that people are willing to play as.
I don't get it, why does no one ever suggest PS or Xbox games on Nintendo systems? Hypocrits.
@SCAR392
Keeping seriousness and numbers out of it, make it happen!
Business doesn't work like that.
And thats the guy who killed deux ex by making it a ios game.
I don't understand this sentiment. Why is it that everybody wants Nintendo to put their exclusive games on every other platform, but nobody wants Sony and Microsoft to go multiplatform. Where's the logic here? Tell ya what, when Halo and Infamous are on WiiU, I'll go ahead and accept that Mario should be on the XBOXUno and PS4.
@MrWalkieTalkie
I was thinking that, too. There more Nintendo systems out there then any other gaming machine. Nintendo has a bigger audience from their own consoles, than they could ever get elsewhere.
People suggesting Nintendo games on other platforms, have no idea how stupid they sound. If they did have any idea how stupid they sound, they wouldn't say such things.
I think Microsoft should share Banjo Kazooie on other consoles....that way a whole generation of gamers who don't want to buy an all-in-one betamax built around social media, won't lose out on a great IP.
Or maybe the young people could just buy Nintendo's consoles in the first place. Seriously, comments like this are pretty dumb if you ask me.
This is nuts. The same could be said for any of the exclusive franchises. Should Uncharted & Halo be on all consoles too so a generation doesn't miss out? If you want to play an exclusive game then buy the system it's available on. Nut up & move on!!
For a second I thought he meant that every IP should make an appearance on every Nintendo system, and I rushed here to enthusiastically agree. But just another dummy making a stupid statement. (Why does this guy think that literally an entire generation of young people is not buying Nintendo systems?)
This guy is forgetting that video games is a business and not a charity. It's one thing to say Nintendo would make more by selling games on other consoles instead of making their own consoles, but to say they should do it so others don't miss out on their games and say nothing about Nintendo stopping making their own consoles is ludicrous.
@SCAR392 PS All Stars: Battle Royale is a completely different game to SSB. There isn't much similar about them. Thats like saying apples won't sell well in Japan because Oranges didn't do very well there.
I'm guessing here, but it could be from his perspective, and others of like mind, that Nintendo machines are perceived as 3rd party duds. Therefore, the reason why it's often suggested they be the ones to jump to other platforms. Nintendo's unique factor is dismissed.
What IF Nintendo made a SEPERATE NEW IP and put that out for the other systems...
Nothing Mario, Zelda, Metroid.... something completely new that would run on everything.
If it doesn't sell well on the other systems, than no loss, cause it WILL sell on Nintendo's!!!
@Jaz007
Smash Bros. and PS All Stars are most definitely similar. The controls are the same, they both have their gauge power, they have the system's IPs all fighting in one game, item use for a fighter on a 2D scroll. The only thing different from PS Battle and Smash Bros, is that you NEED the super power to get KOs, and you can't fly off screen.
Otherwise they are completely the same. I was even able to beat PS Battle Royal players pretty easily, because the controls were literally the same. The only differences are stages, characters, items, and rules. The gameplay is exactly the same, minus regular move K/Os, and weirder jump animations.
All these people who come out with this drivel are paid slaves of Apple, MS and Sony. They want Nintendo to first fall out of the hardware business to water down the quality of their games and then the software won't matter so much and crappy annualised franchises will look all the better for not having as much decent competition. Most of the people saying that "Nintendo should share their IP" have already refused to put their games on Nintendo consoles despite being more than happy to give them to Sony and MS.
They never mention the fact that MS and Sony, both latecomers to the gaming console party, bought as many good studios as they could so they could get the best exclusives and prevent their rivals from having their games. Are Livingston and Molyneux acknowledging that despite the many acquisitions of Sony and MS, Sony and MS games don't touch Nintendo's? If that's the case, why are they not telling people to avoid Sony and MS consoles?
I think Sony should have to share Gran Turismo, Team Ico and allow the whole PSone back catalogue to be put on the Wii U VC. MS should share their online infrastructure and Pizza apps
"Nintendo should have their IP on every platform. Otherwise a whole generation of young people will miss out on their games."
If these young people want the games buy a Nintendo platform. If you don't it's your loss for missing them! Nintendo had games on other platforms like Atari 2600, Intellivision and Colecovision when they started out. Then they brought out the Famicom/NES. Since then they've not been on anything but their own. Why on earth would this change now? It's not like Nintendo is in trouble or anything of the sort. These idiots need to accept this and buy a Nintendo system instead of wishing, praying and saying stupid things like this. If that's the case Microsoft should put Halo on other platforms and Banjo Kazooie on the Wii U. Sony could put out Little Big Planet on MS and Nintendo too.
What is the chance of any of that happening? About the same as Mario on anything but Nintendo I's say.
How about... NO. Nintendo developing for Microsoft/Sony? I'd go slap Reggie in the face if they even thought to do that. Nintendo makes the best consoles with the best games!
Or they could just... you know , get a Nintendo system. Rocket science right?
If Nintendo was to ever take this advice and act on it, I think that would ruin the whole Nintendo thing for me.
So you can't buy a Nintendo console that is cheaper than the other consoles....
Sucks that young people are not buying the 3ds so much in the US. I think the device and OS are very elegant for playing games. I want the better mobile games to come to 3ds I more fully enjoy games on that platform then ipad.
@ZenMasterGabe
Right, it's a ridiculous statement.
if that's the case, Sony and microsoft should do the same, as well as everyone one else who holds exclusive content, like Apple, Android, etc
Cetain TV providers like SKY have their own exclusive programmes, no one moans about them.
Personally I think Nintendo's crackpot goofy systems is what actually makes their games. They came up with problems like how to control a game with a Wiimote, the DS screen and WiiU Pad, and then think up inventive ways to apply it to Mario, Zelda and the rest. This is what keeps Nintendo franchises fresh.
I think a better question to be asked is "Why do we both need the Playstation AND the Xbox?" The both do the same thing. The choice is like that between Ocean Grey and Military Grey.
I'll accept this line of thought when Kratos and Marcus Fenix show up on iPad. Every system has its library of exclusives, and that only changes if the company stops producing hardware.
@SCAR392 Your saying they are really similar because they are in the same genre. SSB has a normal move set and a spcial move set. All stars have the 3 move sets that play differently than the two SSB move sets do. SSB does not have a power gauge, it has a damage gauge. All Stars has a power gauge you fill up to do a special move to try to hit and therefore KO your opponent. This means that your character never changes their reaction due to the amount of damage you have taken like in SSB. This changes the flow of the game completly and feels very different to SSB. I guess Mortal Kombat is a clone of Street fighter according to your logic. All Stars also isn't as good as SSB. The similarities are because they are in the same genre and in the same sub catagory of that genre. The character bring together don't make the gameplay similar either.
I think some people are getting confused here. The guy is referring to iOS devices (mainly), as it seems today's children are mesmerized by iPad's and iPod touch's. I really do not like playing games (especially a Mario game) on a touch screen only device.
I agree with others, why does it alwaya have to be Nintendo that people recommend put their IP on other devices, the same equally applies to M$ and Sony. I wish people would just stop beating up on Nintendo all the time, the critisism isn't justified and it's unneccessary.
Oooh can't wait for the Xbox Two game, Call Of Duty Zombies, Luigi's Mansion map!
Why can't developers leave Nintendo alone. If Xbox or Playstation owners wanted to play good games, they would buy a Nintendo console.
@Shanksta I'm an older gamer with two daughters and they love Nintendo games.
A while back I was in line behind this Dad buying Far Cry 3 for what appeared to be his 8 year old son. I wanted to tell them to look at the rating but I decided that they wouldn't care. Sad.
Go back to playing Angry Birds ._.
So Ian is just another angry fanboy that wants "Nintendo to fail"...he's just found a way to dance around the crass language. I mean, come on, if someone wants to play a MS or Sony game, they have to buy their consoles, but for Nintendo that's completely out of realistic reasoning.
... And, and ,and Apple should allow osx to be installed on a pc so you don't have to ever buy a mac. ( >.<)
@SCAR392 The games aren't similar (btw only All-Stars has the gauge system).
Due to you having to finish someone off with a gauge move, and not knock them off the stage, the tactics and style of play have to be done differently by the player. It's pretty easy to see the differences is style of play. While the mechanics and combat may be similar, the play styles are very different.
In Brawl, you want to find the best way to knock off your opponents and do some damage to them. You don't have to worry to much about being damaged since you can still win even with getting hit a lot by climbing back on the platform and dodging.
In All-Stars, you have to focus on filling your gauge, while trying to slow down your enemy from filling up theirs. I'm not an All-Stars expert, but since you were using yourself as an example, I'd like to point out it was hard for me to get a hang of it.
if nintendo ip ever graced other platforms , itll raise the bar on quality so damn high nobody would ever buy any of the other crap ever put out by anyone else, drop pokemon on iOS and nobody would ever think of playing the endless imitators released on that platform ever again.
it might be a good way to kill the competition, but itll never happen.
Look, Livingstone isn't a fanboy, he's saying this because he wants more people to play Nintendo's amazing games, not because he thinks Nintendo is crap.
He may understand why they're exclusive, and he may not. But it seems he thinks that not enough people play on Nintendo devices.
Ultimately it's hardly Nintendo's fault if people are missing out on their games. There's only so much they can do.
They can't just throw their games at every platform just because some people might miss out. Those people should get a Nintendo console if they're so desperate not to miss out.
Why Nintendo? don't the same rules apply for Microsoft & Sony they should be the one's making games for Nintendo.
As a responsible father i bought a nintendo system for my living room console gaming. That way all the family can play the good games nintendo makes. And there is no other crap surrounding it. No TV options movie rental stuff and all that. Just gaming on jong childeren proof games. And in the mean time i can play whith them, if i play a kids game on a MS or Sony platform most of the times it suchs for the "mature" gamer. On a nintendo platform the games keep fun to play.
And no that's not posible on other platforms becouse the fist bumping bro hugging anti gay voilence that is there...
but that's just my opinion, nintendo needs to stay on there own hardware. Eidos must shut up.
Most fans of nintendo platforms even don't care they are missing out on the multiplatform crap (wich alway's sucks on a nintendo platform allways...)
so if you buy a nintendo you buy nintendo games. Or games published by nintendo so they can keep the standard verry high. The only 3rd platy games i buy are the indygames on the eShop...
Because apparently Nintendo is totally not geared towards the youthful market? His argument is bubkiss because Nintendo is already occupying the market which he says they need to be in. Should Nintendo go multiplate? Not right now. Come back in 7-10 years, we'll see then.
Of course he would think that, but see, that's why consoles have exclusive titles. If not for Pokemon, Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Star Fox, etc., why would anyone want to buy a NIntendo console? This mindset is because of the xbox imo. Because more people are buying the Xbox in America right now people think every game should be for the Xbox and when a game is exclusive to PS or Nintendo they get upset and wonder why. Is this because Xbox has barely any exclusives? I don't know, but I know that mindset has been around for a while. People can't seem to understand that exclusive IPs is what companies offer consumers who purchase their products.
@ZenMasterGabe You are right!!!!
@Kaine_Morrison Na, lets just keep Nintendo's awesome IP's on Nintendo only, lol. If people want to play them, then buy a Nintendo console. It's as simple as that. People seem to have forgotten about buying a console for the games. I hate seeing people who bought the xbox complain every time a PS exclusive game is announced/released because they want it to. If you want to play those games so bad, get a PS and not an Xbox. Same applies any way you look at it with Nintendo, Xbox, and PS
@Heatbombastic
My point was that PS Battle Royal is alot weaker of a game than Smash Bros. I meant Final Smashes vs. the guage power(when I said both have guage power, I meant the special move). PS Battle Royal is not as open with options as Smash Bros. I understand the differences between the 2, and it's pretty easy to tell that PS Battle Royal is not as good of a game.
More characters, more content, better stages, actual KOs without super powers, the Final Smashes still happen, more items, different music for stages are in Smash Bros Brawl. The gameplay(based on rules) and basically everything is better in Smash Bros. Just remember that we're comparing a 2008 game to a 2012 game, and Smash Bros, still wins. Just wait until the next entry... PS All-Stars is literally a joke in comparison, IMO.
PS Battle Royal took key features from Smash Bros., and completely ruined them. Also, yes, I was able to beat the PS Battle players pretty much immediately, because the gameplay is basically the same as Smash Bros. Brawl. the rules are the different aspect between the 2.
That game isn't worth $40-60, when you can buy Brawl for cheaper which is a better game anyway.
There are less rules for you to abide by while playing Smash Bros. There's no way for mistakes to happen in PS Battle Royal. No self destructs, no messing up in any way. Making mistakes and having more fighting options is part of a fighting game.
I picked Nintendos as my main consoles and this way I only miss one or two good games that are exclusives to other platforms.
I can only imagine the ammount of goodness I'd be missing if I had picked PS360 as my main machine. I would be damned!
It must be sad to live a life guessing when Nintendo will fail again and again or what it should do to succeed in the market... and never seeing none of that happening! SAD ACTS
Perhaps he means having alternative games featuring Nintendo's IPs on other hardware, playing to the strengths of that hardware. Just dont mention the CDI
games...
Weird to think that Ian Livingstone is in the video games industry, like many children who were growing up in the 80s in the UK, I'll always associate him with the Fighting Fantasy book series, I almost prefered those books to video games at the time!
Cool. While we're at it, Sony can port LittleBigPlanet over to the 3DS and Microsoft can bring Halo to the Wii U.
Put demos on iOS and android. This way, more people will be exposed to the games. If they want more, buy Nintendo systems.
Eidos, huh... How about putting Tomb raider on WiiU VC, then we'll talk.
@SCAR392 C'mon Scar, PS All Stars was still a good game. No it's not as good as Melee or Brawl, but it's still a good game. SuperBots (game creator) even said that Smash Bros was heavily influenced in the game because they respect it.
The day Nintendo becomes a third party publisher is the day I hang my controller up for good. I would rather live with the memories of my favorite games than to pervert them by catering to someone else's consoles. Someone else's ideas. I wouldn't expect playstation or xbox exclusive games on Nintendo, so why would Nintendo do that for them. For Nintendo, it's not about just money... Its about good quality games.
Nintendo's too good to be put on another platform; people will buy a Nintendo platform solely to play Nintendo games. Don't speak as if you can control every consumer's habits.
@Rafie
Ya, I said it was a decent game. However, in comparison, it's not worth playing or buying PS Battle, when Smash Bros. is better AND costs less.
PS Battle can't even compare to Smash Bros. Melee(you said it yourself) on GCN. Why would I play a 2012 game, that isn't even as good of a game I played back in 2002?
ahahahahaha
nintendo games will always be exclusives.. and that's good
all these xbox, etc. gamers.. flaming nintendo and calling their games "childish", they would be all over them
unfortunately for them.. you'll never have access to these games and I LOVE IT
<3
I can't believe how biased this is.
"Otherwise a whole generation of young people will miss out on their games."
That's their fault.
Or, y'know, no.
No thank you. Nintendo going third party in any form is bad. If their consoles lose exclusivity to their first party titles, then their consoles will lose a great amount of sales and they will eventually have to go completely third party and then we (the fans) will find ourselves in the same sh*tty situation as Sega fans where Nintendo may not bring all their games to all consoles and there will be exclusivity deals and whatnot; it'll just be a big mess.
Keep Nintendo games on Nintendo consoles.
So by his logic, Sony & MS should also release their games on every platform too eh?!
Comments like this really annoy me. After all it is Nintendo that are worth about $12 billion and have survived over 100 years as a company. That is a lot more than Eidos or Livingstone have ever achieved so why should they listen to him?
Answer: They shouldn't
@SCAR392 I guess people would play PS Battle All Stars if they have never played Smash Bros. That way they can see where the fun factor from PS Battle All Stars originated from. Yes Melee trumps ALL! Still I find All Stars fun. That's all I'm saying. Not debating or arguing. What I do like about All Stars is the changing stages while fighting. I hope Smash Bros utilizes that feature. It's really awesome.
The people whom I know that do not own Nintendo consoles are not interested in Nintendo IPs (kids and adults), so if Nintendo went third party I know these individuals will not want their games. Nintendo knows that their games will sell quite well on their own consoles because their console consists of a user base that is interested in their games, if they stopped making consoles then their base would become fragmented (some would go to Playstation, some to Xbox, some to PC,etc), hence they would have to spend a lot of money porting games to all platforms on the market while competing with other big name third-parties and first-parties and having no control over the platform (Nintendo builds their hardware to make their games unique, they would certainly have little control over hardware if they went third party). Also, former video game hardware makers that went software only do not exactly have a good track record of success; just look at Sega, Atari, and SNK. Neither of these guys are relevant today as they were when they were making hardware and software together, and all of them have had (or are having) financial troubles today. Lastly, many of the kids I see in my neighbourhood have a 3DS and they also have their Smart devices; thus, I am not really worried about the younger generation missing out on Nintendo's IPs due to the rise of Smart platforms.
Frankly, I think that Nintendo should just continue expanding its studios to fill the gap created by unreliable third parties and they should make their devices a bit more multifunctional so it reaches more markets (the primary focus should of course alway be gaming, but I guess I would not mind seeing a Nintendo made Smart Video Game device). Nintendo has lots of valuable IPs and the capacity to create new IPs and studios that will fill in the gap created by defecting third-party studios.
What I am worried about is Nintendo shareholders potentially falling for idiotic statements created by these individuals and wanting a management change that makes Nintendo software only. I remember in the mid to late 1990s when Apple was being pressured to sell its hardware department with some shareholders pressuring their former management to make that change, imagine what a mistake that would have been if it happened. Furthermore, it was Sega's premature change in management that took it out of the hardware business.
Just like every other platform out there with exclusive content, if you want Nintendo games, just buy a Nintendo console?
Yes, they should release every game on every console.. and then dumb it down so that it has no good features, just the worst. Super Smash Bros would only have like six characters, Graphics would be worse, and of course online would be disable.
Tell those young people missing out that they should get a job and buy a Nintendo system then. And if they're too young to get one, then they should save their allowance and pennies.
@C7_ You fully understand the situation, have called out this idiot, and won the internets all at the same time. Bravo. Bra-vo.
@sonicfan1373 You are an intelligent dude.
It wouldn't be a problem if Nintendo got 100% revenue of the sales and required a Nintendo ID (tied to a Nintendo console) to play the game
NO Just NO So what some Yong ppl will missout? thats ther loss and falt for thinking Nintendo is "crap" or "Imatre" id be happer with less yong ppl tbh.
Worked for SNK...
Pointless opinions that affect nothing news-wise at all and don't even make any sense! Yeah!
Seems to me that Nintendo is perfectly happy making consoles despite what their detractors want them to do. There's something to be said about the culture that Nintendo has created for itself over the life of its company, and I admire how they tend to stick to their guns and do things, essentially, their own way. I don't know how much of that is based in Japanese culture or just the personalities of those running the company over the years, but it does set them apart in terms of hardware and software. I hope they never change.
Look at History, Atari and Sega, both withdrew from the console manufacturing side of the buisness and took thier ips multiplatform.
Both Sega and Atari multiplatform games have never been to the standard they used to be when they were exclusive to thier branded console.
Sega are doing OK(ish), but have refocused on releasing less retail games and more towards refreshing games from thier past, when they were in the thier prime and releasing digitaly. (yes I know there's 3 Nintendo exclusives but thats hopefully going to turn into a good sega-ninty long term partnership) Atari meanwhile If i'm honest I don't know if they are still about? I think I've seen aeen a coup,e of Atari branded iOs games on iTunes but thats about it.
Nintendo need to keep thier games on thier systems to maintain quality. Nintendo are not afraid to delay games untill they are happy with them. Bug ridden 1st party games are non-excistant compared to other platforms 1st party games, and game quality outshines anything on other systems. If Nintendo were to go multiplatforn they would be restricted to restricting thier game development to fit the release windows for the other platforms, Nintendo would be concentrating on several versions, at the same time rather than concentrating solely on one version, increasing the chances of missed bugs/glitches and Nintendo game quality would suffer massively.
By going Multiplatform Nintendo would stop releasing hardware, and then there would be no-one to innovate the industry which is something Nintendo have always been doing ever since they patented the Cross-pad on the NES controller.
The Gaming industry and gamers alike Need Nintendo to make hardware and create games for that hardware, without them doing that all that will happen is in 20yrs time people will be playing hyper realistic looking versions CoD, Halo.
Ian, you're telling a first party company to turn into a 3rd party developer... Tell me that sentence makes sense.
Statements like these are a testament to the quality of nintendo's ips. You rarely hear anyone calling for sony's or micro's ips to be released on competing devices. Sony's financial situation is worse off then nintendos. Tho i could be wrong since i havent fact checked in a few months.
@cbkummer without Nintendo, PS3 would not have Vita, Move, or analog joysticks and wireless controllers. Microsoft would not have Kinect, or analog joystics and wireless controllers. Arguably, without Nintendo there would be no Playstation console since Nintendo originally had the Sony develop for them and their rejection of Sony's platform led to it being developed into PS 1. People love to bash Nintendo AND copy blatantly (as in the case of Sony) or enhance their ideas to use for themselves. But yeah, let's bash, mock and try to get Nintendo to stop innovating so we can all be sheep together. *sarcasm for free
these guys act like the Wii didn't sell or the DS didn't sell. WTF? the 3DS is 85% of the of the current gen handheld market (non phone). the Wii U will get there soon enough with the Xbox surely failing.
people are always so quick to write off Nintendo and yet it's still here.
That is just no. I feel that if Nintendo released it on other platforms, it wouldn't feel as special as it does now. plus, they are giving in to their competitors and that can not happen.
The Nintendo IP's are what people buy Nintendo consoles for, so why give them away? :somuchlogic:
@SCAR392 We already know you hate everything that Sony ever has/ever will produce and that in your mind it will always be inferior to what Nintendo come up with next, so stop ranting! >:[
When you wanna play Halo, you buy an XBox.
When you wanna play God of War, you buy a PlayStation.
When you wanna play The Legend of Zelda, you buy a Nintendo system.
Nintendo would only shoot itself in the foot if it released its IP's on competitors' systems.
I would say something here, except allav866 here just said it for me
Seriously though, Ninty is dead if it releases it's IPs on other systems.
No sir, but thx for the flowers, Nintendo sais.
"Nintendo should have their IP on every platform. Otherwise a whole generation of young people will miss out on their games."
Who cares? If young people want to play the games they can get Nintendo consoles (which are usually much less expensive). This would be a terrible business decision for Nintendo, and would greatly harm Wii U sales. Not gonna happen!
@shuis Some proof for the statement PS3 would not have Vita without Nintendo. Sony might have had analog sticks without Nintendo. Sony were also he first to go dual analog too, a know instead of the GameCube analogs sticks which weren't nearly as good for most Games. Move was working before Wii even revealed too.
http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2010/09/witness_playstation_moves_origins_on_playstation_2 And where did you get the idea they wouldn't have wireless controls. Everybody was gonna do that regardless of Nintendo's existence. Not everything is a copy of Nintendo you know, some if those claims were rediculous.
I prefer my Nintendo IP's to remain on Nintendo consoles, thank you very much. If those young people want to play Nintendo games so much, have them actually get those Nintendo platforms. Everyone knows those are the best anyway~
Well Mr. Livingstone? What about your IP? What about TombRaider and all the rest of the Eidos IP? Why aren't they appearing on Nintendo consoles as well as xbox and playstation? Don't you want the same for your IP?
Please don't call me a noob for saying this, but what is an IP?
LOL. The dude wish he was Nintendo.
Dude needs to find his missing screw.
@3DGamr
IP stands for intellectual property. Video games franchises, innovations, and inventions are considered intellectual property.
I'd rather play Sony software on my Nintendo console. Closest I'll ever get to something like that is Twin Snakes on the Gamecube, though.
@Blaze
My A/V receiver and unused bluray player/media center(PS3) are both Sony.
I don't know how many times I'm going to have to say this, but I like Sony. I only don't like the gaming part of Sony.
um, it would be weird playing Mario on a XBox.
And it goes on...and on...and on... I am really through with the Western "gaming structure" and these sick corporate executives who push everything into one, single direction.
Pffft ! Hope he/they don't hold their breath until it happens. I'm amazed at how arrogant these people are.
this who article just says " hey look at me im smart and i have the best idea ever" the big idiot knows nothing which is laughable
instead of making that opinion why not support the company or hey guess what? help advertise you big smart <.< that way the "young" ppl actually play the games instead of hugging those COD games
facepalm That's why people buy Nintendo consoles!!! Xbox isn't selling their IPs on Nintendo consoles, and neither is Sony. People buy Nintendo consoles for the stellar Nintendo IPs. If Nintendo sells their games on other platforms, who's gonna buy the Nintendo consoles? This guy is obviously a "Wii U d00m and gl00m" person, it's easily implied by the statement he said.
Pretty much everyones comments here reflect my own. If you want Mario, buy a Nintendo console. And the younger generation playing Sony or Xbox who DONT ALREADY HAVE a Nintendo console could care less about Nintendo IP cuz you cant kill Yoshi and hang his head on the wall! Bottom line is that the people who want to play Nintendo IP have absolutely no problem buying Nintendo hardware. In fact they PREFER it! 1,000,000 owners of Luigis Mansion 2 in a couple months tells us this.
I love how all of these industry nobodies (Moleneaux has taken a nose dive the last several games hes released) are trying to tell Nintendo how to run heir business. Its like Tim Tebow telling Peyton Manning he needs to work on his pass accuracy. Frikkin idiots.
@DrRandle
Thank you, I agree completely.
Analysts should be pushing for that if they're going to be targeting Nintendo with such statements.
Gosh, do these people not understand? Nintendo is never going to let any of their IP's propagate any other console. It simply would not work for them. People buy Nintendo consoles for Nintendo games (as a main incentive, surely they also expect other titles). Nintendo can make their IP's shine brightest in Nintendo-only hardware.
I love the backhanded compliment there "Hurr hurr to bad no one will play awesome Nintendo games since no one buys Nintendo hardware"
Get real.
He might have a point - New Super Mario Bros U ported to new Xbox and PS could generate some new fans who will have to buy a Wii U for all the great Mario exclusives.
@Ralizah set your Wii U tv remote as a Sony one and control the PS3 with it.
After the Phillips mess, I cant see Nintendo doing it again.
@shuis Well said, sir. Well said.
I think it's a good idea but It'd have to be an exclusive deal, and what would that do to sales of Nintendo's consoles?
Maybe Nintendo knows what it's doing by having exclusive franchises. Especially since PS and MS gaming libraries are about 95% the same games. While Nintendo's has a lot more exclusives.
Nintendo's games would be restricted by whatever constraints Sony and Microsoft impose on 3rd parties. I'm sure they could create masterpieces but they may not feel like Nintendo anymore, kinda like the way SEGA just hasn't felt like SEGA after the Dreamcast.
Younger gamers love the Nintendo DS and 3DS. Whats the problem?
Lets not forget that pokemon made the jump to mobiles. Not a game but pokedex pro and the anime are available as apps. I could see nintendo doing more with mobile gaming with flipnote.
Well Nintendo is sticking with family friendly games it sounds cool putting in a Ipad but that would lower sales of the 3DS
The issue is much more complex than most make it out to be. There is some truth to what was said, although the consequences of such an action could result in a very high price. If Nintendo were to put games on another platform, it would certainly need to be one of the original franchises of the 8-16 bit era. Anything more would be giving away too much exclusivity. And the only feasible platform to go with would be mobile, Android and Apple, otherwise they play into their DIRECT competition. A move to put Super Mario 3, for instance, on the appstore, IF DONE CORRECTLY could theoretically lead to increasing awareness and therefore potential demand, although it also could give the impression that you don't need a Nintendo console to play Nintendo games, which in turn could prove to be detrimental. However, I think if Nintendo tied DEMO advertising videos of current gen games to SMB3 on the appstore, they could draw in huge numbers to the 3DS/Wii U and it would only cost them one game, over 20 years old, to accomplish it. All I'm saying is, the notion shouldn't be automatically dismissed.
@Jaz007 I found your article a great read and interesting. Here's the issue though. While Sony may have had a patent and R & D on the move idea before the release of the Wii not only does it not account for Nintendo's own R & D gestation on the Wii, they did not have the stones to ever release it until after millions, no wait tens of millions of Wii's were sold and Sony found out that the idea sold well (though Sony mocked and downplayed the Wii controls). As for Sony owing Vita to Nintendo, here is an article for you http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/03/a-brief-history-of-handheld-video-games/. Pretty much every handheld console that hit the market post Gameboy came as an effort to compete with Gameboy. Had Gameboy, GBA, and especially the DS family and now 3DS not been so successful and dominated the market you can bet Sony would again not have braved the marked with the Vita. And while it is true that Sony came out with the first Dual analog joystick controller, it came after Nintendo debuted the first true digital/analog joystick on N64. Again wireless technology for controllers today owe the from Nintendo infrared controller technology that dates back to the light gun zapper used to play Duck Hunt on the NES. Even if some these were "in R & D" by Sony, Nintendo has been bold enough to take to the uncharted water first, thus they are the innovators.
Nintendo be a sell out? Hell no, they have always walked their own path and thats what makes Nintendo so great, if you think about it other companies have to adopt Nintendo Ideas just to try and compete, motion controls, second screen integration and these are just some of the recent ideas they have tried to copy paste
@ArkOne77 banjo was on the Nintendo 64 first..the makers left Microsoft and are making a game for the wii u.they even hinted it might be the true banjo 3.not the nuts and bolts xbox wanted
@shuis Vita was made because PSP was successful, nothing to do with DS, Sony would have had no reason to care if DS crashed and burned, in fact, that would have just meant less competition. The dualshock 3 uses Bluetooth and not infrared technology too so Nintendo doesn't deserve anything there.
If Nintendo put their better games on other consoles nobody would buy the other companies games hence causing another 3rd party uproar about how Nintendo should make their own console again for those games
LOL! That's really all I have to say.
Oh and @shuis , I love that someone mentioned Nintendo coming up with the first true digit analog stick for a gamepad. Very fun fact to throw into the fray.
Uhm, no.
Besides, if Nintendo were EVER to do that, the other console makers will have to be required to create every single peripheral or control option that Nintendo wants and requires. These controllers MUST be made to Nintendo's exact specifications and must be mass produced on a massive scale so that ANYONE would be able to buy those controllers to be able to play Nintendo's game. Also, console hardware must also be made to Nintendo's exact specifications. Basically the other companies will be required to be Nintendo's *****.
Wow...I seem to be blowing off steam for some reason here....
It's always funny when people think like this.
i'm surprised how many ppl are missing the subtext of his point (or maybe I shouldn't be surprised...?). Wii U isn't succeeding that well. Heavy speculation is Nintendo will have to go the 3rd-party route in order to survive. He's simply implying a re-emphasis on that. He's basically saying "this next console generation will be dominated by PS4/Xbone. If Nintendo doesn't make 3rd-party games, then for the next 10 years, the great majority of new gamers won't play their IPs."
Unless Nintendo gets in a new console in the next few years, he'll probably be right. If Wii U is to compete w/ PS4/Xbone in this console generation, expected to last a decade, Wii U simply won't be played in as many households as previous Nintendo consoles. Therefore, restricting the amount of new gamers who experience Mario, DK, Metroid, etc.
So basically this guy wants Nintendo to go the way of Sega and Atari (both are American companies) by becoming third party and making games on other platforms. Sorry old dude but Nintendo is a Japanese company and the way Japanese do business, they don't tend to give up as easily which is why the recent past few gens only Japanese consoles remain number one in the industry.
Nintendo should pick one IP and release one game every gen on every platform just to show the non believers what they're missing. It would probably be one of the best reviewed/received games for those systems too, then Ninty reap the rewards of enticing even more people over their consoles.
he is talking outta his donkey again
Actually, he's raising a really good point here, that I had never considered before, and I find it kind of sad, that people here just react with the usual "how can he?! Mario belongs on Nintendo platforms!"
Many people might never grow up with a Nintendo console, instead choosing one of the competitors. Thus, they'll never grow a bond to al lthe Nintendo IPs nearly as deep as us people here. And I'd say that reeling in grown up gamers that never had a Nintendo platform as a kid is a difficult feat for Nintendo. More so than for other companies.
He doesnt get it. Its not just about the games, its about trying new things with hardware, and by that I mean having the guts to actually make the Wii with motion controls as standard, or the Wii U with game pad as standard. If you get rid of Nintendo hardware it just not the same. I sort of understand where he is coming from but he will regret his comments in 10 years when Sony and Microsoft consoles force you to link with your facebook account or something stupid along those lines. Its clear the "industry" doesnt like Nintendo to which I say Piss off to all the industry analysts and companies like EA, I just want to play video games.
The hardware business has been very lucrative for Nintendo, and making their IP's multiplatform would spell the death of Nintendo as a console maker. He does have a point though. A lot of young kids today are ignorant of Mario and Nintendo's mascot's/franchises, because there's far more competition in the hardware space than 20 years ago....even 10 years ago. Kids want tablets/ i-pads and i-phones/smartphones and do their gaming there. Wii U??? not as much...well yet. I'm not sure that Nintendo resonates with young kids of 2013 the same way as it did in 1991 or 2001 even...
The hardware sales also function to provide resources to put back into software development. So if you take the profits from hardware out of the equation, is it likely that Nintendo the publisher/developer will be able to bankroll multiple AAA standard games every year if it switched to 3rd party??
Make great games that make interesting (and not gimmicky) use of the gamepad, then market the console properly... and fortunes will probably improve markedly for Nintendo in the home console sphere.
Wii sold 100 million systems, DS sold 150 million. Where are the gamers who are missing out?
With the Wii having GCN compatibility, the DS Lite having GBA compatibility, 3DS and Wii/WiiU having virtual console downloads... How on earth will this generation miss out on Nintendo's past releases? It seems like Nintendo are the ONLY one who care about past releases, seeing as Xbox One isn't going to be compatible with 360 games for whatever reason.
@cheesesteak7 there is NO speculation Nintendo need to go 3rd party to survive.
Nintendo are in a much better position rhan Sony and Xbox division, financially.
But Nintendo consoles have retrocompatibility like EarthboundBenjy said.(comment #159)
If you miss out on Nintendo games even with being a generation behind you just don't care.
If, let's say it so the guy will be happy with a response, Nintendo makes games for everyconsole, what's the point of having the consoles?
It's stupid, why i didn't see even a statement like this when Microsoft announced that esxclusive titles on Xbox One won't port even on PC?
Because if you buy a console you want to feel like that's a console witch without i could not enjoy my favorite games, so i have to get it in order to have that. And that's okay when talking about Microsoft or Sony, i didn't see people go ape because Playstation All-Stars Battle Royal was only on Sony consoles.
I never saw people go ape because Forza Motorsport was only on Xbox 360.
Why everybody wants Nintendo to close their console market?
Don't they realize that they make games only because they have their own console? Did they ever think that Nintendo without a console will just stop making games?
Do these people know that Nintendo changed market many times since 1889? Do these people know how much money Nintendo has?
Why they think that Nintendo started only when Donkey Kong was released onto the Arcade market in 1981?
They made money since a very long time, they know how to do it, they can check literally more than 100 years of financial reports.
The 3DS turn out well despite all people said, Wii was a boom and the Wii U has an whole Nintendo Direct planned with 3 BIG exclusives releasing this summer (a game & watch reboot is big for me) and another 12 exclusive already announced that need a launch data. (considering a least 4 of them will release in autumn)
If Wii U is doomed, PSVita should be retired from market and Sony should stop making handhelds, so come on.
The game will be out and they will be 15 exclusives, and they are real. If Xbox One number of exclusives are real, witch i doubt because nobody is gonna count Kinect games, Nintendo has to pull out at least the same number of exclusives of that. But developed since a while and with a release span more expanded so i doesn't feel like you are gonna get a rushed product.
Wii U does not have multiplatforms, so what? It's since the N64 that Nintendo doesn't almost give a fuss about multiplatform games, you know why? Because you don't buy a console for a game that could be on another console that maybe costs 100 or 150$/€ less, you buy it for exclusives, so if there are's multiplatform games well ok but it's the less fundamental thing when talking about consoles.
What i want: a gaming only console, with features at most releated to it, with exclusives and variety of genre.
What i don't want: a multimedia device that has all multiplatform games and the company that developed the console doesn't even make games for it.
You can't just make a pc in a box and make salivate developers so they will make a game and then expose it to you, asking you to publish it. How are you supposed to prove that the console is good if you don't even make a fuss about experimenting something new with it, gaming wise?
i think it's fair to say that Nintendo software sales would increase greatly if they did this. However, it would have serious consequences for Nintendo as a hardware manufacturer; as soon as exclusivity to these IPs is lost then the main reason for buying a Nintendo console will be gone for many people.
I hope Nintendo continues to manufacture hardware and as long as they do it would seem to make sense to keep these games exclusive, just like Sony and MS do with their IPs.
So I suppose Mario and Pokemon are unkown to most of the public.
Ian is the spokesperson for "How to kill the brand". Who is Ian anyways?
@Dogpigfish The same arrogant moron who wants to see his mediocre games in cinemas, praising mediocre movie-adaptations.
Here's a list of the most despicable people in the "business" imo (it's nothing more than that according to them anyway): Ian Livingstone, Peter Moore, John Riccitiello, Bobby Kotick, Peter Molyneux and Phil Harrison. Anybody notice the common denominator?
If Nintendo released their IP's on other systems, it would effectively kill their console/handheld business... What he really is saying is he thinks Nintendo should go third party.
3rd party publishers have to be risk adverse. So the only titles Nintendo would release in a scenario like this is the big sellers. No more niche titles like Fire Emblem, Metroid, Xenoblade... Nintendo currently sells their big hits so they can do the niche titles they enjoy doing. Their niche titles don't bring in much money, its more a labor of love on these titles. They LOVE making these niche titles. And without being a platform holder they wouldn't be able to spread the risk around that it takes to absorb some of these niche titles that dont sell quite well....
Also the quality of Nintendo software would drop dramatically. As a third party, their profit margins would be greatly reduced, so they would need to pump out as many titles as they can every year and release them before they are ready. That means no more holding back games until they are perfect. They will be like EA and Ubisoft where they push out the titles out as fast as possible, and patch them later...
Also another negative effect would be franchise fatigue. Nintendo would be forced to release a new Mario Kart, Mario, Donkey Kong and Kirby title every year and thats it, which would cause LOTS of people to stop buying as much because they are sick of it.. wanna talk about rehashing games? It would be infinitely more rehashed if Nintendo were only a 3rd party publisher.
Anyone who suggest Nintendo needs to put their IP's on other systems or drop out of the hardware business are completely and utterly naive and clueless... Should NIntendo really take advice from EIDOS? A company hemorrhaging money faster than EA.
@Midnight3DS So Nintendo should kill off their Smash franchise? Because that would be the net effect of it.
OR, they could buy one of the various Nintendo consoles available to play there amazing games Honestly, what the h*** is peoples problem lately, keep trying to say Nintendo should go third party, that would make them LESS money and would be a very very stupid move. I could maybe see a version of Virtual Console available on App Stores, but Nintendo won't go third party.
I feel as though if Nintendo DID leave the console business, there will quickly be another Video game crash, just like in 1983, and the quality of video games would go down dramaticly. Great graphics doesn't equal fun, great gameplay does.
Ian Livingstone is a legend! my first foray into gaming was ' The Warlock of Firetop Mountain' which I loved! He also was a co founder of Games Workshop - warhammer etc etc.
Th eproblem here is that idiots buy ishovelware ( even if they don't play it for more than 5 minutes cos it's naff) and this generates a huge amount of income for companies - if there is money in makiing poop - why make quality? - Because there is a market for quality that's why. I buy quality software and never touch ishovelware but it is ishovelware that is common (notice I didn't say popular) beause it's cheap and heavily marketed..
Nintendo better be on "life support" before that happens. "Every platform... the nerve..." (Chuckles)
@SCAR392 Ok, stop ranting about how much you hate Playstation then! >:3
@SCAR392
our PS3 gets a lot of gaming usage. the indie games themselves are worth it: Journey, Knytt, Papa & Yo, Flower, Sound Shapes to name just a few.
you don't like their gaming. i detest Xboxes. it all comes down to personal taste. but you do come across as having a vendetta against sony.
IMO if they could make more money from going 3rd Party shareholders would have made that decision by now... SO that means Nintendo its in a fine spot going First Party
That's like saying "Hey, these 12" monster truck tires are awesome on my truck you should put these on your hatchbck or bicycles too!" I hope this guys business acumen is NOT shared by the industry, otherwise, they're in real trouble already.
I know everyone's all gloom and doom right now, but is it worth bringing this up again? We go through this every time a new console comes out. You'd think it be accepted that Nintendo never does post launch transitions well and pick up later. And no, having a cultural phenomenon fall on your lap is not the same as doing it right.
Err... what?
@sonicfan1373 Ok, thanks!
@mikeyman64 touche on the controller. You cannot have both. That is what I get for responding late at night.
@Jaz007 Okay, Vita does flow from some PSP sales. But the origins into the handheld market were after they saw Nintendo's success with it. As well, the wireless controllers are blue tooth now, but again the origins are infrared. Read this article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WaveBird_Wireless_Controller and you can see that there were infrared controllers designed between the Famicom and NES. You bring up many good points though, that this has always been a competition between companies. I am sure it is probably unlikely but I would really like to see Sony and Nintendo work out their differences and combine again to bring the best in hardware, software and designs for both.
nintendo cant even bring its own games on its new console,what chance is there of them releasing there games on xb1 or ps4 none i say none lol.
@shuis Nintendo may have done wireless first, but I'm struggling to see how they affected the development of other wireless controllers.
It would be intresting to see Sony and Nintnedo partner up. I would love to see Naughty Dog and Shigeru Miyamoto work on something together. I have no idea what it would be, but it would be the unquestionable GOTY and claim almost all of the GOTY awards from critics.
That's just like saying Sony should release their games on all consoles otherwise a whole generation of young people will be missing out. That's absolute bullploppings! Sony games (I'm thinking of The Last Of Us in particular) are going to stay on a Sony console and will not be released to any non-Sony platform. Nintendo games are being released on a Nintendo console and will not be released to any non-Nintendo platform. It's just that simple and to indicate otherwise is ludicrous.
The only people who miss out on Nintendo games are those who don't purchase Nintendo consoles. 'Generations' of people have nothing to do with it.
If Nintendo released its games on other platforms, that would take away from Nintendo selling consoles and handhelds. I buy Nintendo consoles for Nintendo games, and if it weren't for its first party titles, Nintendo probably would have went out of business a long time ago.
"Nintendo Should Have Their IP On Every Platform"
NO, THEY SHOULD NOT!!!
This guy has utter sh*t on his brain or WHAT?!?
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