Nintendo profits freefall as iPhone cuts into portable game sales

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  • Reply 61 of 204
    brucepbrucep Posts: 2,823member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by travisc77 View Post


    To me it seems unlikely that iPhone or iPod Touch had that much of a significant impact on Nintendo's portable sales. Another example of Apple cheer-leading by AI.



    What does seem likely is that we are 1) in a recession 2) somewhat stale hardware 3) everybody and their brother already has a Ds. Sure some impact from the touch, but I have yet to any kid dropping the Ds for the games on the Touch.



    I've even asked my 9-yr old about the Touch, and he said it was too hard to control compared his Ds or PSP.



    Thoughts?



    my kids are bored after 3 weeks with DS AND WII games

    at 50 bucks a pop

    i have stopped buying

    yet we still play halo and COD for mac yrs later



    more halo & COD TITLES SHOULD Come to the mac platform

    or else we are forced to buy windows 7 to play whats new .



    the ease of use and great screens and 2 gpu chips makes apple the future 3d gaming platform.



    a larger touch or small tablet can sell in the tens of millions



    i think
  • Reply 62 of 204
    newbeenewbee Posts: 2,055member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by camroidv27 View Post


    And I would hope you aren't basing your argument off of one line in the article. The rest talks about pressure from the PSP and Sony. Yes, Apple has cut in to the DS sales, but only a little bit; no where as big as this AI article makes it out like.



    Please learn to read all of the words: "Those losses, in part, were attributed to increased competition, including Apple's iPhone." (This quote taken from AI original story.)

    Nowhere does it say that iPhone is main reason for sales drop.
  • Reply 62 of 204
    gwydiongwydion Posts: 1,083member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by icyfog View Post


    AI is not cheerleading.

    http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009...fx7060690.html

    David Dolan and Yumi Horie of Reuters wrote the article. They wrote:

    "Nintendo's portable game machine, the DS, also faces increasing competition from Apple Inc's iPhone, which has become a popular platform for handheld games."

    Also here,

    http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/0...ch_us_nintendo



    It's the same article of Reuters
  • Reply 64 of 204
    erunnoerunno Posts: 225member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by icyfog View Post


    AI is not cheerleading.

    http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009...fx7060690.html

    David Dolan and Yumi Horie of Reuters wrote the article. They wrote:

    "Nintendo's portable game machine, the DS, also faces increasing competition from Apple Inc's iPhone, which has become a popular platform for handheld games."

    Also here,

    http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/0...ch_us_nintendo



    Sigh, you do realize that both of your links point the same news item which originated from Reuters?
  • Reply 65 of 204
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by travisc77 View Post


    To me it seems unlikely that iPhone or iPod Touch had that much of a significant impact on Nintendo's portable sales. Another example of Apple cheer-leading by AI.



    What does seem likely is that we are 1) in a recession 2) somewhat stale hardware 3) everybody and their brother already has a Ds. Sure some impact from the touch, but I have yet to any kid dropping the Ds for the games on the Touch.



    I've even asked my 9-yr old about the Touch, and he said it was too hard to control compared his Ds or PSP.



    Thoughts?



    All my teen nieces and nephews now have touches or iPhones and I rarely see the PSP or DS anymore.
  • Reply 66 of 204
    gwydiongwydion Posts: 1,083member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by newbee View Post


    Please learn to read all of the words: "Those losses, in part, were attributed to increased competition, including Apple's iPhone." (This quote taken from AI original story.)

    Nowhere does it say that iPhone is main reason for sales drop.



    Title: Nintendo profits freefall as iPhone cuts into portable game sales



    Subtitle: Japanese game maker Nintendo's profits were cut in half, as sales of its portable Nintendo DS system continue to feel the impact of the iPhone and iPod touch.





    But yes, we have to read all the words, AI is not saying that the main factor is Apple
  • Reply 67 of 204
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    I?ve seen young kids be able to use my iPhone and learn to navigate the pages to find games and go back using the Home Screen astonishing quick, but the lack of a D-Pad can make it less than ideal for the way games have been designed for 30 years now. Now that v3.0 has allowed for 30-pin connector access I expected to see some D-pads on the market for the holidays. Actually, I?m surprised I?m not seeing more accessories on the market for the Touch and iPhone.



    I feel there are lots of roadblocks that cause hesitation on the part of hardware manufacturers:



    1. You really need a killer app to help drive hardware sales. Nintendo's games intuitively marry their system's unique hardware with software that is both easy to pick up and play. Would the Wii have been succesful if it didn't have Wii Sports and instead relied on 3rd party developers to incorporate the Wiimote control scheme? Apple doesn't make games, so it's not going to establish the add-onmarket. There are some good games on the iPhone platform, but do any of the companies making these games have the capital to manufacture a hardware?



    2. Hardware One-upsmanship. Do I get the one with the d-pad and two buttons, or the one with three buttons, or two buttons with two shoulder buttons, or the one with the analog stick, or the one that has it's own battery that extends the playing time of the iPhone, or the one that incorporates its own stereo speakers, etc, etc. If there is confusion over which hardware for the customers to purchase, then for which hardware do the software companies develop their software?



    3. Do you develop your game to work both with and without the additional hardware? How much additional time does that take? Is there a large enough market of people owning that piece of hardware to justify developing the game for the platform? Wii Sports would be dull if you just used a regular NES controller.



    4. Separate shopping experiences. You buy your games on your phone or computer in the iTunes Store with instant delivery and you buy the hardware in a brick&mortar store or online with delivery. How do the software and hardware companies overcome this procedural gap?



    I don't think any of these things are insurmountable, but I do see them as legitimate concerns that slow the development of addons. In my view, I think it would be wise for some of the more active iPhone developers to adopt some sort of standards and reach out to a hardware manufacturer to create the device. Maybe the iFund companies work on this.
  • Reply 68 of 204
    brucepbrucep Posts: 2,823member
    edits

    9
  • Reply 69 of 204
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by irnchriz View Post


    What games was he playing? Were they the same or similar games to those he has on the DS/PSP?



    Mostly Mario/Zelda types on the Ds, which don't have a real competitor on the iPhone OS and the other is the Metal Gear Solid series (PSP) vs the Metal Gear for the iPhone. I question whether the controls for the iPhone/Touch will ever be able to match true portable gaming system.
  • Reply 70 of 204
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gwydion View Post


    Title: Nintendo profits freefall as iPhone cuts into portable game sales



    Subtitle: Japanese game maker Nintendo's profits were cut in half, as sales of its portable Nintendo DS system continue to feel the impact of the iPhone and iPod touch.





    But yes, we have to read all the words, AI is not saying that the main factor is Apple



    Exactly.



    Who said that the iPhone/iPod is the main reason, anyway?



    The industry has acknolwdged the iPhone/iPod is a factor. It doesn't take a lot of brain cells to understand this, and I'm not sure why a lot of people here have trouble understanding this.



    So no, you don't need to think for yourself when the facts are already there. Just parrot the facts, because they're . . . facts.
  • Reply 71 of 204
    gwydiongwydion Posts: 1,083member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Quadra 610 View Post


    Exactly.



    Who said that the iPhone/iPod is the main reason, anyway?



    The industry has acknolwdged the iPhone/iPod is a factor. It doesn't take a lot of brain cells to understand this, and I'm not sure why a lot of people here have trouble understanding this.



    So no, you don't need to think for yourself when the facts are already there. Just parrot the facts, because they're . . . facts.



    I thought that my English comprehension is perhaps weak but yours is a lot worse.



    My God, you don't live in this reality, you live far beyond any RDF
  • Reply 72 of 204
    Seriously? The iPhone and iPod? The fact that Wii sales have pretty much decreased with the same amount has nothing to do with it?



    I'm okay with the apple love, but there are limits, the reality-distortion-field is unfortunately a skill limited to el Jobso.
  • Reply 73 of 204
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by travisc77 View Post


    To me it seems unlikely that iPhone or iPod Touch had that much of a significant impact on Nintendo's portable sales. Another example of Apple cheer-leading by AI.



    What does seem likely is that we are 1) in a recession 2) somewhat stale hardware 3) everybody and their brother already has a Ds. Sure some impact from the touch, but I have yet to any kid dropping the Ds for the games on the Touch.



    I've even asked my 9-yr old about the Touch, and he said it was too hard to control compared his Ds or PSP.



    Thoughts?



    We are in a recession; however, Apple made 1.67 Billion in profit this quarter (biggest in their history)...so recession is not the problem.



    Yes, everyone has a DS including my kid (11 yrs), he's using the ipod Touch more and I asked him why. He said that he loves the ability to download so many different games for free; he never gets bored trying new games. Add to that, the variety of games, utilities and everything else offered on the App store and it suddenly becomes attractive to everyone.....and as a parent, I'm not buying those $50 games anymore...thank goodness.



    I found myself playing with the iPod Touch and I got an iPhone. I hope the iPhone gets some serious competition, it will make things better for us consumers. But as a developer, why waste time on an app for the palm or Droid when the iPhone is a sure bet. Thats the tough part for competitors and their "App stores".



    So, yes, I'm sure Nintendo sees their profit cut in half while Apple has the biggest quarter in history and says....hmmmm?
  • Reply 74 of 204
    erunnoerunno Posts: 225member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tundraBuggy View Post


    We are in a recession; however, Apple made 1.67 Billion in profit this quarter (biggest in their history)...so recession is not the problem.



    At least not in the market segment Apple is making most of it's money. It would be still interesting to learn where the money is coming from. Are Apple customers in positions which are not affected by the recession in a significant way? Or will they be hit with a delay since it's been pointed out that the job market will decline in the coming months since a lot of state financed programs world-wide are coming to their end? Interestingly enough, I've just read today that granted subprime credits reached a pre-criss volume again. \
  • Reply 75 of 204
    newbeenewbee Posts: 2,055member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Erunno View Post




    Since I'm having an academic background it actually scares me each time that there are people in the western world which still cling to so-called common sense.



    Excuse me , I think your "elitism" is showing!



    IMHO there is a strong and opposite correlation between "an academic background" and common sense. There are a lot of "non academic but brilliant and gifted" people and "academic but stupid" people (does George Bush ring a bell?) in this world. It would be a mistake to think one group is better than the other.
  • Reply 76 of 204
    successsuccess Posts: 1,040member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by joelsalt View Post


    I hope you at least bought it supper first



    good one...especially coming from a guy with salt in his name lol maybe he meant he's having an attack of some sort... having an attack of Engrish.
  • Reply 77 of 204
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by newbee View Post


    Excuse me , I think your "elitism" is showing!



    IMHO there is a strong and opposite correlation between "an academic background" and common sense. There are a lot of "non academic but brilliant and gifted" people and "academic but stupid" people (does George Bush ring a bell?) in this world. It would be a mistake to think one group is better than the other.



    Hey you dont live in America you can rag on GWB. Only we can do that...LOL
  • Reply 78 of 204
    bugsnwbugsnw Posts: 717member
    I have two boys under 10 years old who are slowly migrating away from DS and Wii to the iPod touches and Mac games. This is a double whammy for Nintendo as they also lose revenue on those expensive, high-margin games. Nintendo's biggest asset, as far as I can tell in this neighborhood, is the Mario franchise. Both boys are going as Mario this year for Halloween.



    As a parent, all I can say is thank god for the shift. Huge savings along with sprinkling educational Apps here and there to make mommy feel good.



    For what it's worth, my favorite iPod touch game is Frenzic. A clever, addictive finger buster.
  • Reply 79 of 204
    newbeenewbee Posts: 2,055member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by extremeskater View Post


    I would say thats pretty clear to all of us. I have never seen anyone take such pleasure in seeing other companies have a rough patch. It much be a Canadian thing. Funny how when AI posts something like Apple going to Verizon or Windows 7 being a good product the review is BS. But when they post something you like its total scripture.



    Are you suggesting that everyone who posts here is a Canadian? .... Wow! ... I guess that all of my flag waving is paying off.
  • Reply 80 of 204
    palegolaspalegolas Posts: 1,361member
    I'd still like to see someone make an official buttons shell. There are some kinds of games that simply doesn't play well with touch.
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