The General Purpose Arcade Thread.

[gamevet]

$200 million is a lot for doing pretty much nothing but licensing out a franchise. I recall Nintendo posting something like a $240 million loss a couple of years ago.

[Some Stupid Japanese Name]

I'm not saying it's not a lot of money. I'm saying that when you're asking Nintendo to start running with the big guys, $200 million is the cost of 3 games in the AAA arena. That's a lot of risk for a company that is generally risk averse. Keep in mind that not only will Nintendo's development costs skyrocket (and their profits from said games on a per unit scale) plummet, you think they're going to be able to get away with releasing games and not dropping the prices of them for years to come they way they do now? Hell no. So not only do their profits dwindle, the amount of shelf life they can hope to get out of a game dwindles as well.

Most people argue that Nintendo would make up in volume what they lose in margin, and I don't buy it. There have been a number of "Nintendo-esque" games released on Sony and Microsoft's platforms and they just don't sell.

[kedawa]

Does 'Nintendo-esque' sell well on Nintendo platforms?
I think actual Zelda and Mario might fare better.

[gamevet]

When was the last time that Nintendo had a game that generated over $1 billion in revenue? That's exactly what Pokemon Go has earned in 6 months and surely the cost to develop that mobile game was less than 1% of what it has earned.

[Some Stupid Japanese Name]

let's act like pokemon go is the norm for mobile games.

[gamevet]

It's Nintendo's most successful handheld franchise, that is limited in sales to the amount of handheld consoles Nintendo has sold. Nintendo's handheld market has shrunk, as has their console market, so they decided to combine the 2 with the Switch. The franchise is a perfect fit for the mobile gaming market, which has much more potential than what Nintendo can possibly achieve on their own hardware.

[Fe 26]

Yeah, but its fucking pokemon. The game and idea was timed at just the right time. Fans of the various different generations were all coming to an age where they could afford phone purchases. And the monster catching fits in great with the idea of a smart phone.

How many other franchises do they have that have the timing and the idea to generate that kind of cash?

[gamevet]

Yeah, but its fucking pokemon. The game and idea was timed at just the right time. Fans of the various different generations were all coming to an age where they could afford phone purchases. And the monster catching fits in great with the idea of a smart phone.

How many other franchises do they have that have the timing and the idea to generate that kind of cash?

You can't be serious. Teenage kids today have smartphones that are more than capable of playing Pokemon Go.

The 1st generation Pokemon video game players (ages 9 and up) are now in their 30s. They are, more than likely, already on their 3rd generation of a smart phone. Do you honestly believe that a mobile version of Mario Kart wouldn't be a success within that market?

[A Robot Bit Me]

Would it be worth diminishing the brand? A mobile Mario Kart is not going to play well.

[Some Stupid Japanese Name]

How did the argument change from "going third party" to "going mobile"?
I still maintain going third party is a losing proposition for Nintendo. However, Nintendo going mobile is a losing proposition for me, since that would mean I would never play another Nintendo game.