Future Business Shift Could See Nintendo Move Away From Home Console Development

Oh dear, oh dear indeed

I think people need to calm down. I really doubt that will happen if any time soon at all considering how the Switch is printing money and such and they have stated their intent to support the system for a long time

Hope they realize that most of their mobile games consumers show their support because of their console gaming quality,

The coins appeal... Hope they're always be on both frames.

Good Lord. And yeah, I don't know any other way to respond to this...

Oooh dear. (NintendoLife has asked me to write more than two words.)

"Future Business Shift Could See Nintendo Move Away From Home Console Development"

Me: It would be cool to see the power of legitimate Nintendo Titles on PC.

"And increase the amount of games on smartphones"

Also Me: Aaaaaaw drat.

Also its basically just them saying they will adjust their business model if they consider it necessary

A future with no Nintendo hardware is not a future I want any part of.

This will be a fun comment section!

Better than banging your head against a wall until the company goes bankrupt!

I'll start worrying when Nintendo actually does it.

This is literally just Nintendo saying “If the time ever comes where we need to stop making consoles, we will. Maybe mobile could help us make some money.”

Not “We’re going all in on mobile instead of consoles.”

Calm down.

They could abandon home consoles and just release new handheld consoles.
I mean, why not? I’m almost in my mid-30s. I have no time to play games on home console at home.
I commute two hours a day by train and take the game with me.
I’m far more likely to play handheld while a TV Is streaming Netflix in the background. People regularly ‘second screen’ nowadays and I do this with Swich. With graphics catching up to home console quality in handheld machines the TV just seems redundant. Bring it on.

This obviously isn't a sign that Nintendo is going third party immediately and permanently - just that it's a route they've considered. Then again, that's interesting as well, since their previous stances have been outright denial.

Console development is super expensive and at some point, especially if their next console fails, it may make sense to jump ship.

That'd really be throwing us Nintendo fans under the bus. The mobile market is full of horrifically overpriced RNG microtransactions and Nintendo has certainly embraced that with their mobile games.

Those games are pure toxicity and I want nothing to do with that.

This would be a bad move and would lose Nintendo more than it would earn. If this is the direction the new President wants to go in, let’s hope he gets sacked and someone comes in who will prioritise continued inovation in home and handheld consoles.

They should also focus on putting there back catalogue on other systems, ala sega megadrive classic collection.

The beginning of the end.

I actually think this statement is more about just shifting to smartphones alone. I think this is Nintendo being honest about the likely future of digital entertainment: streaming. It sounds like he's saying that if everyone else starts delivering video games as services across multiple devices, Nintendo won't be the only one still making dedicated hardware (which would inevitably be inferior).

That doesn't mean I like the sound of it. Free wifi is hopefully the future for most of the world, so connectivity might not be the problem, but I hate the idea of every single product in the world becoming a subscription service. That said, it's not the same as every future Nintendo game being only playable on a tiny screen. It means they would be playable on your phone, your TV, your computer, your tablet, your reader, and pretty much anything else that has a screen in the future.

1 "To us, the guiding principle by which we operate is offering customers all around the world innovative and unique ways to play games"
I have loved Nintendo for many years because of how good, unique and fun their games are, not because of their "innovative and unique ways to play games" that often were just an annoyance that I had to endure to be able to play their games.
I love Wii but motion controls were annoying and unnecessary crap at least 90% of the time even for me.
Their games are great why they just fail to understand that and still believe that their annoying gimmicks is what people are looking for? Most of the people I have talked to agree with me. But they keep talking about their innovative ways to play games. WE LIKE THE GAMES THEMSELVES. The classic controller is the perfect choice for most of us, we just like the GAMES

2 "In the long-term, perhaps our focus as a business could shift away from home consoles – flexibility is just as important as ingenuity...I’d like to increase the (amount of) games on smartphones that have a continuous stream of revenue"
I decided to stop playing (and stop buying) Nintendo games because of the online subscription. Sounds like I'm not going to miss anything particularly exciting honestly...

Keep in mind, he said they'd only make the shift "If necessary". That's not a guaranteed yes.

My main problem with this is that smartphones are being upgraded far too frequently. With consoles (home and portable), they are expected to stick with them for years, continually learning how to better utilize the hardware and stay focused on their projects and expectations. If they want to set aside a group or two for smartphone development, then that's one thing, but to move to them fully sounds like a mistake.

I'm open to the idea if they move that focus entirely to their dedicated handhelds.

Fire him quickly!!

In all seriousness, I'm not worried about this statement but I hate to think this company will never truly change and do what it takes to be up with the times on certain things. Seems like a cop out to not ever compete with Sony and Microsoft. Not that I want them to but they need to at least meet them with online functionality and keep hardware specs at least in the ballpark to keep getting 3rd parties.

A lot of 2+2=5 happening here. He may as well of shrugged his shoulders and said “yeah you know, we’ll see, whatever makes money really”

This is what I was afraid of this last year with all those comments from reggie about phone games.

Well hopefully they'll still release real games on Play station.

I don't like to play games on Handphone.
No Physical release, No Buy.

There are two primary potential industry developments that would make me abandon the hobby I've loved and supported since the Atari 2600 and never look back. One is the streaming, subscription-based model where consumers have no rights and no longer legally own the games they legally pay for. The other is consoles being abandoned in favor of smartphone development, which would mean the end of being able to sit on the couch and enjoy a rousing party or racing game with friends or simply kicking back with the latest 100-plus hour RPG. And both of these scenarios aren't just being hinted at by the major console manufacturers; we're already seeing testbed programs like Switch Online, Xbox Game Pass, and PlayStation Now.

I understand that a lot of folks are either just going along with the flow or actually believe these models are somehow a great deal for them. But I hope the console makers understand that I and probably many other gamers aren't among them, and we'll promptly be getting off the bus if and when these things happen. I'll never use my smartphone to play games.

The statement here is in regards to a question on how Nintendo would survive a changing future as the market evolves and whether this means its innovations would be restricted to consoles. It's not Furukawa confirming that some time in the future they could move away from consoles, just that if such a future forced its hand, it would be necessary to. And it's entirely separate from the mobile answer, which is just them wanting another source of stable revenue. Adding the two together paints a picture that doesn't exist.

Somehow I knew a website was gonna put this interview somewhat out of context. Didn't think it'd be this one. NintendoSoup yeah but not this place.

I've stopped checking for home consoles around the PS3 era, I've been playing exclusively handheld since. So, to me, moving to mobile feels like the natural next step, almost. Phones already have Switch-sized screens, they'd work fine with peripheral controllers attached.

As long as quality stays the same -so no free-to-play model-, I'd be ok with it. And there'll always be PC for those who'd want that home-console experience.

Well Switch already is technically a departure from home consoles. The Switch is a handheld you can connect to the TV using a dock as a direct replacement for a home console (Wii U).

Not sure whether he's suggesting a SEGA situation in the future or just stating what's essentially already happened.

I don't mind digital, but in a generation or two if Sony, MS, or Nintendo try to force a streaming only option down consumers throat, I'll probably just stick to PC gaming at that point.

It's not like Nintendo is going to drop console games entirely in this scenario either - probably just pull a SEGA and release on PlayStation, Xbox etc.

Furukawa mentions "We aren't really fixated on our consoles" and delivering a Nintendo experience which does shout that console hardware is no longer a core priority. Previously Nintendo seemed to consider their hardware and software as hand-in-hand businesses, but not anymore.

In that case, maybe the Switch will be the final Nintendo console. It'd probably be easier for Nintendo to take the agnostic approach and release across multiple platforms, consoles, PCs etc etc.

"...a continuous stream of revenue."

Keep buying single-player, story driven games and the industry will have to de-emphasize the cash cow of games-as-service. I personally loathe the concept. And single-player games have been repeatedly declared dead by game companies in an attempt to steer consumers to a higher revenue stream, lower effort product.

Thank god for God of War.

I thought it was you (Smartphone) that ruined the future of gaming world...

Yeah, this is nothing. He is saying "we will do what needs to be done if necessary" which is what they have done since the beginning. And with how the Switch is doing, it's not necessary.

I'll seriously stop gaming if Nintendo doesn't get with the program.

Why is Nintendo so afraid to get their feet wet? Sony has a successful console, why can't Nintendo?

I might not be apart of that giant smart phone market, so my dollar might not hurt in that regard, but I will never buy a smart phone game. NEVER.

The nickel-and-dime games is not something I want to ever get involved in.

Please do not.

Not surprising. They stopped competing since the Wii.

And thus the first Nintendolife article of 2019 that will get a lot a clicks was born.

You're welcome.

How depressing.

This is concerning. I’m both sad and scared.

@IHateTombs the response from blizzcon was from a group of self-proclaimed hardcore snobs that assume because they don’t like a particular genre or platform, everyone else must bow to their whim.

I would welcome a few more Nintendo franchises on mobile. Look at how Pokemon Go has welcomed back millions of lapsed players who gave up long ago. Players are players and are no less important because they choose to play games on a different device.

I’ll agree that there is a lot of dross clogging up mobile devices in the same way shovelware clogged the Wii. But for every Carnival Games there is a Xenoblade; for every Candy Crush a Downwell.

@KingdomHeartsFan JUST BECAUSE HE MAKES A STATEMENT ABOUT THINKING OF FUTURE PLANS, DOESN'T MEAN THOSE FUTURE PLANS ARE IN PLACE

_{Please don't post in full capitals - Octane}

Please no!
stay in the Hybrid console market, become more powerfull in hardware and software. focus on great quality games and only use Mobile games as advertisement to bring Nintendo to costumers and draw them to your consoles.
if this guy stays on this path, please remove him ASAP!

Boooo!! I bet Sony and Microsoft won’t mind the absence lol!

This has me worried 😧

Don't know why they're doing this & I thought that Nintendo was going to release a Nintendo switch Pro this year that was going to be more powerful than the switch that's already in stores now.

Bring back Iwata! (Or failing that, Kimishima).

People should calm down. He basically says that they'd be willing to leave consoles behind if home consoles would actually die as it was predicted years ago. That's all. And that they're interested in the mobile market isn't stupid either from a business perspective. Do I want it? No. Do I understand that they need to keep that door open because they're a business? Sure.

@In_Ex_Fan IGNorance is bliss.

Hahahaha, people are getting worried over nothing! This is just Nintendo saying that if technology changes, then of course they would have to adapt. If their value proposition is to deliver entertainment, then of course it isn't specifically through home consoles. Look at Blockbuster, they doubled down on rentals even though streaming was becoming far more relevant and they're dead now. If streaming games or smartphone gaming becomes too lucrative to pass up, it would be idiotic to double down on the 'traditional' gaming experience.

I don't think this really means anything other than "We're aware that a shift in the market could happen and we're prepared to make that shift if need be. We're prepared to do whatever is necessary for survival".
It doesn't mean they're done making systems. He's just saying that they're ready for anything should the home console market go to pot.

They can do whatever they want as long as they provide us real gamers with top quality games.

Ewww, mobile games

no no no no NO NO NONONONONON!!!!!!!!!!!

I think everyone needs to calm down. I think he realizes that these plans can't come to fruition because it would be incredibly stupid of them to pull a SEGA harder than SEGA did.

I am slightly on edge with this statement, but I really can't see this coming to reality anytime soon.

Nintendo doing this, would cement the death of mainstream gaming on consoles, as PlayStation has remote play on smart devices now, EA is doing their Origin streaming service, and Microsoft is going to be launching their multi-device Xbox streaming service this year, while already having select Xbox games playable on Windows computers.

That would be a total tragedy. One that I doubt I could forgive.

@Wesjedker this has nothing to do with ignorance. I just don't see a reason to panic because of a hypothetical situation. It's not like he said what they're going to do. They're just willing to if it would come to it. That's why he doesn't mention specifics.

Full interview context is a beautiful thing. Understanding the context before commenting about the end of vidya gaems is an even more beautiful thing.

They're just saying they're open minded and will do their best to bring the 'Nintendo feel' to the gaming industry, however that industry may look at any given time.

Sounds reasonable to me.

Sees title...

Goes straight to comment section.

Begin a thread of opinions.

Start a war of insults.

Waits quietly until proven right/Acts violently until proven wrong.

Welcome to the internet!

Happy Ne... Another Year!

BTW, he said what he WOULD LIKE to do, and NOT what he will do if he is forced to by necessity.
He "WOULD LIKE more mobile games that allow a continuous stream of revenue"
Microtransactions must be really great from his point of view. Of course. He is the one who receives the money.

This is likely one of those situations where the interviewer and interviewe got crossed up and the answer got lost. I'd expect a retraction in this statement if it gains traction. No way Nintendo ever leaves the console market or handheld market.

I think smart phones as we know them won’t be the same in the future anyway. And I think the translator or the article author may be exaggerating.

This guy needs fired.

Mobile games suck, period.

If they go down that avenue, watch Nintendo turn into Sega.

Just let the old man take full helm again.

@LuckyLand
I think that's just a fancy line they trot out nowadays because it sounds nice. "Innovation" "New ways to play" blah blah etc. Considering it's a philosophy that almost killed them with the Wii U, I doubt they adhere to it that steadfastly. After all, if they would heed the words of Yamauchi-san they would know that actually "the hardware is just a box that people buy to play Mario games".

@Spectra Square Enix still makes console and PC AAA games though

Kingdom Hearts 3 is literally weeks away

A more apt comparison would be Konami

I'm not a fan of just abandoning the home console market just because. Especially if you are doing well in it. But I also know nothing last forever and technology and entertainment taste and consuming habits do change. If that time does come, I just hope the experiences are at least fun. It won't be the same obviously.

In 2017, mobile games accounted for ~4% of Nintendo's total revenue. Meanwhile, the Switch and 3DS accounted for ~75% and ~18% of Nintendo total revenue respectively. The SNES Classic accounted for ~7% of Nintendo's revenue.

Nintendo's mobile gaming revenue share will likely decrease in 2018 due to ridiculously strong Switch software sales, but things might rebound a bit in 2019 if Mario Kart Tour is a hit. Regardless, the main takeaway is that Nintendo is completely reliant on the success of their dedicated gaming business.

Those of you who think Nintendo is going to abandon the Switch anytime soon are overreacting, unless you willingly believe Furukawa and Nintendo's board intend to abandon 90+% of the company's revenue source.

@In_Ex_Fan I intended the ignorance thing neither for you nor the article but rather those that jumped the gun on the title alone without understanding/reading it.

@Madder128 Literally all furukawa said is "we'll prepare for the future when it comes" and "hey we're making more phone games as additional revenue" and you're acting like he's literally throwing away the whole console thing immediately.

If Nintendo wants to make more smartphone games, I'd rather they do so by making their own smartphone. One that includes all of the multimedia functionality of a smartphone with talk, text, browsing, apps, but also works well as a gaming device. Imagine a smartphone that works like the Switch, that would be amazing. If this statement is true, I hope that's the way they end up doing it.

I read the article linked and besides him referring to Nintendo venturing into movies and theme parks for example, I think he's not saying Nintendo WILL move away from consoles, but that they have always remained open and like to explore ways to entertain us. A lot different than the panic that is here in the comments and probably not helped by the headline of this article.

Also, given how successful Switch sales are, why would they move away from a successful business model?

Don’t go Konami, don’t go Konami.

@SCAssassin Good to see that someone else understands what he's saying

Everyone needs to stop saying Nintendo is going mobile only. He literally never said that! He said they would make more games for another source of income, totally separate from the statement about moving away from a HOME console, which also doesnt even mean they would stop making their own hardware. Hybrids, handhelds, even a vr headset, and this is if we get to a point where home consoles don't fit in with people's lifestyles, which is already something the switch solves, so he could even be talking about new iterations of the switch, not up and leaving the market...

Hello there friend!

I see you're reading this comment that I have posted.

Seems like you just saw the title like I did huh?

Since you're taking the time to read through this, why don't you also try to take the time to read the article. That way, we'll have a ton of nice discussions instead of having a lot of nonsense that results to nowhere but the salt mines.

Happy Reading!

I really hate mobile as a platform for games and so does a lot of gamers. The tragic thing is though with a mobile game you can technically saturate the majority of the planet with digital only game software, huge opportunity and little risk.

@SCAssassin I lived through the destruction of Sega.
It wasn’t good to see something so brilliant, collapse from the inside out.
Through bad decisions, and bad direction.

I don’t want to see Nintendo, become the absolute sham of what happened to Sega.

If they get out of hardware and just support another maker I would be ok with that.

The Switch is basically like my WiiU again. Im only using it for a few Nintendo games. Just move that to where 90% of all the big games are.

But not to go to Mobile. Rather pay $300 dollars and make Nintendo my 2nd console - like now.

Please no......and I am someone that actually does not have a cell phone XD.

I would’ve expected PR speak like this back in the Wii U days, not when the Switch is on fire like it is.

Every generation I became more and more desilusioned with gaming in general. Nintendo's consoles and its software is the only thing that keeps me interested in videogames.

The day they stop making game consoles, I'll move away from gaming once and for all. Why should I stay? To play mediocre phone games? Fortnite? EA?! No thanks.

Theres the posibility that another company could take its place but that's highly unlikely.

@electrolite77 If only people took the time to read or actually read it then the world will be a better one to live in.

But Console Wars had to exists and thus clickbaits were made.

Rumor mill or what. I don't think he knows what he is doing now. Smartphone doesn't have the power or storage to game. Also they don't use cartridges so that puts a damper on smartphone. Also consider smart phone cost. That in itself tells you "not the smartest moves here". No smartphone I've seen has a Nvidia tegra or anything close to this performance without having a "MELTDOWN" of which most of us heard about already. SmartPhone isn't and will never be a Gaming console like the Switch. That is a Fact just by sheer GPU they have no way to cool down. They will be in for a rude awakening if they forget whom kept them in Business "US" the gaming consumers around the world.

@Wesjedker oh, then I'm sorry. I misread your reply.

@In_Ex_Fan It's ok 😁

Good thing we're all gonna be dead by then.

@Madder128 Leave Furukawa Alone Because He’s a New Nintendo President, Mobile Games are Important Because I’m A Nintendo Fanboy I’m Not a Huge Fan of SEGA.

@electrolite77 THE HECK?! That's completely different in that context! Come NL I stop reading Kotaku for pulling stunts like this!

imagine a world with no more mario games unless they are mobile games. swipe left , auto run

I doubt this means anything. Basically just saying they will adapt to the market if it changes.

I think everyone just needs to calm down here and take a step back This article is misleading. Nintendo is not abandoning the console market well at least not anytime soon. The switch is to much of a success. They would be mad to abandon it in favour of mobile gaming.

@electrolite77 True.

I always say Mind over heart.

Mind over heart = Facts over feelings

1) They are indeed fixated on consoles & to pretend otherwise is misleading & dishonest. As a former shareholder, Nintendo had made it abundantly clear that its focus it’s on its console, with an emmerging attention on smart phones. 2) it’ll be a very long time before Nintendo goes all mobile as the vast majority of its income stream and its fans are still firmly rooted in console gaming. Yes, if you can do mobile right & make a ton of money, do it, but you can never leave behind consoles as they are the main business line, with smart phones, merchandising & now Hollywood Movies & amusement parks complimenting that line.

In my opinion, this was said to satuate investors concern that Nintendo remains nimble & laser focused on the realities and changes of the gaming market. Nintendo is a very slow mover and investors want to make sure it is aware & ready to move wherever necessary to stay profitable. But currently, and in my opinion the foreseeable future, the vast majority of its sales & profits will continue to come from goods & services sold via its consoles.

Now where’s the download only Switch with upgraded memory & a lower price?

Related to this topic, I wouldn't mind if Nintendo started to make some multiplatform games.
I never played Breath Of The Wild on handheld mode, I always play on the big screen.
My favourite game from Nintendo is The Legend Of Zelda, and playing this series on Pc would be awesome.
(Related to the topic)
I'll just skip the mobile games.

I think you guys knew what you were doing when you published this article. Something taken out of context to sound worse than it is = more clicks = more money. A shame that it's down on this level.

I am sorry for my toxic masculinity but mobile gaming is disappointing. It used to be good like 8 years ago, when there was barely any microtransactions and you could buy full games at cheap prices.
I am not saying that games should be cheap, but id rather pay 39.99 for a full game on mobile that got good controls, alot of content, good multiplayer and ofcourse, a game that does not drain batteries.
I thought Mario Run would actually be good on the mobile. I bought it when it was fresh, and i got * disappointed. It cost like 3 times more than Rayman run and i completed the game in like 20 minutes, while Rayman Run lasted for much longer.
This is the problem i have with gaming on mobile. It is always bad. Either it got microtransactions, bad controls, overheating or limited control over the character.
I gave up mobile gaming entirely when they made a racing game that i paid FULL PRICE FOR into a free microtransaction app. I dont even know how the * this is allowed. I got no refund out of it.

Games could be free first in mobile store, let it be like a demo, then let people decide whether they should buy the game at full price or buy it chapter after chapter. Anything but microtransactions..

Dont get me wrong, this happens to games in Steam and so on too, but they usually give you tons of bonuses worth the price you originally paid for the game, and other bonuses like titles and unique stuffs, while mobile gaming gives you nothing at all.

Comment number one hundred and fifteen is here to stay!

I know people here are going to go all boo hoo about it, but let's face is the Switch is a handheld, their handhelds from the post SNES days have what kept them well in the black and alive almost the entire ride since other than the point the Wii annoyingly did well with its gimmick. Consoles are going down anyway being that the other guys are just pushing closed PC media centers with better versions of ported games on PC(Steam) anyway. Nintendo can't compete with it and won't, they're handheld pushers, and they realize it. Good, stay that way as mobility makes you relevant to more people than not.

@Wolfgabe basically this. Beside while they've had some success on phones already, not all of the phone games have been that great.

Plus a lot of these phone games are pretty recent so there's always the potential for them to petter out and realize that perhaps console it's a better long term investment/etc

Or for the guy to even be replaced before it gets there.

Also it should be noted "more phone games" doesn't necessarily means "and no more console". The two strenght mutually exclusive especially if instability find itself noticed on phone perhaps console could be seen as a foundation enabling the other.

@electrolite77 thanks for posting that. With some added context it reads like a completely different interview to what n life posted.

I don't think they will anytime soon, but if, and when, they go mobile only, I will become a retro gamer specifically at that point in time. Gtfo with mobile gaming. Love handhelds, but mobiles are not for games IMO.

Come on guys, this article is completely misleading and out of context. Don't stoop to this level of clickbait.

@electrolite77 thanks for writing the whole story, I almost fell for this clickbait. NL clickbaits sometimes but this article is a new low.

@westman98 pretty much all you said. Mobile might even petter out altogether.

Beside stating they want more phone games doesn't mean it's mutually exclusive with continuing to support the Switch. It just means they want to try making more phone games in the future... and nothing in there even means that would mean stopping to make console games.

They can easily do both after all. They already are.

This is kind of an obvious inevitability. Once graphics get to the point where they can't really be improved upon in any significant way, console iterations will be unnecessary. Eventually Smart TVs will become more and more similar to PCs, at that point you could probably purchase a digital console service that would allow you to play digital games from the company of your choice without the need for a physical console. Everything but the controller would be digital at that point.

That's how I imagine it will go anyway. We're probably talking 30 years from now, or something. I just don't think physical games and consoles will be a thing forever, unfortunately.

To summarize: 80% of this comment section is people lacking in reading comprension while also loving drama.

If Nintendo went all smartphones the way smarphone gaming is now, Nintendo would be dead to me anyway, even if it was to avoid bankruptcy. Though most likely it will never go just like that...

Which reminds me, mobile Mario Kart is long overdue. I hope that plays good.

@-DG
If the future gaming like that (Full Digital, No physical) i will hate the future.
I want to turn back the time, go back to 90's or 2000's era.

Flexibility is more sensible than going the Sega route. Could easily have happened if the Switch had been a flop after the Wii U. Not a fan of freemium games in general though. I'd rather pay an upfront fee and know what I'm getting, with extra content unlocked through progression. Premium Dlc is an exception to this, when it's worthwhile new content eg Mario Kart 8.

@electrolite77 rereading your post it's also interesting how many people missed his point about "synergy" too.

He's not even talking about ditching consoles at all. He's talking about creating slowly an ongoing synergy so the IPs can be found everywhere leaving an outlet if things do change in the coming decades.

And he finally flat out pointed, as much as possible without saying so outright, that the Switch basically is their current money printer.

But yeah rereading things he's not even talking about dropping consoles for something else.

He's just mentioning the possible potential of expanding their presence beyond consoles... while keeping a synergy with everything they still have a presence in.

Such as consoles.

All he did was otherwise point out the ways Nintendo changed over it's own history too. I mean, the company was founded in the 19th century.

Although I doubt Nintendo will ever stop making dedicated hardware, that's a pretty bogus statement. The magic of Nintendo comes from the hardware coupled with the games. It doesn't really work otherwise.

Go to comment number 92 if you only read the title and quickly typed some fear-mongering or your nightmares.

Happy Reading!

click bait article yall.

Nintendo isn't abandoning consoles, all he was saying was that Nintendo is open to being flexible. They will go where the entertainment market takes them. Please don't fan hysteria for no reason.

Nintendo is an entertainment company, it is going to do whatever it can to remain in the consumer mindspace. Theme parks, movies, clothes, merchandise, mobile games...you name it they are working on it/looking at it. Nothing to see here. Don't panic y'all. Also considering the money that FEH is pulling in I don't blame them not one bit for looking at mobile a little more closely. (230 mil in 2018)

Head over to nintendoeverything or the source to get the full comments.

Sounds like marketing speak to appeal to investors. Doesn't necessarily mean anything. As long as the monetization from mobile doesn't seep into their main games, and they keep making said games, I'm not too concerned.

On that note, I honestly wouldn't mind Nintendo dropping consoles, and focusing on portable, or going third party. My only concern is what Sony and Microsoft would do in a Duopoly situation.

@Ryu_Niiyama Has the dreaded Granger made its presence in nintendoeverything once again?

@SuperGhirahim64 You just fell for the clickbait, my friend.

@Wesjedker ? Pardon, I don't get the reference.

@hatch LOL very true. I try not to get on the "internet gaming journalism is bad" bandwagon but I'd just finished reading the full quotes, came over here and saw the title and I was like "wut?" I'm kinda sad. I thought it was safe to read NL articles again.

@Ryu_Niiyama Has Hermione showed up in the comments cuz usually that "thing" likes these types of news.

@Anti-Matter elecrolite pointed out critical part of the interview people glossed over though.

He's never talked about replacing consoles. In fact he talked about existing efforts with theme parks/etc to expand the visibility of IPs basically in a synergy effort.

Keywords being synergy here which flat out all but note this would be impossible without the consoles providing a solid foundation.

And with mobile representing only 4% of their earnings they're not dropping the console they print money on.

If anything all he pointed out was that the company that was founded in the 19th century to make playing cards was able to be flexible to ensure it can likely make it to the end of this century as well.

So a future where consoles is not their primary business is not talking about the Nintendo of 2020 but likely something like 2050 by which times perhaps consoles indeed wouldn't be relevant anymore altogether because who knows what things will look like three decades from now?

Like that's how far in the future we might as well be talking about if you look closely. He's not talking "we're killing the Switch next year" but instead "we're prepared to adapt for all eventualities including tectonic shift of cultures to make sure we remain relevant even if our main source of income would dry out overnight a decade from now" basically.

Since if they had always stuck to the "roots" of their company they likely would have never made consoles in the first place in favor of continuing to print gaming cards and hanafuda sets... and likely wouldn't exist today for us to know what a company once called "Nintendo" ever produced.

@Wesjedker AH now I know what you are talking about. Yeah...I don't read the comments over there because of folks like that. I know folks have strong opinions but I get nervous when I see someone divorced from reality and reason. I take a topsy turvy approach to NL and NE.

NE (and a few other sources) I read the articles first and don't read the comments (I don't like or use disqus anyway so that takes care of that.)
NL I like the comment engine so I participate here (although the new two word filter is mighty annoying...) so I'll dip into the comments and then go and skim the article unless I see some straight up balderdash.

NL is usually slow on the news feed, more click bait-y (and some of the writers can be confrontational) and is becoming more of an Amazon adspace. I still mostly like the forums though. Not all the writers are bad but the ones that are kill the site's credibility.

I miss Tom...although it was going down near the end of his watch as well.

Ah well.

@Ryu_Niiyama Best decision. Never open the cave of disqus or else the troll will try to trample you.

@Blitzenexx comment number 92 is all you need to read aside from this reply

i'm not surprised and called it a long time ago, they tested the waters with pokemon go, animal crossing and others and they like it (and made a packet in doing so) so they obviously want more of it.

the fact that this new guy is young too doesn't help either, RIP iwata, this nonsense all started when he was gone.

@huyi comment number 92

I miss Iwata

Don’t like the tone of this new president really. I suppose time will tell though.

Not to offend someone here, but are people really so dumb and ignorant? He merely said, that if sometimes in the future Nintendo needs to change their business model, they will do it.
I mean, if one- or two hundred years ago some carriage manufacturer would have announced, they will change their business model and go away from producing carriages, would you also be all doom and gloom? 🙄

@Blitzenexx "There's nothing in those statements to suggest that they're going all mobile."

flat out denial is the best defence and it's understandable with the circumstances.

That's odd. Old style arcade games are starting to make a comeback. I think people are beginning to realize that most mobile games are time wasters and have no real challenge since the touch controls are so wishy washy. This is going to turn into another Virtual Boy, isn't it? Oh well. If Nintendo loosens it's grip maybe we'll see Atari or Sega come back.

@electrolite77 I think the fact they are starting to branch out more into films and theme parks should be a good enough sign that Nintendo is starting to position itself more as a multimedia company

@Bevinator he's just a young kid with modern values, all quality is lost.

@Powerglove15 Read comment 92

Awesome! I love to have my entertainment with me all the time.

Give it to me!!!!

Nintendo branching out their IP's to different mediums is a good move. I am not a fan of mobile games I tried some of the Nintendo ones and Fire Emblem Heroes kept my interest for awhile but when I stopped playing it I had no interest to pick it up again later. I didn't even finish the free trial if Mario Run and never even bothered trying the Animal Crossing one. Even though I personally don't like them I think they have played a role in getting their IP'S in the public eye again. People who played games as kids suddenly remember how much fun they had with Mario and Pokemon and are more interested in investing in a console again for their family.

Having their characters appear in quality movies can only do good things. If a kid likes a character, they can become obsessed. I think these things increase the appetite for quality console games. If Nintendo phased our consoles and then saturated the mobile market people would probably actually lose interest. Any new game they made would feel like another watered down experience. Appetizers are fine but they also need to provide the option for full meals.

No! Please don’t turn in to SEGA

So, how many of the 155 comments so far have proven to confuse Future Simple and Conditional II? :^P

@electrolite77 aaaaand... nintendolife just fell for fake news.

@Blitzenexx np!

@Bunkerneath comment number 92 to defeat your fear.

All I read was, that he is a sound businessman, not foolhardy clinging to tradition if that would mean that Nintendo would tank. It's more him saying "We would be able to shift our focus, if this necessary."

Nintendo will keep making consoles until there's another flop.

That said I could also see them getting bought by Microsoft (which I wouldn't be happy with) or bought by Sony. But that won't happen unless they have another Wii U sized flop. Realistically if they're serious about mobile, a partnership with Apple where Nintendo had all their studios working on full games designed to be played on Apple's hardware would probably work out well if Apple left them to keep producing content at an arm's length, sort of like what they've done with Beats by Dre. (That said even though I'd love to see Nintendo have access to Apple's ARM chips, I think that'd be the death of Nintendo.)

@Ryu_Niiyama He clearly stated that he likes the "continuous stream of revenue" that mobile games (with their microtransactions and crap like that) grant.
Have you noticed that he is willing to make games for mobile but still not for computrers? On computers game would be better and allow them to keep their best quality, but gamers used to mobile gaming are much more willing to spend money on crap like that. And the quality standards are much lower on mobile.
I know in Japan there are not many gamer who use computers to play, but in the rest of the world many gamers play on computer, and Nintendo is well known worldwide, they could release their games on PC if they wanted. The whole world is their market, not just Japan. But ythey are after easy money with cheap games. He practically almost said so himself.
Talking about this kind of "continuous stream of revenue" is very anti consumer and insensitive imo.

@Lemmy_the_Koopa You read the movie, now go to comment 92 for the book version for the more accurate details.

Terrible, terrible idea. The mobile phone game market is loaded with malware, micro transactions and countless crashes.

If Nintendo proceeds down this rabbit hole, I will no longer support the company or its future projects.

I hate mobile phone games with a passion; as I prefer console/handhelds like GBA and the switch respectively due to their lovely game selections with emphasis on steady controls, fun stories and relaxing method of play.

This news makes me considerably upset.

@VHSGLITCH comment 92

@Wesjedker what’s your point?

@Eethan03302001 That’s an opinion, and I respect that.

Just don’t complain, when Nintendo becomes like Sega.
A shade of its former glory, confused with its own identity.
Having some of the most incredible IP’s, and doing absolutely nothing with them.

His words are his vision, and his vision is about diluting Nintendo, and destroying Quality for a wider audience.

Mobile games suck.
No one can say otherwise.

@VHSGLITCH read it like you read mine is my point.

Nintendo would be honestly better putting limited titles out on Steam.

@Wesjedker what tf are you on?

@Ryu_Niiyama This isn't just clickbait, it's outright miss information. The whole quote is out of context

@VHSGLITCH The whole post is misinformed and clickbait. Go to comment 92 for the real one.

@AtlanteanMan you could always turn on the old stuff 👍

@electrolite77 thank you for that. I almost fell for this crap. I really need to find another Nintendo news website, NL is just driving me too crazy. Clickbait is one thing but outright twisting their stories is just too much for me. Ugh...

@Kevember comment number 92

Nintendo's venture into mobile gaming has been extremely underwhelming, in my opinion. As for the home consoles comment, Nintendo relies on innovation and gimmicks when it comes to that market and it doesn't seem like they're willing to try the GameCube route again and simply make a powerful console that plays great Nintendo games. If they run out of innovative ideas and gimmicks they might give up on making home consoles.

this is really nothing new. iwata had the same opinion.

Nintendo developing only for smartphones would be my worst nightmare.

I mean it's already started I guess with them taking small steps in recent years after saying previously to that they never would...

Oh no.

Didn't realize NL had become this desperate for clicks.

@LuckyLand Not sure what is insensitive about it or anti consumer. Nintendo makes a home and dedicated gaming portable. There is no reason for Nintendo or Sony (don't see God of War or Spiderman on PC either) to put anything on PC. MS does it because they make an OS for that space...if they didn't I'd bet a kidney they would be the same as Nintendo and Sony. At least on mobile Nintendo doesn't have a comparible product (3ds/switch don't really match the consumer space of a phone. Different product focus, and the devices really aren't designed to do the same things...phones just happen to play games now too, so it makes sense for game makers to have some hook in that space if they aren't going to make a phone of their own, and Sony showed that was not the best idea in the world anyway).

If one wants to play Nintendo games you buy their hardware or play the mobile offshoots. You have plenty of options as a consumer. I know folks want Nintendo to go 3rd party but their decision not to doesnt make them anti consumer. So I don't see/agree with/empathize with your point at all.

Disclaimer: Also a PC (multisystem) gamer.

Also it is a company....we kinda need them to have a continuous stream of revenue...otherwise they won't/can't invest in more games (especially new IP and niche ones). Cutting off revenue streams stifles a company. It is company culture that drives some companies to make the cash cow the only thing they care about...Nintendo historically has not been that type of company.

I honestly hate mobile gaming. My phone is to call family and friends not to play a game of Mario kart. If Nintendo honestly did this they would fail hard. I’m sure they wouldn’t go down this failtastic route considering how good the switch is doing.

@electrolite77 Hope you're right

@Ryu_Niiyama this "continuous stream of revenue" on MOBILE GAMING is clearly a reference to microtransactions, that's what is anti consumer.
Of course every company need a continuous stream of revenue, but there is a difference between earning it with worthy products and earning it with millions and millions of microtransaction that are worth nothing but many people who play on mobile are willing to pay them because... they cannot even figure out what is convenient and what is not.
If you don't understand what he is talking about is only because you don't want to, because it is really clear.
It is like a developer say in an interview that he likes a lot dlc, microtransactions and loot boxes. Of course they like it, but they should be smart enough to understand that we don't. And that games filled with that crap are nothing else than trash.

Also I don't understand why it makes sense that they want to make games on mobile phones but not on computers (other than this reason which is anti consumer). If they are willing to make games for other systems too not just their own why mobile phones are fine but computers are not? Except for the fact that on mobile there are much more people willing to spend money on microtransactions for games that are more shallow and less good than computer and console ones I mean.

@electrolite77

Thank you so much for post #92 that clears this up. In fact he's saying nothing about "moving towards mobile", but only basically that the mobile games they have should be more focused on continuous revenues to even out the uneven income streams.

NL, someone's been a bad boy.

Been a Nintendo fan for 27 years and this guy has rubbed me the wrong way since he got in. I think he's wrong for Nintendo and I believe he should be replaced. Smart phone games are trash and I don't have ONE installed on my phone that I've actually paid for or put money into.

You will always need some kind of hardware to play video games on and I expect Nintendo to make that hardware whether it's powered by streaming or not. Maybe partner with Panasonic again to make a gaming TV that streams games with Nintendo controllers that are exclusive. Yes make some games available on PC but have exclusives you can only get on that "Nintendo TV." Screens/projectors/holograms will always be needed to watch and play content on so maybe look for ways to innovate in that area. I bet the community would be more open to those ideas than saying Nntendos future is smartphone games.

I get that companies need to branch out and explore new ventures, but they also need to stay true to the core products and philosophy of the company which they are known for. Yes Nintendo started out as something else long, long ago, but entering the console market in the eighties took them from an obscure Japenese company to a global behemoth. You need to understand that Furukawa, or get the hell out.

This is going to sound completely snobby and elitest, but I don't think gaming belongs on smartphones. They're fine for a quick distraction, but the in-depth, the artistic, the meaningful stuff, those are console games and until smartphones and tablets are capable of reproducing that on a reliable level (touch controls exclusively aren't reliable, trust me, I've tried 'em all). Physical buttons, control sticks, cross control pads, these are integral to a responsive, smooth gaming experience. Heck, even a mouse and keyboard have an edge over touch screens.

The worst part is that smartphone gaming is constantly perpetuating the microtransaction and "games as a service" culture that stifles artistic and deeper games. It'd be a disaster for the medium as a whole if smartphones took over. And there isn't a smartphone game that I know of that doesn't work as well, if not better, on a console or PC.

@capitalism @MasterGraveheart comment number 92

"And increase the number of games on smartphones"

This is literal clickbait. They're not going to leave the hardware scene any time soon, just that they're keeping their minds open for expanding.

Shame on you Nintendo Life.

@Oni_Dino Yeah, that's just how Nintendo Life reports news these days. It's very poor.

@Oni_Dino HALLELUJIAH! There is hope in this world after all.

This is just the answer to the question

"What will Nintendo do if game console gaming comes to an end?"

And this actually a very wise answer. Gaming will eventually move to entirely online games (microtransactions and all) or mobile games.

We know Nintendo isn't really capable of doing big online only games, so siding with the mobile games market (and hopefully someday a Nintendo smartphone) is a wise choice.

However there is absolutely no sign that this will happen in the near future. With the PS5 and XBOX TWO dropping next year.

The end of an era.

I, for one, highly doubt this will happen. If it does then I will cherish the consoles I do have but streaming and mobile games are the bottom of the gaming world in my opinion. These are just money grabs and then end of physically owning video games or hardware.

@LuckyLand Shrugs. I understand Nintendo's position; I dont understand yours, which I already stated.

I have no issues with microtransactions seeing as they are optional. I have not spent a dime in FEH yet Nintendo has made 230 mil on that. Not sure how it is anti consumer when consumers are voting with their wallet FOR microtransactions. (I'm not a fan of them either, but I would never call them anti consumer... companies found another revenue stream that consumers obviously don't mind and they have every right to do so. Just because not every consumer is a fan doesn't make the practice anti-consumer...just not that consumer's cup of tea. Vote with your wallet...don't buy them, or don't download a mobile game that has them.) Do you dislike DLC as well? They often overlap as dlc runs the range of content size and pricing.

I've already stated why I feel Nintendo isn't putting games on everything and a potato so I won't go back into that. Nintendo is a HW manufacturer they make a product that occupies the same space as PC (as in home or portable in a laptop's case gaming platform). Want Nintendo games? Buy Nintendo hardware or look at the space where they don't have hardware which is mobile. Nothing anti consumer about that. However I think this is just a disagreement of viewpoints rather than an argument of facts. So I will agree to disagree. Thanks!

I just want Nintendo’s mobile games to have an offline mode. I don’t want to play their games and then have them swiped away from me when the servers shut down. I refuse to play Dragalia Lost because it’s always-online.

Can somebody get the assets of Nintendo’s online only game and put them in an offline version of the games?

@Wesjedker Furukawa's attitude and comments, even before this article.

@capitalism For the sake of the argument (seeing as this piece has been exposed for the click bait, twisting the original interview), Nintendo started out a playing card company and its philosphy through all its ventures has sought to provide entertainment. I don't think they've strayed too far from that philosophy. I also think if things in the culture were to change and Nintendo wanted to survive, they would need to make some tough decisions. Gaming purist may not like it. But when that time comes, it makes perfect sense to go where the wind is blowing.

With that being said, I think its been already shown we don't have anything to worry about as, again, these comments were taken completely out of context.

You know I'm not old enough to know but I wonder how the transition from arcade gaming to home console gaming went. Did they have folks grumbling that games were not meant to be played on a home tv on infereior tech, thus ruining gaming?

Every time I see someone spitting on mobile I wonder that. I don't game on mobile. (only games I have are fallout shelter, feh and mario run) However I just go "mobile isn't for me" but I am sure it is fun and works quite well for countless others in the world. Game where you want and how you want.

Nintendo Life ruining their already shoddy reputation 1 clickbait at a time.

Mobile only gaming would be a disaster for me. Anyway Nintendo never disappointed me, so we will see. I don't think they will go mobile only, this would be crazy imho.

I read this article and instantly thought, This is very depressing and I really miss Iwata San . I literally cannot stand mobile games with the pay to play and free to play models I've witnessed people paying upward of 100.00 bucks within a month playing these types of games ., Honestly these mobile games are the new con jobs of the industry what ever happened to purchasing a game for 40.00 or 50.00 bucks and you had the complete game. I don't play games on my phone anymore I can't take all the advertising you gotta sit through and the heavy pushing of pay walls disgust me I think these companies should be a shamed of themselves.

@Romeo-75 comment number 92 for anti-depressant.

@Oni_Dino Well I read the article and it looks like I found my new Nintendo site. NL your clickbait has lost you a reader, hope you stop that before it costs you more.

....April 1st isn't here yet, Nintendo...

I don’t care if they increase their smartphone presence, but Nintendo games wouldn’t be Nintendo games if they weren’t playable on a console. Maybe if they made a controller for phones (because touch screen controls suck), then maybe, but for now, consoles please.

@electrolite77 I attempted to damage control the comment thread as well with my own thoughts on the matter lol

@Oni_Dino I think it's the wording of the article's title that's twisting the story somewhat and pissing everyone off

@electrolite77
I and a lot of others don't mind if Nintendo invests in smartphone games, but we all just want to make sure smartphones won't become their MAIN investment in the gaming sector. I get that NL were a little sketch in how they presented the info, but even before this article the new president seems obsessed with mobile. Yes Iwata (reluctantly) moved Nintendo into mobile, but at every step of the way he assured us all that Nintendo would ALWAYS be involed in the hardware business. Adamantly and concisely, every time. When you're the President of a major corporation what you say and how you say it matters a lot, especially with stockholders and die-hard fans.

@Oni_Dino Gamexplain has tag the link to your article

https://youtu.be/lBDao-lvF9I

And the comments are... "sigh"

Fear really drives people to some new heights.

@Wesjedker It's the title. If they used a title like Nintentdo Everything's people would've understood because in the video the have the full quotes.

@macalao914 Sad reality is that they're gonna jump in the comment section by looking at the title without even laying a peek at the article. Habitual sickness for these people.

If Nintendo actually goes in this mobile direction, us fans will be very upset. Already not a huge fan of this new president.

i doubt it cause there be a backlash from gamers who enjoy playing nintendo games on the tv so if they keep the hybrid system mechanics in place there shouldnt be any issues in future nintendo consoles.

Am I the only one who thinks Nintendo Smartphone games aren't that good? If they focus on Smartphones only then the quality of games will drop. Smartphones and memory cards can hold only so much. How many gigabytes will Pokemon and Legend of Zelda be? Nintendo appears to be money hungry. Most Smartphone games succeed by paying for extras. Pokemon Go is the best example of a money eating game. How often do we run out of Pokeballs and have to pay for more? Right now the PS5 sounds pretty good.

Ya that sounds like Nintendo. We have a hugely successful product here so let’s forget about it and do something else. The guy is an idiot.

@Ryu_Niiyama "Nintendo is a HW manufacturer they make a product that occupies the same space as PC "

No it does not.
PC is as different than a home console just as a mobile phone is different than a handheld console.

The only thing that makes PC closer to a console than a mobile phone is the quality of games, wich is very similar both on PC and consoles but it is immensely worse on mobile phones.

PS: I am not completely against dlc, dlc can be less worse than microtransactions and loot boxes, and also dlc are the only things amongst those that I would not define necessarily anti consumer, but often companies abuse of them and in that case they become anti consumer.
If there was some regulation on dlc to grant their fairness they could be a good thing too they are not necessarily bad. But often companies use them in the worst way.

I swear! Inhate Xbox PlayStation and playing on the phone! I will not tolerate this! If you Nintendo stop home consoles I will never forgive you! You new president say you played since you were a child and you enter as new president to move to smartphones? How dare you do this! Don't you dare stop home consoles! I called into Nintendo customer service to complain about this! I swear to God!

@Oni_Dino Thanks for adding more info on this!

@DigiF4N Not sure if trolling, but calm down, fella! Read comment no 92 + comment no 197 to fully understand that this is a lame clickbait article and nothing more. Nintendo is not to blame here.

I'm not trying to troll, sorry, but i'm not trying to troll

@DigiF4N OK. But just relax, there's nothing to worry about here.

Furukawa literally says
"flexibility" as in, "of course we need to broad our reach and expand to other markets" not as in "screw consoles, give me smartphones"

@DigiF4N read comment number 92

What Nintendo should do is go all in on power for the next generation. One Last Time at least. Do It all properly this time. Power, no gimmicks, proper controller, online service & Discs if they are still around. After the Switch they are in a prime position to at least try it and if it doesn't work then just go back to doing stuff like they are now.

@UmbreonsPapa

That's where I disagree though, there will ALWAYS be gaming purists which means there will always be a sizable market to sell to. PC gaming has risen in recent years, which means people are still willing to shell out big bucks for hardware. It also means that games that require either beefy graphics cards or really fast internet aren't going anywhere. It's not like Sony or Microsoft won't be susceptible to future happenings so I don't know why certain people are ready to bow out. Nintendo can be quirky, innovative and provide something different and be wildly successful. Just look at Wii and Switch. I understand smartphones need to be a part of the mix, but honestly I would rather have streaming services with beefy games (like a new Mario) with hardware (whether that be a box, TV etc) with Nintendo controllers any day. I believe the bulk of Nintendo's RD money should be put into streaming, screens, TV's, projectors/holograms and controllers over smartphones. Some may disagree but that's where I stand. If Capcom can afford to invest in streaming, so should Nintendo. They just have to have the will.

@Boxmonkey just look at all those games that they moving to the Switch from the Wii U.

@JSG87 power isnt everything man and rather them stick with cartridges they can store way more data then discs.

@Anti-Matter what about if the industry adopts streaming and moves away from physical completely?

@LuckyLand Re read my comment.

@PrincessBowsette Power isn't everything, you are correct but at one point they were the industry leader and always on the forefront of bringing the best possible graphics to go with their games. Those consoles eventually started selling less every generation but the power was not the reason that things started to fall apart. Nintendo consistently made mistakes that harmed their Consoles selling potential and drive 3rd parties away due to development costs, (cartridge for N64, mini discs for gamecube) and this led them to the Wii which arguable became more than a gaming machine and more of a lifestyle companion.

The Switch with its at least comparable power has proven that Nintendo can compete even while doing their own thing but I think they should try and push the graphical boundaries again unless the industry really pushes for streaming and even then they'll still need a powerful machine to be able to compete.

If Nintendo want to move away from the home console then all they have to do is, not supply a dock to connect future Switch handheld devices to TV, s.

And that will be more sales for PlayStation and Xbox. And that's not a bad idea.

@kevin2345 this is still a rumour remember.

@KingdomHeartsFan wen pigs fly dude nintendo is not going to get out of home console if they keep making hybrid systems.

That last quote proves that it’s allll about the money and not the experience

@KingdomHeartsFan Good Good Let the Butthurt Flow Through You Troll.

I’m hoping I read the calendar wrong and today is actually April 1st.

Pretty pathetic NL article but what can your expect from these clowns?

@electrolite77 creating all their gimmicks (that most people didn't want, most people only wanted their games and were interested only in the software and/or software + more powerful consoles instead of gimmicks) often have been more unprofitable and unconvenient for them than not, but they never cared about that and never changed, they never stopped wasting huge amount of money in weird stuff that most people despised even those who bought it because they loved the games.
Why they never cared to do something about that and change their strategies in this case?
They would risk a lot less and would need to worry a lot less about risks if they just focused on their software and performances of consoles instead of weird controls that most people don't need and don't want.

Yikes, no offense NL, but you guys REALLY should've posted his entire quote regarding this topic.

Nintendo isn't going third party or focusing on smart phones games, if they don't have to. Which given the success of the Switch, they don't have to worry about focusing on smart phone games. i can easily see them continue this hybrid model for a long time and just using the smart phone games as a secondary thing, like they have been.

No one should really want Nintendo to go third party anyway. Do we really want Sony to have a monopoly on Japan?? Do we want Sony and Microsoft to be the only two hardware makers in the West? Nintendo isn't anywhere close to being where SEGA was when they pulled out of the hardware market, ESPECIALLY with the success of the 3DS and Switch.

@LuckyLand - But if the made the same exact thing as everyone else, why buy it outside its exclusives? Get everything on the PC and call it a day.

@Inkling - That sounds like a scenario that emulation and piracy comes back into my life. I am over this whole superior console biz and loved what the Switch has given me in accessibility, flexibility and function. Not to mention the TOS aren't entirely friendly with the consumer.

It's funny cause I have MHW, because I wanted to play it. Though I can never find the time to just make all this room in my schedule to sit down and play for a few hours. But MHXX, even having to start from scratch, I am nearly caught up to my old 3DS grind.

@LuckyLand Unprofitable? The wii, DS, 3DS, and switch would like a word with you!

@Yoshinator And the Virtual Boy and the Wii U would like a word with you too.
I love the Wii (the old, first one) but I think it would have been better without motion controls, I don't like DS that much but most of the people I have talked to who love it say that they just love its games, they love it for the games not because of its gimmicks.
That means that even if those systems were succesful, the sold spent in their gimmicks were wasted.
Most of the people who loved them would have loved them the same with more normal controls, maybe even more.
And Virtual Boy and Wii U would not have flopped so hard.

@Paraka For the exclusives. Lol. Come on. We are talking about Nintendo games. Why would you buy any console if not for the exclusives? I bought all of them exactly for that. And every console I loved it has been ALWAYS and ONLY for that.
The exclusives. This is the only thing about consoles! Do you really think that a console need something more than that? Expecially a Nintendo console, since they have so many of them? And often of such a good quality too? Lol. You really are the one who should just play on PC if you believe that.

I know what he's hinting at! Since he's obsessed with smartphones, he wants smartphone games to be the focus! Please don't do it nintendo!

@JSG87
Streaming Only = Adios Future gaming.
I will STOP completely from following Future gaming trend.
Instead, i will keep playing my Old machines to entertain myself, ignoring all the bullcrap of future gaming.

@electrolite77

Of course every company always has to plan for different scenarios in their future, but the fact he COMMUNICATED that in the way he did when his company currently has the best selling console on the market is unwise in my opinion.

Also I don't think this all stems from investor pressure. He's been obsessed with talking about mobile since he's taken over.

@LuckyLand
Sorry for interrupting, but...
Gimmicks from NDS, 3DS, Wii, Switch are Beautiful features from Nintendo machines.
Touch screen = Playing the games can be fancy.
3D effect = Mmmmuah...! Beautiful 3D effect.
Motion control = Playing games is Not so ordinary anymore.
Gimmicks like that are my selling points from Nintendo machines.
I'm BORED with No gimmick consoles.
Keep sticking on TV with pressing button like ordinary gaming = Boring.

Mobile gaming is the beginning of a slow slide off the deep end. Yuck.

@LuckyLand - If exclusives are the reason we buy it, why are we ever asking for third party games support that isnt exclusive? Why didnt the GCN have more ground because of its exclusives?

Third parties won't go places where they cannot sell, and exclusives of other companies dont make their market more enticing. If you have a PS4 and PC, you're already not interested in buying anything not Mario on a Nintendo game console unless there is a "gimmick" people want with it. Portable is just that gimmick.

@JSG87
"Power, no gimmicks, proper controller, online service & Discs if they are still around."

NO !
Bad ideas ever.
Power is Not everything.
Gameplay DOES matter for me.
No Gimmicks = Booooriiiing....
Still using Disc = Blah ! Too Old fashioned.
Cartridge is Much Better than Disc.

I already figured this guy would do that. He always seemed like a fake gamer anyway. He always seemed even more corporate than Kimishima. Hopefully doesn’t “deem it necessary” or Nintendo is effectively dead.

@electrolite77 Thank you for putting the full discussion, it paints a MUCH clearer image. He's talking about how Nintendo has adapted over time, from at one time offering playing cards to now making consoles. And they will continue to adapt as needed.

That’s a bad idea guys, just keep making consoles.

@memez they will its just this article is messing quite abit of info.

The future looks grim.

If we ever come to a point where current smartdevices are more powerful than all of the current consoles, such that you only need your smartdevice, a HDMI connector, and a controller to play most/all modern AAA, AA, or indie games, then PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch will all become irrelevant.

You can bet that all the current hardware manufacturers will dive headfirst into mobile gaming when that time comes.

Do you guys not have phones?

This shouldn't surprise anyone but it should upset everyone. The game industry is chasing money and time will tell if that kills it.

Please don't. I like Mario Run, you can that's not what he's talking about. "Continuous stream of revenue" means one thing, whale hunting. And no game made to court whales is good for non-whales. Ever.
It's tolerated on smartphones because they're literally giving you the game for free. They're still just as bad design wise as AAA games trying to ape it.
Either game play is deficient without a constant infusion of money, or there's some attractive element that's requires actual gambling to engage with it. Or the do both and said element is integral on some level. Nothing about these designs are nice to the consumer.
It looks lush now because there's been plenty of whales in the sea, but like AAAs making games so expensive only record-breaking success counts as breaking even, the monetization method will someday hit the wall.

@LuckyLand One of the reasons the Wii was so popular was because of the motion controls, If the Wii had a normal controller it wouldn't have attracted its main audience which was people that never got into games before and games like Wii sports that really helped the Wii
succeed wouldn't exist. And without the DS's Duel screen and touch screen it wouldn't have done nearly as well and most of the games and features like pictochat wouldn't exist.

It will take at least 5 years to make Nintendo begin to transfer to mobile gaming, so that future is unlikely a problem for now. But when they do that, my buying game list will be decrease to two brand Sony and Microsoft, and my budget will be safe than ever

@Paraka Portability is not only a gimmick, it is also useful. I have never been interested in third party support that is not exclusive except for The Elder Scrolls games, since it is the only non exclusive franchise that I like and care about. And I did not want it on Nintendo consoles because I wanted to play it in a different way, I wanted it on Nintendo consoles because I LOVED Nintendo and wanted everything I like on it. Only because of my love for Nintendo.
It is so sad that the only Nintendo console with a TES game is the only Nintendo console that made me hate Nintendo (because of the subscription)
I personally don't care about other non exclusive games, and everybody I talk to says that third party support is important to make OTHER people buy Nintendo consoles. Nobody of them is interested in third party support (except on Switch because of the portability, and as I said this is actually useful, it is not just a gimmick) for themselves, but they want it for other people. Like people who despise Nintendo games would start buying Nintendo consoles to play Call of duty on it instead on Playstation. LOL. Do you think it would ever happen???? It's crazy. People who don't appreciate Nintendo games will not buy Nintendo consoles to play Call of duty or Fifa or Dark Souls with motion controls or with two screens instead of one.

@Bolt_Strike lol that's funny. Imagine having to exchange friend codes to text someone.

@Yoshinator All those non gamers who bought Wii for the motion controls bought it, played a little with Wii Sports, then bought Just dance once a year and used it only during parties and nothing more.
Many of them did not even buy Just dance, they just tried Wii Sports a little bit and did not buy anything else.
The actual gamers are the ones who made Nintendo earn money with the actual games, non gamers made them earn money only on the consoles and then left those consoles to collect dust.

This article... it's why I don't like sensationalist reporting. Please bring some balance in, instead. I expect more from Nintendo Life. It's not like you need to stoke the fires, here. The correct context being explained and shown will still have people commenting and fearful, anyway. (see comment 92 for context, thanks @electrolite77 https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/01/future_business_shift_could_see_nintendo_move_away_from_home_console_development#comment4866198 )

The actual response sounds prudent and a good plan. Many companies are using some recurring income opportunities, such as subscriptions and mobile games, to keep things stable and not have the type of desperate business struggles of the Wii U, for instance. It means that developers are more free to take risks and go big with their core games.

It's remarkable that Breath of the Wild was created in such a difficult atmosphere, actually, and a testament to just how dedicated the core development teams are to creating richer, deeper gaming experiences. That is part of their strength, another is making the core gameplay mechanics enjoyable from moment to moment.

@LuckyLand
They also bought Guitar Hero 😎

@KingdomHeartsFan Jumping to conclusions right now.

NO, NINTENDO! NO, NINTENDO!

@TheFanatic well. The new president of nintendo has to go. This news makes me want to sell my switch and never play again.

@MegaVel91 I hope you're right.

@aaronsullivan wtf?

@Fandabidozi yah and I hate the stress of owning one.

@LUIGITORNADO Well, they could have you exchange phone numbers like a normal phone, but that does raise an interesting problem in that you probably don't want random strangers online getting your phone number and calling you, that could lead to some identity theft issues. Maybe they could have both a friend list and a contact list so you'd have some control over that?

@LuckyLand - Your personal love for Nintendo does not equate to a healthy business decisions, though. Using your own anecdote isn't cementing a reason where exclusives are the only thing that mattered.

I think that Nintendo has moved on from strictly home consoles now to begin with. If their next system didn’t have the portability of the Switch, that would be a major step back. That’s all I believe Furukawa is saying here. Going back to a traditional home console wouldn’t make any sense from a business or creative standpoint for Nintendo.

I’m amazed the comment section is interpreting this as a shift to third-party or mobile gaming entirely. That is not the case.

@Joe-b Please refrain from being so hostile against a President who is ussuring im success for Nintendo. His words are meaningless in a time where Switch’s are selling extremely well, but he is prepared for an inevitable change in the gaming climate. Give it 20 or so years and consoles will be a thing of the past. It’s just how technology changes, not much you can do about it. If you are so adverse to mobile gaming, just enjoy the games you have now. Treasure the games you enjoy instead of hating the idea of ones you don’t.

You watch the recovery email nintendo releases monday.

I think it just says how they have a long term plan to survive however the market changes. Thing is I doubt the current smartphone gaming trends will last forever, sure enough something better will come along for communication and people will focus on that instead. Who knows what the future holds, but if the way things have developed say anything it is that the mobile communications market is highly susceptible to drastic changes regardless of how successful standards might have been.

Now that I read it again. I don't take it as nintendo abandoning the console market. At least not while they're selling their current systems like hot cakes. Maybe I'm looking for any possible ray of sunshine here. I hate having a cell phone anyway. Here's the deal. Cell phones at this time couldn't replace a console anyway. The platform stinks....

Wow. 300 comments. Job well done Nintendolife. 😉

I’d say read comment 92 for the full story

@ottospooky i think your the exceotion im 36 turning 37 this month and i second screen but its my ipad that has tv on, hell as we speak in playing my splatfest while watching the colts playoff game on my ipad on hulu live...

on another note does nintendo realize thier mobile games suck, and the only peoplei who really care about them live in china and japan or are little kids. kive tried them all and they are just garbage compared to thier console counterparts. i wish people would show nintendo people dont want to be nickled and dimed with microtransactions.

As you all say in the comments section, it's probably nothing to take seriously. But, it'll suck to see Nintendo to stop making new game consoles. I hoped Nintendo make a new handheld with PS3 graphics after the Nintendo 3DS in 2021 and continue to support the Nintendo 3DS.

@IceEarthGuard you're better off. I laugh at people that when the phone rings or a text comes in...they scramble and knock walls down to get the phone. Sad.

If done right mobile spin-offs work fine.

And I don't like this president anymore lol

click bait? anyway it would be sad if thats where the Nintendo boat is sailing. Doesnt bother me too much cause I told myself Switch will be my last ever console. Im getting old and cant play/collect for ever..

@electrolite77

No, more along the lines of "We never know what the future holds but we plan to be a hardware company for the foreseeable future as well as leverage the mobile market for consistent revenue generation."

I was interested until i saw "Smart phones". Don't get me wrong it's nice to have a few time killer games on the mobile, but no matter how many games can run on a phone it will never be a gaming console... Nintendo are pretty uniqe most of the time, I just feel a mobile approach is just following the rest of the croud and most of the time feedback comes in negative as its really not what gamers want.

Thank you @electrolite77 for bringing the full story, it's a shame it will be buried in the chaos that is this comments section when garbage "articles" like this one are allowed to be published in order to rile everyone up and get dem clicks rolling in.

If you look you'll probably see a "gap" between console users and mobile users. Things might not end up so well if you try to smash these two groups into one unnaturally.

Not surprised but blah nonetheless. Phone games can be ok, but nothing beats the intensity that can only be created with multiple button presses/options, whether on a controller or keyboard/mouse. And my experience with phone games that superimpose buttons onto the screen has been universally horrible.

@LuckyLand
"All those non gamers who bought Wii for the motion controls bought it, played a little with Wii Sports, then bought Just dance once a year and used it only during parties and nothing more.
Many of them did not even buy Just dance, they just tried Wii Sports a little bit and did not buy anything else.
The actual gamers are the ones who made Nintendo earn money with the actual games, non gamers made them earn money only on the consoles and then left those consoles to collect dust."

WTF? I had a feeling NintendoLife would make a clickbait article out of this. But geez, I didn't think they'd take it this far.

I really hope not. This would be quite a disappointment for a lot of people.

If Nintendo must leave the console market, then let them pull a SEGA and release their games onto other consoles and the PC, new and old. Mobile games make them money, great, just please don't throw all your eggs into one basket and then wonder why profits are dropping.

Oh, dear people... I know it's hard keeping up with all the comments, but please read posts #92 and #197.

"Ah... Another day's work done!", Liam said to himself, when looking at all the comments his article generated, and he went to bed with a smile on his face.

Goodnight, y'all!

@KingdomHeartsFan If you really think Nintendo is leaving the console market, you're essentially asking for mainstream gaming to die.

Nintendo is a console manufacturer first and foremost. They know where most of their loyal fans reside. They know where they make the majority of their revenue. Do you really think they're just going to leave that behind to pursue endeavours that they aren't performing nearly as optimally in?

Just partner with another company that's palatable to the masses, make a 1080p flatscreen phone, make it lagless/compatible with the Switch's controllers, and let's go already!

The article's title is a bit too click-baiting/radical compared to the modest thoughts of what Furukawa actually said. He said that if the company needed to leave the console business, they would, because Nintendo is flexible. That isn't to say they will cleave the home console business, as the article title suggests is imminent, just that Nintendo could if they wanted to.

That would end Nintendo

Wow, this is some CNN level reporting right here. Welcome to fake news ladies and gentlemen.

@Wesjedker Neat.

No. Please no. Well, okay, depending just how far in the future that is. As smart phones are now, just no- Please no. But in the future, if phones are buff and jam-packed with storage, then maybe just maybe. Imagine if they made, uh, "joy-cons" that slide onto the sides of the phone and they would Bluetooth controlled or connected somehow. But for now, let's maintain the console games please.

Honestly, soon we'll reach performance levels on smarphones that would go to waste if we didn't get full fledget titles on them. The few things that need fixing before game devs shift to the mobile platform would be:

A common minimum hardware starting point with a standard performance classification that one could slap on the game and when you check the game out with your old galaxy s4, i'd would tell you "you can play it" or "you can play it but settings are reduced".

A standard controller because touch input is bad for gaming. Best would be a PSP GO style phone imo.

Using USB C in a Samsung Dex like fashion for the "home console" form factor build in to the OS.

Destict classifications of those games that don't allow a 60$ game to have time locks on them that require watching ads/buying premium currency.

Considering that this is nintendo, they'll stumble and crash for the first 1-2 years looking back at some minless ideas the have for the switch (locked BT and no onboard communication app).

@capitalism That's exactly right, Iwata always said that unique Nintendo experiences had to happen on Nintendo hardware, which makes perfect sense. Expanding into mobile gaming was just a way of keeping the shareholders on side whilst the Wii U was failing. Some people have very short memories.

I'd hate to see them go the way of Sega interms of only publishing games. Although Its their business and they always do whatever the f they want to anyway.

Sounds like my childhood slowly dying. But if they ever step away, at least keep handheld gaming alive.

@Dan_Dan
I’m hoping for Mario, Sonic & Fledget at the Olympics.

This comment section is hilarious!

It bothers me that he says Nintendo's guiding principle is to offer the most innovative and unique ways to play games. Shouldn't Nintendo's guiding principle be to make the BEST games? Innovate and unique isn't always better. I'd rather play the best games than every goofy take on the genre. Nintendo just doesn't get that they don't have to be different; they just need to be better.

@Mattiac read comment 92

@Wolfcreek897 read comment 92

@zever read comment 92

@FireMario887 read comment 92

If Nintendo stopped making video game consoles I would hope they would still make games like Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Star Fox, FZero and etc for PlayStation, Xbox and PC.

@Slim1999 read comment 92

@whanvee read comment 92

@rallydefault read comment 92

@JonTheWong read comment 92

@Rect_Pola please read comment 92

@The_Legged_One please read comment 92

@NIN10DOXD read comment 92

@Nintendofan83 read comment 92

@zool read comment 92

@biglittlejake read comment 92

@Claytonbob read comment 92 to see the true light.

@XxPetriedudexX read comment 92

If you took the time to read the entire thing, you'll be able to understand what he is trying to say.

Please refrain from creating opinions out of fear just by looking at the title.

I'll post what comment 92 from electrolite77 was saying and I quote:

This is really bad reporting actually. It’s quoting him completely out of context. Here’s the full discussion.

Have you ever run into an “innovation dilemma” – where the company’s past successes were too big, making innovation impossible?

Furukawa: We aren’t really fixated on our consoles. At the moment we’re offering the uniquely developed Nintendo Switch and its software – and that’s what we’re basing how we deliver the “Nintendo experience” on. That being said, technology changes. We’ll continue to think flexibly about how to deliver that experience as time goes on.

It has been over 30 years since we started developing consoles. Nintendo’s history goes back even farther than that, and through all the struggles that they faced the only thing that they thought about was what to make next. In the long-term, perhaps our focus as a business could shift away from home consoles – flexibility is just as important as ingenuity.

Do you expect fluctuations in business performance to continue from here on?

Furukawa: I’m thinking about little ways we can reduce that kind of instability. I’d like to increase the (amount of) games on smartphones that have a continuous stream of revenue. We’re also dabbling in theme parks and movies – different ways to have our characters be a part of everyday life. I’m anticipating a strong synergy like that.

if that happens I will stop supporting them. I am lifelong nintendo fan but I am not playing games on a cell phone. Switch is as mobile as I will get.

Ugh!!! Why? I don't want this

@IPrino read the quote above you.

@leo13 read comment 92

@Wesjedker thank u

@Wesjedker thanks?!? I feel slightly better. Truth is I don't enjoy they're phone games (yes I've tried them all I almost looked Miitomo). I love my Switch and I loved my Wii U & 3DS and I don't want an end of these for mobile games

I didn't read into this as Nintendo will be producing more smart phone titles but more that it's one possible interest of the current CEO. Sure smart phone apps produce a lot of revenue with regards to Pokemon Go and others but Nintendo has taken the smart approach and released a few titles here and there that make sense for the platform. Yes most of us have a deep rooted fear that Nintendo takes the Blizzard path of contracting out third parties to produce knock offs of first party Nintendo titles and pass them off as next entries in series. But even the complaints against Blizzard are a little over the top. But back to Nintendo, I'm really interested to see what this Mario Kart spin-off smart phone app is that's in development, but more than that am interested in the next main line Switch Mario Kart entry (ala Mario Kart 9 perhaps). I'm also really interested in whatever next iteration of Switch hardware will come about, hopefully a "Switch Pro" or something in that vein. But again I think this article is a little overblown on a topic of a CEO just keeping his options open, don't read too much into it.

@Wesjedker Thanks. It's hard to read over 300 comments so I just read the article. I suppose it's fair to say that Nintendolife has been known to sensationalize things to get views. I may get some flack for this comment but this sort of thing didn't happen with Tom Whitehead at the helm. I still support the site but I think you'll see more articles like this moving forward.

@leo13 It's fine to be cautious but never let fear take the whole of you. It attracts unwanted conflict and unnecessary burden.

@Nintendofan83 Happy New Year I guess lol

@IPrino np, also leave a like to comment 92.

Will do, take care

@Wesjedker I've read comment 92. Thanks for the update.

Still Nintendo leaving the hardware business will always be on the back of mind. I love Nintendo but it's not cheap to buy two consoles every generation.

If this could mean playing Nintendo games legit on a superpowerful PC in the future, then go for it!

Microsoft goes third party, Nintendo becomes a phone game company & Sony becomes the new Microsoft. What a future that would be.

@Velocirapstar @Luffymcduck read comment 92 for more accurate details about the article.

IF they left the console market and made Smart Phone Games..that would sadly be the end of my nearly life long support of them going forward. I would love them forever, but I wouldn't buy anything of theirs. I don't play phone games. Simple as.

A game industry without a Nintendo home console, handheld or hybrid is something people who love this hobboy should not be hoping for. Much as I'm a fan of PlayStation and have enjoyed some Xbox games over the years as well, if it was just Sony and MS gaming would be very boring.

@Wesjedker it's called journalism. Headings have the word 'could' or a question mark, which shows that it is not news, its not accurate reporting, its written that way either because the writer does not understand or has not fully read what was said.

This type of article is written to cause alarm to gamers who will take what is written as truthful and will take journalists at their word.

You will notice that my previous reply was written with sarcasm to address the fake news 🤔

This site really did light the fuse and step back with this article...

I do like a good meltdown, and this article delivered that in spades.

Hopefully they'll do a Starfox Zero revisited article too.

No. No no no. Nintendo is one of the best video game companies, I don’t want them devolving into something else to the point where all they make is movies and mobile games. I can’t own a mobile game (physical for life!) I specifically refuse to download dragalia lost because I don’t want Nintendo to divert themselves to micro transactions and “free” games. They aren’t free money is needed to make them and they want/need money for them. Nintendo should stay straight up and honest, here’s the price, here’s your game. What if a core Pokémon game in the near future was designed around micro transactions and advertised as free on the switch? The game’s quality would suffer for it. The toxin that is mobile and it’s practices could spread. Quality games > mobile games.

This comment section is par for the course coming from this article. LMAO

Guaranteed if they go in this direction that they'll focus primarily on mobile games. $348 million is nothing to sneeze at.

@zool That was sarcasm?

Dear Lord almighty from above and beyond the heavens! I "might" have gotten the "wrong memo" about it then.

@WiltonRoots We have fun here to have fun

If it rakes in the dough to keep doing real games, then yes! I couldn't care about mobile games otherwise.

@Paraka It is not just my personal anecdote. Every person I talked to (ok of course not the entire world, but every person I know, even only on the net not necessarily in real life) who like Nintendo says that they "want" third party games because those games would (in their opinion, not in my opinion) make people who despise Nintendo games buy Nintendo consoles to play their favourite games. I have seen people that despise Nintendo games, they hate anything that even looks vaguely similar to a Nintendo game and would NEVER buy a Nintendo console. But anyway, (except in the case of Switch because of the portability*) NONE OF THEM was interested in buying third party games for themselves, they just wanted those games because they hoped more people would have bought Nintendo consoles this way.
I don't think that Nintendo haters who feel ashamed everytime even just the box of a game that is not rated 18+ enter their field of view would buy a Nintendo console only because they can play Call of duty or Fifa on it, while they already can play those games on Playstation and XBox without anything that makes them feel ashamed like the icons of friendly and cute characters for avatars that are on Switch (just to make an example)

*This also demonstrates that portability is not just a gimmick like the other ones but it is more than that and it is actually useful for many people

I wonder if there will be any attempt by NL to update this misleading article and provide insight into the full context. Good thing I regularly check nintendoeverything for a more serious approach.
On the overall quality of the site: At least a few of the last reviews on NL were good, you just have to ignore the articles that aren't worth reading.

@electrolite77 Well, I would agree with that because it makes sense and honestly, after my opinion on consoles changed I would be glad to have Nintendo games elsewhere and not only on Nintendo consoles.
But I am not interested in mobile phone games. I would be glad to have Nintendo games on PC.
Their games on mobile could never be as good and as enjoyable as they have always been on console, but on PC they could be at least as good as they have always been, maybe even better!
Why he is so willing to get into mobile phones ganming market but not into computer gaming market?
I have my own opinion about the reason but this is not the thing that matters the most, the most important thing is that mobile gaming is not as good as console and computer gaming.
I don't care anymore if consoles disappear because I don't feel that I can trust consoles anymore, but if consoles really disappear and Nintendo will start making computer games because of that I could even start to buy their games again, if they will sell them in a way that is fine for me (without the need of a subscription and things like that), but if they will choose the mobile phone market instead I will never buy their games and this time not because there is something in the way they sell them that I am gainst to, but because their games COULDN'T be as good as I want them to be anymore in that case.
They would be less than a shadow of what they used to be if something like that happens.
If consoles will ever really disappear, they could keep the quality they have always had on consoles only if they choose computer market, not mobile phones market.

@Wesjedker Indeed, a lot of people are quick to read the headline and jump straight to the comments. Quite often with articles on here, they are lifted from a big article somewhere else and divided up in to smaller chunks here.

I find it easier to open the page here and go to the source link to get a more accurate depiction of what was said.

Mobile games are mostly crap now, but what if the platform is the unified platform of the future? If all games were released in the mobile marketplace and game makers simply released controllers and docks for TV viewing, every phone and tablet could be a Switch. Nintendo has always relied on strong software sales, but has often struggled to move hardware - yet nearly everyone owns a phone or tablet.

I can see this being a valid shift in the future even without moving towards full game streaming and subscription services (though that is where the industry is charting a course to right now).

I mean seriously, if Nintendo released a Switch-lite and it was a hybrid Switch and Android smartphone, I'd jump on that ship so fast.

What is a Switch successor down the line one day in the future was 100% portable HD console. That would satify everything this article says. That would make it a console but not a home console.

If anyone thinks Furukawa is saying Nintendo might leave the hardware business, they are wrong and didn't understand the interview. Furukawa is saying Nintendo might leave the home console market one day and go 100% portable.

It makes sense as Nintendo has been traditionally strong in the portable gaming market as well as their loot box mobile games are getting them a lot of revenue.

@WiltonRoots
You can't do that when NintendoLife don't source the article. There is quite a few NL articles out there not sourced at all.

@electrolite77 Of course if they do things I like (PC gaming) I could not complain because they also do something I don't like (mobile gaming). I wouldn't play their mobile games but I would buy their PC games (if those games are sold in a fair way for my taste).
I didn't appreciate games like Wii sports and Wii music back then, there have always been certain Nintendo games that I didn't like but since there were other games that I really loved too it was not a problem for me.
It would be the same thing if they will ever start making games both for computer and mobile phones.
I wouldn't care about their mobile phone games but not really complain either if they do something better too.

@Wesjedker We can all read. We don’t need your calming gestures.

Furukawa was a mistake. If he feels comfortable enough throwing stupid comments like this into an interview even on a tangent then he doesn’t know what he’s doing (or he does and it’s not what anyone here wants).

He needs to go.

@atomicjuicer Your comment is the exact reason @Wesjedker continues to point out post #92. There is absolutely nothing here to lose your crap over. And I don’t see what makes this comment stupid. Nintendo is a business. It would be stupid for them to not be flexible and ready if/when things change.

@Anti-Matter
I enjoyed that video! However I’m older than the average user here, an original NESer from the days when this song was a hit. Lol

@Bengals76
Yo!
Long time no see.
Did you still play ARMS ?

@JSG87 Thanks for telling me.

@Wolfgabe the switch will definitely not be Nintendo's last system. They are not going to sell 75 million units lifetime and not continue. Those numbers are to good. (75 is the number I came up with lifetime)

@electrolite77 you make some sence here. The Switch won't be their last console in my opinion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X45CFz_X5dQ
This is the best analysis for this kind of click bait news. Weird that this site is called "Nintendo Life" and whenever they can, they on Nintendo.

@atomicjuicer What exactly was stupid about his answers?

@atomicjuicer Look on your brightside... at least Nintendo is not helmed by Kathleen Kennedy.

I think people might be taking the wrong conclusions here.

I wish I could have access to the original Japanese article (you need to be subscribed to Nikkei to read it) because Japanese is a very difficult language to properly translate with Japanese people (specially businessmen) never speaking in a direct way. There’s always something lost in translation.

I don’t think Furukawa is saying that Nintendo will eventually move away from making hardware but instead he is saying that Nintendo is not fixed on making consoles in the way other companies do. They’re more flexible and will try to move in the same direction gaming people are moving. It’s not a matter of black or white I think.

@maruse yup, also comment 92 has got you covered.

@electrolite77 moving to other console would be a useless and pointless suicide if they don't need to. But if they ever will be in a situation that they cannot make consoles anymore but others still make consoles then I don't think it could be a bad thing to create games for other consoles as well. But if they don't need to it would be just crazy and pointless for them of course.

Basically over 400 people in comments never read the original source (here: https://nintendoeverything.com/nintendo-president-on-risk-innovation-and-reducing-instability/) and instead fell for Liam's clickbait, where he took a bunch of sentences from an interview completely out of context.

Furukawa was asked about "innovation dilemma", where it's getting hard to innovate on consoles; he responded by saying Nintendo could discover new ways to innovate outside of consoles in the future, for example, card games, etc.

He wasn't outright saying the company will completely move away from consoles, just that they could discover new ways to innovate away from consoles, which they've done in the past (they originated as a playing card company, after all).

As for the mobile comment, he's talking about consistent revenue streams outside of their console gaming market. You can't deny how profitable mobile has been for them. But just because they're assigning teams to make mobile games, doesn't necessarily mean they aren't still designating teams to make hardcore AAA Nintendo first party console games as well.

@yuwarite Wow. Well, mistakes can happen, I supposed. Looks like the 400 commentors here were overreacting over nothing.

I know I'm a day late on commenting, but this needs to be said. Oh boy, reading the article and most of these comments. REALLY starting to make my blood boil. And it's not because of what the president of Nintendo Japan, is saying, no. It's because of the SHEER CLICKBAIT!!! Oh my GOD! I'm really starting to see what some of ya'll is talking about when it comes to NL and ESPECIALLY that fool who typed this drivel. At first, when I started on here back at late 2016(or was it early 2017?), I didn't really understand what ya'll meant. But as time went along, it started to become clear. I'm glad that @electrolite77, @yuwarite, and a few others on here have enough sense to actually give out complete, truthful information and NOT unnecessary drivel just to get clicks! And you know whats sad, the naïve and uninformed who see this article is gonna unfortunately fall for this, like what is happening RIGHT NOW!! Like Liam, let me ask you this one question: Were you THIS lazy whereas you couldn't be bothered to look up the FULL article of what this man was really implying when he made that statement? So that you know you can get the full context of the interview?

@RadioHedgeFund I think you misread the Blizzcon fiasco. They had a right to be upset, because it was clearly a lesser product than Diablo 3. It was in poor taste for Blizzard to announce a game nobody wanted before a true sequel.

What if you waited 5 years for the next Zelda entry only for Nintendo to announce an inferior mobile spinoff? I like mobile games too but I’m not going to deny that they are not by nature a bit more limited than full console releases.

props to the commenters who dug through the source and gave more insight into the interview. should be the author's job even with a simple edit, but appreciated nonetheless

@Boxmonkey they still didn't port super Mario maker to the switch? That's sad. I doubt they'll make an app to let you download levels to play on mobile with the main game on the switch. Until then I probably wouldn't even buy a switch; my steam backlog and all these sale digital codes via humble bundle (sonic last month was a ton of games, and sonic mania is great with the chemical plant zone mean bean machine boss battle), and gameflip, I wouldn't pay more for their system's games. I am glad I can still play newer super Mario Bros mod on the DS; thought for certain Nintendo would shut it down.

@atomicjuicer What are you talking about? Furukawa-san’s comments were perfectly reasonable. What has you upset enough to call for his job?

Head over to Nintendo Everything and read the full interview.

@electrolite77 Thanks for posting the proper source and it's news., I would leave you 100000 likes and kiss you on the cheek if I could.

So it's basically another idiotic clickbait article that has misinformation, in order to spur clicks. How on earth does this site getaway with posting such [removed], and have an affiliation with NintendoUK?

_{Mind the language! - Octane}

@Oni_Dino THANK YOU, good sir! I'm so glad you came to clear this up. Like your content by the way ^_^

@ottospooky

Honestly if they're next console was a very high quality handheld that could connect to a TV Chromecast style I don't think I would mind. It's just hard to keep up with other consoles if they are going to make something handheld only.

No Nintendo. That's not what you should do.

@Tempestryke Dude, PLEASE read comment 92 to get the whole story of what Furukawa meant. You know, instead of falling for this clickbait trash.

And before I head out of this site, BIG shoutout to you @electrolite77 and the few others for trying to override this mess of journalism that has bestowed upon this site. You guys are great. Also, love the pic you have there.

@Anti-Matter
Yes I do, quite a bit actually.

So what happens when Nintendo stopped making consoles. I stopped giving them money.

@retro_player_22 Read this article again and see comment #92. Seems the naughty Liam Doodle has turned a small scene into low quality provocative content for cheap clicks.

@blackbox64 Why not both? Nintendo probably has enough cash to successfully pull a Sega. I can see it now: Zelda proper on PC/Xbox/PlayStation, more Dragalia Lost on smartphones. Makes sense to me.

Although, considering the Switch is already a departure from home consoles, it probably just means Nintendo will go all-in on hybrids in the future. I am OK with this.

@Severian So, in other words, just expanding into other industries. Makes sense, calm down everybody.

They have already moved away from the home console space with the Switch.

So you and Eurogamer have some proper lazy journalists, as this quote is taken out of context and turned into something it's not. I remember when this site had good people writing articles and cared more about quality content rather than getting clicks with clickbait articles.

I'm late to see the drama and amazement at such a comment, but I can only say that it's still just a comment, just words on the air.

It is true and well proven that the mobile market is generating profits that many companies dream of, but it is still an unstable market, so they do not consider it as their base market, but the console market is no longer enough, especially for Nintendo, especially after the losses written off from the N64, I excuse the Wii; yeah, bad decisions, bad publicity and difficult rivals have favored this problem, but most of all the lack of support from us consumers; something that with the Wii and now with the Switch seems to no longer be seen to repeat, and hopefully it is like that, to see Nintendo in the videogames and consoles market.

@Oni_Dino Thank you for taking time and clarify everything.

As of late Nintendo Life is becoming a site not worth visiting anymore. They seem to care more about clicks and comments (it looks like it doesn’t matter if you’re even just a troll or a hater as long as you comment) than about proper journalism.

I’ve been a Nintendo Everything reader for years and this will only make me visit your site more and this site less.

@Harmonie Agreed! Mobile gaming is toxic, "free" til the micro transcactions, f that ishhh

Whatever the record is for comments is here, I feel like this one is going to give it a run for its money.

I think the lesson here is to be wary of Liam Doolan articles from now on, and to always read the sources he gets his articles from before you post in the comments section.

You know the clickbait is bad when the translator of the original article has to step in to explain how bad the clickbait is...

For shame Nintendo Life. He wasn't implying that. He was talking about doing things like the Switch and moving away from traditional consoles.

@NybroCymerej I'm just saying what would happen if that actually was true. I know what the actual article means.

Nonononononono

Going to be like apple and Android now? Many different nintendo tablets to choose from? Maybe....I would also assume later that it will work like Chromecast and Apple TV. No docking just cast the game to compatable smart tv's or they make their own Nintendo cast part to hookup to your HDMI slot. I just hope it doesnt go all in on Apple and Android/PC gaming. I cant imagine playing a nintendo game without its Hardware in my hands. Maybe just a few games for android and apple like they are doing now. Videogaming is changing so fast these days. I prefer the old days and just may have bought my last Nintendo system in the 3DS and Wii. Switch is to rich for me right now but I sure wish I had one. It sucks to get old and have to pinch pennies. Still rockin what I got though.

@Windy I have a Switch but I still prefer the Wii, both the games and the behaviour of Nintendo as a company were better. I would prefer if the Wii age never ended and we were still playing with it and every new game for Nintendo console was still made for it. Things were better in every single way back then if you ask me.
A more powerful version of it maybe (so I could have TES games on it too), but ONLY more powerful. EXACTLY the same thing in everything else. You are not missing much if you cannot afford a Switch if you ask me.
I miss Wii and Gamecube so much. They were so much better than what we have today.

@LuckyLand I feel the same way. I was really bummed when they decided not to produce Dragon Quest X on Wii back when it was released. It would have been the perfect MMORPg for Wii. I did enjoy Monster hunter but its not a true RPG. It was wildly popular though. They seriously dont want us playing that in north america. I setup my Wii to play online and im having a great time with that playing Animal Crossing and MarioKart. Im looking for a We Love Golf Partner but having no luck. The Wii still is alive online with a bunch of games working on the server.

@Windy I played a lot Animal Crossing on Wii too, but the Gamecube version is even better imo. I only played it online once and didn't like that though. I don't like online gaming. And I didn't really know the people I played with in real life so probably that made it even worse...

@electrolite77 I don't think Nintendo was overly anti consumer back then... more or less it was the same stuff you are used to on console... worese than PC standards but it was nothing new, I already knew that. Today things are much worse imo.

I was not interested in Wiiware so idk how developers were treated. I only bought Virtual console games not Wiiware games.

@LuckyLand exclusives are important in a console ecosystem (that is why Xbox is not living its greatest currently and pc is a platform as importantas the big 3. On the other hand mobile is definitely not competing for the same space (at least currently) and the games Nintendo launching there are fit for the platform. You say they are anti consumer but if they are free to play they need to be monetised (and if they are not free to play they won't sell because their userbase does not like it).

On a different point I bought a switch day one and I buy first party and third party games (and I want all the games possible, some bacause I want them and some because other people will like and buy)

The former president did a hell of a good job and this one so far has not done nothing to be ashamed of (yes, I know the online subscription is not good but let's skip the drama over it. Don't like it don't buy it)

I saw this on Saturday and decided not to comment due to the stupidity that is the article but it is a shame to see the amount of people that fell into this foul clickbait but uou 400+ comments...

I’d rather play Nintendo games on the best console available. Since portability isn’t important to me, the Switch isn’t it. I know many of you prefer VHS tapes over 4K discs, but I don’t.
I’m not into phone games either, but the money to be made is ridiculous.

This article and headline still need a massive rewrite, or maybe a follow up apology article? I think people jump on the clickbait label too easily as sites need to catch attention, but this is truly irresponsible and actually misrepresents the views of Nintendo in the article itself by its framing.

@Balta666 "You say they are anti consumer but if they are free to play they need to be monetised (and if they are not free to play they won't sell because their userbase does not like it)"

What I say is that flaunting on an interview how much you like the revenue that you get from things like microtransactions (considered worse than trash by most gamers) is anti consumer. I mean of course you like money, but you should find nicer things to say in an interview. You should not flaunt it in such a blatant way. This is anti consumer imo. Those words are a little too brutal for an interview. It's like "My little precious cash cows I can't wait to milk you even more", it's not a nice thing to hear for a customer. Of course they are after money, we already know that. Though I would hope they care about the cultural importance of their games too, but I doubt it by now.

I have no desire to play anything on a cellphone. As for the "Nintendo is moving away from consoles" quote, they been saying things as such since GameCube. The thing that Nintendo seems to be the most stable in is the nostalgic perspective with their main franchises. But their devices are always changing. We'll see what happens, I guess..

@LuckyLand in that case I just have an advise for you that is please go and read the interview (the full thing and not the clickbait of this article. If you need the source is Nintendo everything).

Basically I couldn't disagree more with what you say. They are providing games on console and games on mobile with a Big focus on consoles (their profit on mobile is ridiculous in comparison with consoles). And the games in each ecosystem is tailed for the market. I did not try any of Nintendo's games on mobile be sure I don't care about mobile games (either free to play or with a price tag because I won't buy games on mobile also) but that does not mean that there aren't people that want those things

There are three points on this topic I'd make:

#1 He is not talking about a planned exit from consoles, but just a blanket "Reggie Statement(TM)" that the company could do that if that's what technology came to (E.G. If Ubisoft's dream of an all streaming future happened, there would no longer be demand for dedicated gaming hardware. That would include Playstation and XBox), or if another company (say Apple) decimated Nintendo's market of handhelds and they no longer had a hardware space to operate in.

#2 Read the full translation, the comment about smartphone revenue is not connected to the question that drew the "home consoles" focus response. It was related to the secondary question of mitigating risk (currently and going forward) and his response included more smartphone games, theme parks, merchandizing in general to create a steady revenue stream that mitigates the risk associated with the games business (I.E. Wii/WiiU boom bust cycle is less extreme if the smartphone money is still rolling in during the bust phases.)

#3 My above defense of him in this interview aside, I've said from the beginning that from what I've seen thus far, I strongly dislike this guy leading Nintendo, and I do fear our era of Nintendo being Nintendo is drawing to a close. He is a pure businessman with a look toward all modern business trends and maximizing shareholder value, in a way even traditional Kimishima, the banker, was not. He uses key words like "respecting traditions" and "sharing responsibility" as an almost but not quite means of saying "but I'm going to change everything." His focus is on revenue streams, value, and chasing the trends. He does not think or operate like the Nintendo leadership we've always known, he thinks and operates like a generic corporate executive who would just as easily seem at home leading at Sony Corp., Square-Enix, Konami, or Capcom. I'm not particularly optimistic about Nintendo's future under his leadership. I don't think they will suffer and fail, in fact I think financially they will do well. But I think they may cease being "Nintendo" and simply become a generic member of the entertainment-industrial-complex same as all the other awful companies.

@NEStalgia #3 is exactly the same thing I feel too. Nintendo like any other company always had to make sure to gain the highest profit possible and probably they have been very lucky having a franchise like Pokemon that I think was able to "cover" many of the loss they have stumbled upon in the past. But until now they have always done so by valorizing their IPs in the best way possible or at least tried to do so. The new president feel like one of those poeople who don't make profit valorizing what they have got but instead want to make as much money as possible as soon as possible by selling everything they have. But that way there will be a point when they will have sold everything they had, and Nintendo will be just an empty box with worthless void inside at that point

@LuckyLand Yes It's modern business to a T....I would say it's new, but it's the same business mentality we've seen before. In the 1920s. That lead directly to the many crises that lead to the depression and the war(s.) Nintendo was a little bit of a refuge from that encroaching disaster....but....with Furukawa....I see an "investor-driven" company rather than a company lead on a long term objective. And investors operate on a principal that the fastest exploitation and/or liquidation of all assets leads to the greatest immediate gains for the savvy investor. I don't know who picked this guy, but it was a failure of leadership to prevent his arrival.