Do you think Nintendo will ever become a 3rd party publisher like Sega?

[marvelvscapcom2]

Imagine Mario on Xbox and Link on playstation lol .  Do you ever fear this day will come? Kinda like seeing sonic on Wii    I will never forget the first time I seen a sonic game with a Nintendo seal of approval.  I felt like a part of my childhood died. I hope I never have to see that with Mario. 

[burningdoom]

We'll find out after the NX.

The NX will make or break Nintendo's console/handheld sales. Either it will be all the magic they are promising (but STILL not revealing) and Nintendo will win back all the fan's hearts, as they seem to have with third-party publishers on the NX already.

Or if the NX doesn't do well, I think this will be the final generation for Nintendo. We all know that the Wii U was far from successful. And handhelds sales, in general, are dropping across the board thanks to more and more smartphone users. Dedicated gaming mobile devices just don't make sense anymore when you can game on a smart phone, plus do a 1000 other things on your smartphone. (Yeah, I know, hardcore gamers like us prefer the extra power and game selection of a handheld, but we don't make up the majority).

If the NX fails, the only way Nintendo will continue to survive as a video game maker, is as a multiplatform game maker.

[sworddude]

If You'd ask me my guess is that they are going for big or broke. If Nintendo fails my guess is that even characters such as mario and zelda will vanish alongside Nintendo.

If i'm honest I'd rather have it that way instead of having mario or link on a sony or microsoft console. All good things come to an end someday, since allot of things become way worse when other consoles try to profit from them like with banjo kazooi etc.

Besides the quality of games have been lacking over the past years for nintendo, especially in the mario department and even games like yoshi wooly world aren't that great but still very good. The magic of Nintendo isn't as big as it used to be.

[burningdoom]

Ending consoles would make sense, if NX fails. But losing their most coveted IPs all-together? No, they'd be completely stupid to get rid of those. They can still make plenty of money through smartphones and other platforms with Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon. They are really the only reason they are still in the console game.

[sin2beta]

I suspect they will be out of the console business. Consoles are making less and less sense. I think both Sony and Microsoft are looking for exit strategies as well in a way. The Xbox is being treated like a home entertainment PC. Cross platform support between Windows and Xbox is being emphasized. And I think Sony is flirting with integrating into their televisions with playstation tv.

I think Nintendo has enough IP to run a business of that and licensing. Kind of like Disney.

[kamikazekeeg]

I could see them going the Sega route.  There's no reason Nintendo would disappear in any way if the NX fails, they have the money to continue on and their properties would be ridiculous popular on another system with a very big player base or on PC.

[emporerdragon]

Doubt it would happen anytime soon. While Nintendo doesn't always go with the flow of the industry, they are incredibly financially stable and would need to take massive, repeated losses over a decade before they get into trouble.

[maximo310]

From the way things are going, Sony and especially Microsoft will jump out of the hardware race.  If the NX fails, then they'll probably shift more resources into mobile. Cash has never been a problem for them.

[Flashback2012]

I wouldn't say it's impossible. Once upon a time, Nintendo licensed out their games to appear on systems not made by them. Donkey Kong was a pack-in game for the ColecoVision which also had  licensed ports of Donkey Kong Jr. and Popeye. Mario Bros. was on the 2600 and 5200. Granted it was Coleco and Atari publishing them but I'm sure development of those ports was overseen by Nintendo.

I would hate to see them exit the handheld market but I probably wouldn't be too upset if they gave up the goat on the console hardware business. NES and SNES are classics. Not a fan of the N64, loved the GameCube, Meh for the Wii, and I am finally warming up to my WiiU. I'm sure if they ever did go full 3rd party and still wanted to do some kind of hardware gimmick, I've no doubt that either MS or Sony would put up much of a fight at all and would kowtow to Nintendo's wishes.

Companies like Activision and EA would have to worry about Nintendo if they went 3rd party in that they'd have to make sure not to release some of their blockbusters too close to when a major Nintendo game came out. Some things like 1st person shooters & sports games ala Call of Duty might or Madden might not have an issue but I doubt they'd want to put out a Need for Speed game too close to the release of a new Mario Kart. 

[bikingjahuty]

I'm going against the grain here and saying no they won't be going third party, at least any time in the near future (at least 10-years). Someone said that consoles don't make that much sense anymore, but sales of home consoles prove otherwise. Somy's gaming and home console market is one of their few markets that have kept them alive, while MS still makes a boat load off the XBONE despite it lagging behind. Nintendo released a stinker with the Wii U, and while some say, "they can't fail again or else" I think they don't realize the war chest of money Nintendo is sitting on. They've only had a handful of blunders in terms of games and consoles over their lifespan, and many seem to forget that their biggest financial success, the Wii, just happened not that long ago. Nintendo has so much money that they could literally have 3 more failed consoles in a row before there was serious consideration of needing to close, sell off IPs or go third party.

With all that said, I highly, highly doubt we'll see a third party Nintendo for quite some time if ever. I don't see them abandoning consoles or handhelds anytime in the near future, and think that as long as there isa large, profitable market for them, they will continue to develop new consoles to release their games on. I'd go as far as to say that it may be over 15 to 20-years before Nintendo ever takes a step in the third party direction.

[burningdoom]

^ Yes, Nintendo may have a lot of money, but they'd be stupid to keep pursuing something that continually fails if the NX ends up being a failure. That's just bad business. Remember, Nintendo has been around for a lot longer than they've been making consoles. Consoles isn't their only business pursuit. I really don't think Nintendo would have a problem switching gears, if the NX doesn't pan out.

And while XBox One and PS4 aren't failing, to say they are successful, is kind of a stretch. The sales of their consoles still aren't matching or even approaching the sales of last generations, this far into the console generation. Now, they aren't gonna go bankrupt or go into the red at all, not saying that. But it is a sign that consoles are starting to become a bit less mainstream.

[bikingjahuty]

^ Yes, Nintendo may have a lot of money, but they'd be stupid to keep pursuing something that continually fails if the NX ends up being a failure. That's just bad business. Remember, Nintendo has been around for a lot longer than they've been making consoles. Consoles isn't their only business pursuit. I really don't think Nintendo would have a problem switching gears, if the NX doesn't pan out.

And while XBox One and PS4 aren't failing, to say they are successful, is kind of a stretch. The sales of their consoles still aren't matching or even approaching the sales of last generations, this far into the console generation. Now, they aren't gonna go bankrupt or go into the red at all, not saying that. But it is a sign that consoles are starting to become a bit less mainstream.

If the NX fails it will be because a) they tried to capture the ultra casual/non-gamer market again like they did with the Wii and failed to do again with the Wii U, or b0 they give us something that gamers and casuals do not want, aka the Wii U (although I admittedly love the Wii U). I'm guessing from what I've heard that it will likely be a very gimmicky console, but that doesn't mean it wont be successful. Hell, even if it doesn't end up being gimmicky that is still a given that it will succeed.


Sony's and MS's console divisions have been very profitable for both companies this gen despite no reaching the sales figures of previous generation, which those sales are over the entire lifespan of those consoles. The current gen has only been in full swing for what, 3-years, and has continued to make each company a ton of money in that period. Sure, the market for consoles is shrinking, but it still has a vast user base that even at a steady decline could sustain these companies and their desire to continue to produce consoles for a long, long time. Nintendo is part of this market as well, and unlike Sony or MS, they have IPs that you can only get on a Nintendo console which gives them a share of that market that no one else has. If they make the NX affordable, make it viable for third parties to develop on (not making it underpowered or overly difficult to develop on), and make it appeal to both casuals and hardcores alike, I have no doubt it will be successful.

[kamikazekeeg]

Not too mention they are combining their handheld/console library.  The Wii U suffered from not enough games, which has a lot to do with a lack of third party, but now they can bring in big hitters to support it like Pokemon and anything else that's usually saved for the handhelds and helps sell the system.

[DreamsDied13101]

Nintendo will continue the console approach unless their stock holders and board put enough pressure on them to move away from it. Super Mario Run is finally the caving of the company to appease the pressure they have received to venture in to the more profitable mobile game industry. They tried to gently appease with Miitomo, but when that venture failed they went all out.

I could see Nintendo embracing mobile gaming more if NX fails. I have a hard time seeing them ever going 3rd party for Sony or Microsoft though. I could probably see them supporting PC even before seeing their games show up on a rival console. 

[kashell]

I highly doubt that Nintendo will go third party in the near future. Maybe in a decade or so, but it's too hard to tell. Nintendo is still sitting on a ton of money from some of their previous consoles. They can financially afford another mistake in the event the NX ends up turning into a bust.

As an aside, I really like what games I've played on the Wii U. I still don't have one, but when I do I have a nice selection of games to play that I'm looking forward to.