Nintendo Will "Never" Develop For Other Platforms, Says Iwata

[Andy Chalk]

Nintendo Will "Never" Develop For Other Platforms, Says Iwata

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata says there's no way he's going to allow the company's properties to be shared with rival game consoles.

Nintendo hasn't exactly set the world on fire with the Wii U and there are some folks who think that the best way for Nintendo to get its mojo back is to start releasing its games on every platform under the sun. People like Eidos President-For-Life Ian Livingstone, for instance, who said in June that "a whole generation of young people will miss out on their games" if Nintendo keeps its IP exclusive to its own platforms.

But don't hold your breath waiting for it to happen, because Iwata believes that while it might give the company a short-term boost, it's a bad idea for the long haul. "If I was to take responsibility for the company for just the next one or two years, and if I was not concerned about the long-term future of Nintendo at all, it might make sense for us to provide our important franchises for other platforms, and then we might be able to gain some short-term profit," he told CVG.

"However, I'm really responsible for the long-term future of Nintendo as well, so I would never think about providing our precious resources for other platforms at all."

"Never" is about as unambiguous as it gets, but Iwata did acknowledge that Nintendo is "facing more challenges than ever," even as he insisted that it's really nothing new for the company. "Nintendo is a company that has never stopped progressing, and when it comes to the fan-base, of course, we have to sustain that," he said, "but we are always trying to expand that."

Nintendo is still selling the Wii U console two-year high [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/126666-Wii-U-Still-Selling-Below-Cost] in July.

Source: CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/423036/iwata-nintendo-games-on-rival-platforms-would-only-be-a-short-term-fix/]



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[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

ohhhhh buddy

jeffers is gonna get one hell of a boner reading this.


OT: For now I see no reason why Iwata should think otherwise, the wii brought in so much stinkin profit and based on their first party titles it's hard for them to even consider such a thing. (Won't stop me from feeling absolutely indifferent towards the WiiU and their titles)

 

[Tony2077]

which is why i will never want the mutliplatform companies i like to be bought by them

 

[WeepingAngels]

Where did this nonsense start? Why do people expect Nintendo to make games for competing consoles? Is anyone suggesting that Microsoft put Halo on the PS3/4 or the Wii U?

 

[RJ 17]

Translation: "DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR!!!!!"

Seriously, it's like he's absolutely refusing to become the next SEGA. I wonder if his "never" truly means never...or if the downward trends will ultimately break his resolve. I mean, it's never a good sign when you're forced to sell your next-gen console at a loss in order to help make it appealing.

Somewhere there's a grave, and inside that grave is a Dreamcast laughing its dead ass off.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

so basically Iwata has to give the exact same answer to the exact same question he's been asked way too many times. Have the people who ask it never heard that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting things to change? It amazes me that Iwata and everyone else at Nintendo hasn't snapped due to the rampant idiocy going around the games industry. Those guys have minds made of steel.

 

[xaszatm]

So...essentially he's saying he's not Don Mattrick? *ba-dum tish*

Actually, I'm glad for this. It shows that at least one Video Game company can think in concepts of decades rather than years and ...I don't know, actually think about long-term profit instead of the short term scrounging like other companies do.

EDIT: Also, incoming j-e-f-f-e-r-s at 12:00. Set phasers at stun.

 

[bug_of_war]

Heh, that's cool Iwata, it seems other companies don't wanna develop for you either. Man, I don't want Nintendo to go the Sega way, but maybe if they would advertise the Wii U console itself more than the controller and if they made more games for it, maybe, just maybe they might see a more profitable outcome. Then again, Pokemon X and Y are coming out soon, so something tells me that might even out the Wii U failure.

 

[DataSnake]

"However, I'm really responsible for the long-term future of Nintendo as well, so I would never think about providing our precious resources for other platforms at all."

What. An. Idiot. You know, Mr. Iwata, there's another word for "providing your precious resources": SALES. You know, the way companies make money? As opposed to selling your console at a loss, which, as the phrase "at a loss" implies, isn't exactly making you any money. Let me reiterate that: your money is coming from your games, not your hardware. If you could sell your games without having to eat the expense of making your own console, you would be better off. Seriously, this isn't exactly rocket science.

EDIT:

Heh, that's cool Iwata, it seems other companies don't wanna develop for you either.

Heh. Well played.

 

[RJ 17]

Where did this nonsense start? Why do people expect Nintendo to make games for competing consoles? Is anyone suggesting that Microsoft put Halo on the PS3/4 or the Wii U?

The XBone hasn't had a chance to fail yet. Just wait till it's extremely lack-luster release (at least all signs are pointing to a lack-luster release) and you never know, there just might be calls to shop out some of it's exclusives to Sony and/or Nintendo.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

Unsurprising. Nintendo's first party lineup is it's biggest asset and giving it up may doom future consoles. The Wii U is selling poorly, but not that poorly.

 

[WeepingAngels]

Where did this nonsense start? Why do people expect Nintendo to make games for competing consoles? Is anyone suggesting that Microsoft put Halo on the PS3/4 or the Wii U?

The XBone hasn't had a chance to fail yet. Just wait till it's extremely lack-luster release (at least all signs are pointing to a lack-luster release) and you never know, there just might be calls to shop out some of it's exclusives to Sony and/or Nintendo.

There were no calls for Sony (who was losing most of this gen) to shop out their exclusives.

Where did this nonsense start? Why do people expect Nintendo to make games for competing consoles? Is anyone suggesting that Microsoft put Halo on the PS3/4 or the Wii U?

Anyone with two braincells to rub together would LOVE to see Halo on the PS3/4 and the Wii U.

Console exclusive games are dumb. as. shit. Imagine if you bought a DVD but it wouldnt play in 2/3rds of DVD players on the market.

Games are NOT DVD's. Exclusives exist to sell consoles and without them, we may only need one console (which could leave us with nothing but exclusives).

 

[InsanityRequiem]

Snip.

Why not ask Sony and Microsoft that? They've been in the red for their consoles most of said consoles' lifetimes. They should stop making consoles as well and just put their games on the other consoles as well. Wait, if they do that, then there would be no consoles. So Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft should develop for PCs then, right? That way they only have one platform to make their games and then they can develop said games in dedication, not having to worry about the fact that the PC market is fraught with its own perils akin to the console market, right?

Now on topic, I'm not surprised. If Nintendo stopped making consoles and went full game making, they would actually suffer a lot worse than what happened to Sega. Microsoft and Sony, having been competitors, would most likely have stipulations for their devkits that would be disadvantageous for Nintendo. Being in the market for 30 years, I highly doubt the blood between competitors is particularly good and wholesome. Plus, Nintendo would now have to break development between two separate consoles, less time to understand how the system works and more time just throwing something out there in two-three years. Which would drop the quality of Nintendo games immensely.

 

[RJ 17]

Unsurprising. Nintendo's first party lineup is it's biggest asset and giving it up may doom future consoles. The Wii U is selling poorly, but not that poorly.

I think what most people hoping for this are implying is that they want Nintendo out of the console business entirely, just like how Sega dropped out and released its properties to everyone else.

Where did this nonsense start? Why do people expect Nintendo to make games for competing consoles? Is anyone suggesting that Microsoft put Halo on the PS3/4 or the Wii U?

There are a lot of people who dislike Nintendo on the Escapist. Nearly once every three or so days we get an article on "Wii U is a colossal failure" (Even though Nintendo is making a profit, regardless) and with people like Yahtzee who hates the Nintendo games and a lot of fans of his permeating this site...

Just not a very pleasant place for those who enjoy Nintendo and Nintendo consoles.

I don't hate Nintendo (though I do admit I haven't owned one of their consoles since the 64), but something to keep in mind is that just because the company made a profit doesn't mean that the WiiU made that profit. They're selling the thing at a loss, so it's literally impossible for them to be making a profit off of it.

That said, I do agree with you, there does seem to be a general atmosphere of "Nintendo Sucks" in the minds of most of the people around here. I like to think of myself as neutral, though.

 

[RicoADF]

Where did this nonsense start? Why do people expect Nintendo to make games for competing consoles? Is anyone suggesting that Microsoft put Halo on the PS3/4 or the Wii U?

Anyone with two braincells to rub together would LOVE to see Halo on the PS3/4 and the Wii U.

Console exclusive games are dumb. as. shit. Imagine if you bought a DVD but it wouldnt play in 2/3rds of DVD players on the market.

Agreed, sometimes I wish there was a law against this crap, they are literally holding games hostage and being anti consumer about it. Pah! Just means that I wont be getting another Halo for a very long time if ever, not that I'll lose sleep over it as 4 seems to indicate the quality is going downhill anyway. Unfortunate though.

 

[RJ 17]

Where did this nonsense start? Why do people expect Nintendo to make games for competing consoles? Is anyone suggesting that Microsoft put Halo on the PS3/4 or the Wii U?

The XBone hasn't had a chance to fail yet. Just wait till it's extremely lack-luster release (at least all signs are pointing to a lack-luster release) and you never know, there just might be calls to shop out some of it's exclusives to Sony and/or Nintendo.

There were no calls for Sony (who was losing most of this gen) to shop out their exclusives.

Because they weren't losing nearly as bad as Nintendo currently is, who is currently selling their console at a loss in order to make it more appealing. The PS3 wasn't nearly as big of a dud as the WiiU has turned out to be, or as big of a dud as the XBone is turning out to be.

Then again, as I just got done agreeing with someone in my previous post: there does seem to be a lot of anti-Nintendo sentiment around this website, so that could be where these calls for Nintendo to sell-out are coming from.

 

[xaszatm]

Where did this nonsense start? Why do people expect Nintendo to make games for competing consoles? Is anyone suggesting that Microsoft put Halo on the PS3/4 or the Wii U?

The XBone hasn't had a chance to fail yet. Just wait till it's extremely lack-luster release (at least all signs are pointing to a lack-luster release) and you never know, there just might be calls to shop out some of it's exclusives to Sony and/or Nintendo.

There were no calls for Sony (who was losing most of this gen) to shop out their exclusives.

Because they weren't losing nearly as bad as Nintendo currently is, who is currently selling their console at a loss in order to make it more appealing. The PS3 wasn't nearly as big of a dud as the WiiU has turned out to be, or as big of a dud as the XBone is turning out to be.

Then again, as I just got done agreeing with someone in my previous post: there does seem to be a lot of anti-Nintendo sentiment around this website, so that could be where these calls for Nintendo to sell-out are coming from.

I'm sorry, how is Nintendo doing bad? Yeah, their console launch is horrible but THEY'RE STILL POSTING A PROFIT! They have $6 BILLION dollars in the bank! Not stock. Bank! Why are people screaming that this company is on its dying throes? If Nintendo is dying then Sony and Microsoft are bleached bones in the sand. Like, there is a lot wrong with the Wii U launch line up but can we please just stop with the nonsense!

EDIT: This statement shouldn't be directed at this person, but it is a more general shout at this stupid statement that Nintendo dying. I apologize to this person for quoting him.