Following the recent investor briefing given by Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima, the company has now published official transcripts of its investor Q & A in which Nintendo's senior management was quizzed on key issues. Compared to some past iterations it's a rather short, non-committal set of answers, but there are still some nuggets of information.
For starters it's been confirmed that despite Miitomo being free-to-play it'll likely have some microtransactions through in-app items such as clothing, though it's not 100% confirmed. Kimishima-san said the following:
Miitomo is a free-to-start type application which can be downloaded free of charge. Regarding monetization, we are considering to distribute paid content such as clothes for Mii, etc. For the smart device applications that we will be releasing after Miitomo, we are considering monetization methods optimal for each application, including charging a fixed amount at point of purchase.
Shinya Takahashi and Shigeru Miyamoto were also on hand, and tackled a question about how Nintendo would make its mark in the crowded iOS and Android markets. Direct interactions between smart device games and dedicated systems like Wii U, 3DS and NX seem to be on the cards.
Takahashi: Other than this first application called Miitomo, we are planning other applications that will work with Nintendo's dedicated video game systems. For our applications that will be enjoyed only on smart devices, we are creating ideas so that even those smart device users who do not usually play with applications can enjoy them.
Miyamoto: Just as you mentioned, the situation of the smart device application market is that an enormous amount of titles exist and there are several established styles that are popular with users.
If we can expand to smart devices what we have been challenging ourselves with on Nintendo's dedicated game systems by taking advantage of the unique characteristics of smart devices, we believe that Nintendo will be able to create a new style of games and spread them all around the world.
By asking DeNA to support us in as many of the operational aspects as possible, Nintendo would like to focus on "creating new things."
While it is important for us to earn profits from our smart device business alone, our primary objective is to encourage smart device users to be interested in and to play with our dedicated video game systems, and we are focused on this goal.
Kimishima-san went on to highlight that smart device games will bring valuable revenue, but that the dedicated gaming market is still Nintendo's core business.
While we have not changed our policy of wanting to grow our smart device business into one of the pillars for revenue, the dedicated video game system business remains to be the core of Nintendo's business, and we do not expect our smart device business to immediately constitute half of our revenue.
It remains to be seen how well Miitomo will perform for Nintendo, but the smart device arena is going to be an intriguing area for the company in 2016 and beyond.
Let us know what you think of these comments from Nintendo's senior management - are you optimistic about the company's move into smart device apps?
[source nintendo.co.jp]
Comments 43
If poeple still don't believe there is money to be made in the mobile market they should read this, about Activision purchasing King - makers of Candy Crush - for $5.9 Billion w/ a B dollars. King makes $1.2 billion per year.
http://kotaku.com/activision-buys-candy-crush-makers-for-5-9-billion-1740204224
We'll see...
I have one problem with buying outfit for Miis. Im not going to buy outfits for every single game that gets released. On the Wii they wanted to integrate Miis in everything and they should have done the same with their outfits. You unlocked a Mii outfit in MK8 great, unlocked a hat in street pass for the 3DS great, bought a premium outfit for SSB for either 3ds or Wii U thats nice too.
There are too many games that have Miis. If they really want to monitize it then make it a cross plateform wardrobe.
@Yorumi "And they they realized no you can't sell anything, you have to create a fad or you're nothing."
Sounds like Nintendo w/ Wii more than anything else. And there is nothing w/ Wii U. No advertising, no games, no price cut, just silence.
And while there are more losers than winners on mobile by far - same can be said for most businesses really, dot.com bubble burst, restaurants, anything - my point was there is lots of money to be made on mobile with free to play games. some people think it's all just free to play so a waste of time for Ntinedo, but there is money to be made. Not with Miitomo, but actual games. Not Nitneod Land either, nobody knows what that is. It may take Mario to make money. And I'm ok w that. Not Galaxy, or Paper, but Dr. Mario or Minis on the March. Mario has about 300,000 games, only the 2D and 3D games really count, but he is in many many more. Paper, RPG, sports. Has he ever done pinball? Everybody does pinball, Kirby, Sonic, everybody.
Nintendo can make money making lame DeNA games w/o putting actual good games on mobile. But they do need to put their well known characters on mobile to make that money. And they will.
@rjejr
https://www.nintendolife.com/games/gba/super_mario_ball
And I thought I couldn't be less interested in Miitomo. Oh well, hopefully some people will enjoy this...
@Yorumi "The ones who make big money do so by downright sadistic exploitation of people with serious problems who need help, not a dealer."
Sounds like you hate the industry, I can appreciate that, not a big fan of deceit myself. And I think a large chunk of money used to come from kids who didn't know any better, not just from people with serious problems. Fortunately there seems to be less exploitation of children now.
But here's the reality of the future.
Do you ever see a point where poeple abandon smartphones for dumbphones? I can't. For something else that plays games, like watches or Google glasses maybe, but games will be a part of that.
Now, can you imagine $400 home consoles giving way to smart tvs and streaming boxes that play "mobile" games but not full blown consoles games? It's already happening Japan.
It's not so much a matter of choice for Ninteod, it's a mater of survival. Maybe not this gen or next gen, but the one after that. Sony may be able to keep the PS train going w/ Destiny, COD, Madden and FIFA - the world will always have teenage boys in their parents basements when it's too cold or late to go outside, but Ninteod doesn't have any of those 4 games. All Nintedo games can exist, and will exist, on portables, maybe as soon as NX next year. But once people figure out how to get physical controls on a phone its over. That stupid Steambox control may be the first step. Buttons adn joysticks w/ buttons or sticks.
@Setrodox Thanks. I should have known. So that means Mario has 300,001 games. Probably at least half that could work on mobile, even w/o buttons.
@Yorumi The big thing for Nintendo is spreading awareness of their IP. Even if they aren't making a ton of money off of mobile games, spreading awareness of their IP will do a lot for Nintendo. As laid out by the investors briefing presentation, promoting the Nintendo brand and Nintendo IP is the main goal (other than profit) for the company for the foreseeable future.
Right now the only Nintendo IP that're relevant in general are Pokemon, Smash Bros, Mario, and Splatoon. That's it. Zelda, Kirby, Star Fox, Metroid, etc are all irrelevant IP right now. Animal Crossing is floating somewhere in between. That's not even accounting for their completely dormant IP like F-Zero, Advance Wars, Wave Race, Golden Sun, WarioWare, etc.
Point is they need to actually use their IP, and mobile games/apps are one of the avenues in which to do that.
I think Nintendo is playing it smart with Miitomo. Worst case scenario, it creates a bit more awareness of Miis / Nintendo products, and serves as a mobile linchpin for the new Club Nintendo. Best case scenario, the outfits become a fad amongst fans and non-fans alike and they end up raking it in, a bit like amiibo but without production costs. Here's a thought, will they restrict supply of the outfits?
Let us see how the other apps/games develop; Nintendo is keeping its cards close to its chest on the rest. But making it clear that they are not about to turn into the next Konami.
Their future is in dedicated machines... for now.
@Yorumi Most likely because they've written the Wii U off and they wanted to return to profitability to calm down the shareholders.
The advertising definitely needs work though.
@Yorumi "as I said game companies like SE have tried it and came crawling back to consoles."
Too bad they didn't come crawling back to Wii U it would sell better. They do a lot of nice things on 3DS though - Bravely default, FF Explorers. Squenix likes to make money.
PS5 will exist. PS6 will exist. Not sure if NX2 will exist. Nintendo may have no choice but to go 3rd party, and that means mobile or Sony home consoles. Inevitable.
If Nintendo just moves to mobile, that is really bad news for console gaming in general. Then Sony and Microsoft would have to move to mobile as well.
I agree with Miyamoto-San here, simply doing something ordinary on the phone isn't mind blowing. The Miitomo is more of an experiment than it is of a chance.
@BinaryFragger Your comment kind of supports Sony and Microsoft going third party as well to be honest. No reason Uncharted or Halo wouldn't play well on the other system. Perhaps it's time to eliminate exclusives all together.
@Yorumi Wii U and, to a far lesser extent the 3DS, are most likely stopgap platforms. Seems pretty obvious.
@Yorumi "the nx will be their last home console"
Well if it even is a Home console. If its both portable and Home they could keep going that route for a while longer maybe. Though in that case just make 4DS w/ TV out and be done w/ it. Should be able to make a portable w/ TV out resolution. Vita I think could manage 720p if need be and that's a few years old tech now. W/ Nintendo's game catalog, as you and @BinaryFragger point out, a 4DS w/ TV out could really take off. Though it needs a new name, not Wii that's portable or 3DS that's also home, something new.
@IceClimbers "Sony and Microsoft going third party as well"
Well except Sony has sold 30 mil PS4 in 2 years and Nintendo has sold 10 mil Wii U in 3. So there's that. And I believe Micorsofts shareholders have been moaning and groaning about MS getting out of the videogame business entirely. So they would just go no party, not 3rd party. Well no party on consoles, they could still make PC Win 10 games. And they own Minecracrft. And they could make games on Steambox, which is more PC than console. I think.
Sony is a tech company, they can keep going on hardware, Ntinedo makes games. And amiibo.
Negativism, Negativism everywhere...
Yeah, we all know the current situation of Nintendo, a situation that on both sides, has been very disappointing, but why think the worst, and better wait some positive; I expected a lot, and do not feel bad (not arrived a new F-Zero, for example), but, oh well; if you want to "do something" for Nintendo, for that exist the feedback on their services (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc, etc.)
ah, if want know some negative, ok: If you believe that Sony is in a great economic situation, think 2 times, despite selling too PS4, Games have less "sales" than consoles, and at this point, the games are more expensive than the consoles, so they can sell many PS4, but if the games do NOT, well ...
@BinaryFragger I completely agree.
The sad part is that Nintendo could rule the world if they wanted to. But no, they seemed much more content destroying almost every opportunity that comes their way.
This may sound bleak, but within the next decade I see Nintendo creating only mobile titles & toys.
@rjejr That's assuming Sony can stick around long enough. Besides, what I was saying is that Sony and Microsoft should go 3rd party in the sense that their own games are multiplatform. People aren't buying the PS4 for exclusives. They're buying it for multiplats. They can still produce hardware, but all games are multiplatform. People like the games, not the hardware. Well, besides those that like to participate in d***-measuring contests called "console wars".
@Yorumi It's not just the mobile industry either, it's the entire Free to play industry. One of my longtime friends has some of that addictive behavior. He used to play a F2P MMORPG, ArcheAge. He eventually quit because it requires you to either have no life and play all day, or pay real money to pay in game taxes on property. He ended up spending almost $1000 (real money) on just maintaining his property, not even accomplishing anything. Once he stopped paying, he soon lost the property and all of his hard work.
The F2P industry is becoming ever more emboldened and abusive with each passing year. It's unbelievable how so many people are being tricked into assuming value out of something that is so transient. Their influence is oozing out into the rest of the gaming industry, and it's quite an abominable sight.
@Rob_mc_1 Yeah. A lot of the SSB hats are also used in Streetpass.
@Yorumi Splatoon is one of the most creative games made in many years. Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. Wii U are the best in they're series.
Yick...microtransactions...then again, this was a given, so I'm not surprised.
So in other words, Nintendo has at least partially now joined the ranks of Facebook games, Wait to Play or Pay to Continue games, and virtual wallet farming collectathons. I'm sorry to see people's fears back from earlier this year were not unfounded.
"we are planning other applications that will work with Nintendo's dedicated video game systems"
That makes Miitomo a little more intriguing to me. I will definitely get it anyway to try it out, but whether I keep on using it and spend any money on it, will depend on its usefulness to me in my games.
@Yorumi A small twist? It's a team based shooter with the main goal of the game doesn't involve shooting people. That is unheard of. It's level design in single player is amazing, and the world is quirky and unique. In my opinion, Splatoon is pretty creative. Especially since a game can make millions each year by copying a real-life sport and releasing it over and over again.
@Yorumi Smash's creativity comes from how those new characters play. That's how you have creativity in a fighting game.
This conversation is surprisingly depressing. Y'see, I still wouldn't write Nintendo out just yet. People were ready to say that the Gamecube 2 would be the last console. And look how that turned out. I'll be more than willing to say that I enjoy Wii U games far more than the console, but there's a saying of not counting chickens before they're hatched.
Idle prediction time. I really get the feeling that, instead of extra controllers, the NX will pair with a Nintendo app (i.e. Miitomo) on people's smartphones and that will be the primary multiplayer experience. Think of something like Drawful, only on a much large, more integrated scale. It would mean anyone could jump into games as a second, third player etc, and Nintendo would get their software into people's hands, which is after all what the big companies want.
@IceClimbers Trip Hawkins of the classic EA tried that with the 3DO... The idea of a vendor neutral console that anyone could make games for, and anyone could make their own version of the console. It didn't turn out so well back in the 90s, for a number of reasons. I'm not certain it would work out so well now, either. A lot of people still latch onto brand awareness and loyalty- just look at how people are attracted to Apple products, even though they're not any better than anything else. It's human nature to want to be attached to a group of some sort.
The PC covers the brand neutral spectrum pretty well. We're still a long way off from something like a Roku or a (successful) Ouya being a viable option for gaming consoles, too. I think company branded consoles are here to stay for a while yet.
@rjejr Yeah, I saw that on gamedaily. I guess it's their way of "getting into the mobile scene" Crazy part is that Acti-Bliz bought King with offshore money and saved themselves a billion to boot.
I kinda wish it was for Windows Mobile, but I somewhat understand why not...
Will take them a decade to do something after realizing how important a connectivity to smart devices is? How important a proper account system with awards is? Sony and Microsoft went this way in the last and in the current generation, I don't understand why is it so hard for Nintendo to notice the essential in gaming market and do something fast. Nobody is exclusively attached to a home console and/or a handheld anymore when it comes to gaming. People are streaming, sharing, collecting awards, interacting with others through a hub account system linked to all possible social networks. Nintendo only has a (really bad) connectivity to facebook in 3DS, and you can't even freely take screenshots of your games. What year are we in? 2001?
@MrPuzzlez "Crazy part"
No, not crazy, being based in Ireland is the financial reason they bought it. Deal probably never goes thru if King is US based.
@MrPuzzlez @rjejr Ugh, don't remind me. Activision-Blizzard didn't "save" a billion dollars, they evaded a billion dollars in repatriation taxes. That's another thing that should be extremely illegal about these companies' conduct, they're sending their money and workforce offshore to dodge taxes.
Thankfully, Swiss bank account information on tax evaders is concurrently being leaked by the banking industry's version of Ed Snowden, Herve Falciani, so maybe the government will finally be forced to do something about it, once the issue is shoved into the regulators' faces. I hope Activision-Blizzard is among them, so they can be smacked with heavy fines for shirking their civic duty.
this may be successful in Japan but have no more or less chance of success than anything else
@rjejr I don't think people deny the huge profits some mobile only publishers/developers make, Gungho is another very profitable company, but it's not like (and many people have stated this) Nintendo can just throw a bunch of games at mobile and reap the rewards, there is a type of game, and a type of consumer that exists on mobile, and it's clear that Nintendo wants to tap into that market, BUT, Nintendo has it's eye on the prize, and a challenging one at that, to get the causal western mobile game player to migrate or at least share game time with a dedicated game device.
This as well as profits in mobile is Nintendo's main goal, an uphill battle, but a motivational one, other than settling for the copycat match-3 games or throwing VC games with touch controls.
@RoomB31 "copycat match-3 games or throwing VC games with touch controls."
I think either of those options would have done more for their stock price than Miitomo. Though they would have needd to be out in 2015. I still think the delay hurt the stock price more than the game itself,though that din't help.
@rjejr No doubt their stock prices would have shot up, but then who is nintendo making those games for? I get the money money money aspect, but investors are sort of moot when Nintendo has enough money to last for decades, and most of them are old and know little of gaming or what makes people enjoy nintendo games so much. I think investors can be a good source of input sometimes, but more often then not they just get in the away. And at least from what I've heard from nintendo investors, they seem to be short term anyways, why would Nintendo focus their energy on what the investors want?
@RoomB31 "know little of gaming or what makes people enjoy nintendo games so much"
Judging by the fan reaction to:
Starfox - looks like an N64 game
AC:aF - a board game, not a real AC game
Metroid Prime: Federation Force - petition to have it canceled
Zelda Trifore Heroes - not Zelda U, needs 3 popl online w/o voice chat
I'd say Nintendo forgot what Nintendo fans enjoy as well.
I do agree w/ you, investors are all about money, not fun, and short term money as well, not long term money, so they probably aren't a very good indicator of how good Ntinodo's games are. But the recently released Chibi Robo hasn't exactly been flying off shelves either.
Nintnedo seems to have compeltley lost their way to almost everybody - investors, casual gamers, and the hardcore. 2015 will be viewed historically as the years of delays, indecisions and bad decisions all around. And Spaltoon. But Splatoon doesn't make up for all of the rest. Iwata's passing complicates things, but things were already a mess. Iwata's passing is an "excuse", that's not the same as a valid reason.
@rjejr There is no doubt that more is moving behind the scene's than we know, it clearly is or things wouldn't look as bleak as they do on the outside.
the criticism of Star Fox i think was overblown, but I think Nintendo overpromised and under delivered, they couldn't not show anything, but they knew it wasn't going to be ready in time.
Nintendo did say (whether an excuse or not) that they were going to do different things with their IP's, and they've always done this in the past, I think we can see through the veil a lot more, because these games are the main event rather than the plugs in between main releases that they should've been. So it's clear that Nintendo is missing resources, as larger releases have fallen through the cracks.
Chibi Robo was a niche title to begin with, it should have stayed that way. instead of trying to change the formula to reach a broader audience, adding the amiibo is a big sign of that.
Also someone dying is never an "excuse". I don't see Nintendo using his passing in this way, and nor should you, I think they've come out relatively unscathed, (meaning no worse) and its a matter of time before they are on this new president's path.
@RoomB31 "I don't see Nintendo using his passing in this way, and nor should you"
No, not Nitnodo, they've never used it as an excuse. But if you go back and read the posts over the past 4 months you will see a lot of things like this - "Well Ninntod was doing fine until Iwata passed, they'll be fine again." That is using it as an excuse. And I'm guilty of that as well. I knew when he passed things would be slow and ii transition for a little while,maybe a month or 2, but not 4 months later and all they have to show for it is 1 financial press briefing saying the 2 things that were supposed to be out this fall - Miitomo and Club Nintendo - are being delayed until March 2016. Oh,they also said Starfox - dated for Nov 20 - won't be out until 2016 as well.
And I give Nitnodo credit, they have never blamed it on Iwata's passing, but I think some of their fans give them a pass. And I gave them a pass for a couple of months myself, didn't expect anything in July or August coming out of Nintodo. And they did push SMM back in early Sept. But really nothing since then except delays.
The holidays - like it or not - are a big shopping season for Americans, and I think Europeans and Japanese as well, if they want to sell things now is the time to market them.
Sweet, I've wanted this since everyone was all about Miis back with the CheckMiiOut channel and all that other stuff on the Wii. I'll probably be buying some stuff for the heck of it on there, but would love if it carried over to my Mii across platforms like in the WaraWara plaza or the profile select screen when loading up the U.
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