Do you think Nintendo can return as a major console system? How?

[bsfins]

Dave,and Spider both mentioned Nintendo as responses as things they flipped upon...I'm not much of a gamer,but I own a Wii,that does nothing but collects dust...

(When I was typing my response,I was so entrenched in thought about it) What could they do now,they're so far behind right now...The Wii isn't hi-def,motion control gesturing is coming to future T.V.s.I thought I read a rumor that newest Xbox360 is coming in 2013,I'm pretty sure that the newest Sony Playstation will come out soon...

I feel they changed the face of Console gaming twice,the Atari to the NES,then with the implantation of motion control with the Wii (more mainstreaming it really)..

I just feel like a new wii,would have to include a Nintendo version of roomba,do my dishes,and mow my lawn...

So do you think Nintendo can pull another rabbit out of their hat in the console gaming market? if so,How?

[MaineDolFan]

I'm not sure.  Microsoft has really crushed them with Kinect.  I own a Wii and bought a Kinect.  The games on Kinect are vastly superior.  The Wii is really fun...but it's quickly as outdated as Sega or the original Nintendo.

There is a market for the original games.  I would give thought to a super merger.

[Dave Gray]

Yes, absolutely.

The Wii sold more than the 360 or the PS3 in this generation.  They've also tapped into a market previously unexploited -- moms.  The problem with Nintendo is "attach rate".  Most 360/PS3 owners buy many games per year.  Most Wii owners do not.

So, it's great that they sold a bunch of Wiis, but there are considerable amounts of people who still just play Wii Sports, the game it launched with.

Console popularity can turn around -- quickly.  Sony went from first in sales to last.  Nintendo jumped to #1 in a generation, after slipping a long way with the Gamecube.

It can happen again, no question about it.

[Thundergod]

Nintendo is incredibly popular and sells well, with families and kids. Go to a store, and damn near every game for Nintendo is a kid game or party game. I'm sure Nintendo can get back into the popluarity battle between PS3 and Xbox when they start making more games for the adult market.

[MaineDolFan]

Yes, absolutely.

The Wii sold more than the 360 or the PS3 in this generation.  They've also tapped into a market previously unexploited -- moms.  The problem with Nintendo is "attach rate".  Most 360/PS3 owners buy many games per year.  Most Wii owners do not.

So, it's great that they sold a bunch of Wiis, but there are considerable amounts of people who still just play Wii Sports, the game it launched with.

Console popularity can turn around -- quickly.  Sony went from first in sales to last.  Nintendo jumped to #1 in a generation, after slipping a long way with the Gamecube.

It can happen again, no question about it.

True, except the Wii is - and always has been - half the price of the PS3 and XBox.  At it's highest cost the Wii was $199.  You have to factor that into your stance.  They needed to sell double the product to make the same amount of profit.

[SportsChick]

actually Wii was $249 at initial launch, but it didn't last long (we did a case study on the gaming industry in my Global Strategy class a couple weeks ago)

[Dave Gray]

True, except the Wii is - and always has been - half the price of the PS3 and XBox.  At it's highest cost the Wii was $199.  You have to factor that into your stance.  They needed to sell double the product to make the same amount of profit.

Actually, it's quite the opposite.  Nintendo makes much more profit on the Wii than the XBOX or PS3 make.

The PS3 and XBOX360 actually LOST money on every console sold for years.  ....years.  ...expecting to make the money back on software sales. 

Wii was profitable by day 1, because they used old, inexpensive technology.  On top of that, because the system is in standard definition, creating games for it was less expensive.

The only problem with the Wii is that they had trouble getting people to regularly buy software through the life-cycle of the system.  People like me (regular gamers) bought one, but were more impressed with the more meaty experiences on the competition.  The moms out there (which expanded the market) bought one, but aren't the kind of people who are going to buy 8+ games per year.

[Spider-Dan]

Wii sold tons of hardware but very little software.  360 has dominated the US console hardware market for quite a while, and just recently had it's first full year as global console hardware sales leader.

The problem Nintendo has to face is getting Wii owners to pony up for a Wii U.  Based on what I've seen so far, this looks to be difficult; the Wii U's controller is nowhere near as revolutionary as the Wii's was.  Furthermore, given that the Wii U is centered around their touchscreen controller, the existence of the iPad is going to cannibalize a significant chunk of their target audience.

You can only go so far selling games to non-gamers.  Apple and Google are running wild in that market right now, and iOS/Android didn't even exist when the Wii was released.  The Gamecube proved that Nintendo can no longer compete with the tech behemoths on an even level, so they have resorted to gimmick gaming.

I predict that the Wii U will be Nintendo's last (or, at most, second-to-last) console.  After that, they will shift to portables only (where they still have market dominance).

[TonyB0D]

Nintendo's strength is its franchises....Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc.  They need to make games using those characters that are a MUST PLAY.