Nintendo Will Consider Mergers And Acquisitions, Says President Iwata

[Josh Engen]

Nintendo Will Consider Mergers And Acquisitions, Says President Iwata

Satoru Iwata, president and CEO of Nintendo, says that his company is investigating possible mergers and acquisitions.

Nintendo has always been one of those companies that refuses to listen to outside voices, and until recently, this philosophy has served the company well. Unfortunately, the Wii U hasn't exactly been successful, which means that the Mario publisher needs to rethink some of its basic principles. And, according the President Satoru Iwata, Nintendo is considering some drastic changes.

In a recent interview with The Nikkei [http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Nintendo-chief-low-price-games-in-emerging-markets-M-A-an-option], Mr. Iwata acknowledged Nintendo's woes and outlined a potpourri of adjustments. "We'll change the way we sell products, by managing customer information via the Internet," he explained. "We'll offer discounts to steady, regular customers. We'll cultivate emerging markets and launch new businesses in health and other areas."

Surprisingly, President Iwata also mentioned that his company is open to mergers and acquisitions. "We should abandon old assumptions about our businesses," he said. "We are considering M&As as an option. For this reason, we'll step up share buybacks."

Mergers and acquisitions have always been a sore spot for Nintendo. Like I said, this is a traditionally isolated, but confident, corporation. Rumors about a possible partnership with Apple are already starting to swirl, but they're entirely foundationless at the moment.

Source: Game Informer [http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Nintendo-chief-low-price-games-in-emerging-markets-M-A-an-option]

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[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Buy some 3rd parties just so they can't screw you over any more. At this point the only way Nintendo seem to be able to get other product out for its systems is by forcing 3rd parties to do. Well, at least from the West; all they need to do with Japanese devs is just ask politely

 

[scorptatious]

Businesses in health?

Are Dr. Mario's practices going to be a reality then?

 

[Fappy]

I am not an expert on Japanese business, but isn't any kind of merger with Apple illegal seeing as it's a foreign company? Maybe I am misinterpreting Japan's corporate laws, but I was under the impression that they couldn't be bought out by or merge with non-Japanese corporations. Such was the case with ATLUS (Index Holdings), wasn't it?

 

[Dragonbums]

Businesses in health?

Are Dr. Mario's practices going to be a reality then?

Remember that pulse sensor? That has a lot of practical use in health. Especially if it's damn accurate. Also consider that Nintendo has a history of tapping into various markets.

 

[scorptatious]

Businesses in health?

Are Dr. Mario's practices going to be a reality then?

Remember that pulse sensor? That has a lot of practical use in health. Especially if it's damn accurate. Also consider that Nintendo has a history of tapping into various markets.

True. They didn't start out as a video game company after all.

 

[rasputin0009]

Businesses in health?

Are Dr. Mario's practices going to be a reality then?

Ya, I'm confused as well. Was the Wii Fit really that popular?

Though, it might not be stupid to focus on a specific market. Games for senior centres and children's hospitals? It could work.

 

[Roxas1359]

I am not an expert on Japanese business, but isn't any kind of merger with Apple illegal seeing as it's a foreign company? Maybe I am misinterpreting Japan's corporate laws, but I was under the impression that they couldn't be bought out by or merge with non-Japanese corporations. Such was the case with ATLUS (Index Holdings), wasn't it?

The law in Japan is that foreign companies cannot buy Japanese based and founded companies, which is why EA or UbiSoft couldn't buy Index. However, Japanese companies can buy and merge foreign ones since other countries don't have those laws. An example of this is the acquisition of Eidos Interactive by Square Enix.

Buy some 3rd parties just so they can't screw you over any more. At this point the only way Nintendo seem to be able to get other product out for its systems is by forcing 3rd parties to do. Well, at least from the West; all they need to do with Japanese devs is just ask politely

Except what he's suggesting is pretty much what other companies often times have to do to get 3rd party support as well. Sony has acquired a few studios (Santa Monica, Sucker Punch) so then they'd make games, and Microsoft does the same (Rare, paying Bethesda for "exclusivity") or they'd pay for the development of the game while the 3rd parties would either publish them or help out with development and then publishing. An example of this is that Portal games and the Left 4 Dead games were developed by Valve and distributed on Steam by them, but on consoles EA reworked them and published them on the consoles. You don't just make a console and then expect the 3rd parties to just instantly decide "we should develop games for that console." Often times they needed to be paid in order to do it. If all they had to do was "ask nicely" as you say, then Square Enix and Capcom would be developing more games for the Wii U as they are Japanese based companies.

Nintendo often times doesn't want to have to spend money to 3rd parties and sorta just wants it that the 3rd parties decide to publish on Nintendo systems themselves. Very rarely does Nintendo fully acquire a studio, in fact I think the last one they fully acquired was Monolith Soft back in 2007 when Bandi Namco sold the remaining shares of Monolith Soft to Nintendo.

 

[Fox12]

I wouldn't mind seeing them expand. If they acquired more 3rd party developers than that could breathe new life into an otherwise rather sterile environment. Being independent is great if you're a dynamic company, but Nintendo is one of the most conservative gaming companies out there. Their guilty of the same crimes as other studios. I don't understand why people get angry when Activision releases a new COD every year, but Nintendo gets a free pass. I would love to see Nintendo turn around its fortune and become more diversified.

Just don't sell your soul in the process, okay Nintendo?

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

If they do it the way Sony does it, they could simply straight up buy companies in a position like Platinum Game' and make them create exclusives. Problem is Nintendo fans don't typically flock to new IPs in general even when Nintendo publishes it. Eternal Darkness anyone?

 

[Fappy]

-Snip-

Thanks for clearing that up. I suppose that law is in place to keep the interests of major Japanese corporations primarily focused on Japan itself (whether it be the consumer market or other Japanese companies).

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

What does it say about Nintendo when a bunch of random high school students on various internet forums are able to tell you the exact reasons why the Wii U is a bad idea before the thing is even out? Think about that.

 

[Roxas1359]

-Snip-

Thanks for clearing that up. I suppose that law is in place to keep the interests of major Japanese corporations primarily focused on Japan itself.

Pretty much that's the reason. I still don't know why Nintendo never really did this sort of thing sooner. They make a console, and seem to think that just because they made the console that 3rd parties will flock to want to develop for it. That's not the case though, because if it were then the Ouya would have games on it. In the end the company that wants the game/games has to offer something up besides the console itself. If you look at it, it's been that way for a long time. Usually the only time in which you'll see third-parties willingly going out to publish on a certain system it's because that system has a large install base. Of course that's not always the case either.

I mean hell, do you think Sucker Punch willingly put games on Sony's Systems, no they were acquired just like how Santa Monica and Naughty Dog were, and even then back with Naughty Dog Sony had to pay Universal Interactive to get Naughty Dog and Insomniac to make Spyro and Crash for the system. Similar thing was with Microsoft, they paid Bungie to make the Halo series, Bungie didn't just up and go to Microsoft saying that wanted to make something for the Xbox, although there are some companies that will do that as well.
Hell the only really big 3rd Party publisher I can think of who just develops on a system for the heck of it is Sega, and it's successful for them.

Mainly to end off this little exposition, the main thing is that a company shouldn't expect 3rd party developers or publishers to just flock to a console because they released it. Some will, but often times to lure the bigger ones you need something more, like how you need different lures and bait to catch big and more valuable fish.

 

[mechalynx]

If they do it the way Sony does it, they could simply straight up buy companies in a position like Platinum Game' and make them create exclusives. Problem is Nintendo fans don't typically flock to new IPs in general even when Nintendo publishes it. Eternal Darkness anyone?

Hey! I forked over cash for that. Granted, I'm not a Nintendo follower, didn't even have a GameCube at the time of purchase, but still...

Besides, I don't think that Nintendo fans is that big of a crowd. Of all the people I know who purchased anything Nintendo since 1995 only one of them is a pure Nintendo fan. In fact the only thing that held me back from buying a Wii/WiiU was Nintendo's pissy attitude on tying your digital purchased to a single console and the lack of games. The first one they promised to change in the near future. The second isn't much of a deal breaker once their policy goes out the window and I can buy stuff in their digital store without having to sacrifice virgins every full moon to make sure that my console doesn't brick.

TL;DR. Fanboys don't make that big of a deal in the long run.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

I wouldn't mind seeing them expand. If they acquired more 3rd party developers than that could breathe new life into an otherwise rather sterile environment. Being independent is great if you're a dynamic company, but Nintendo is one of the most conservative gaming companies out there. Their guilty of the same crimes as other studios. I don't understand why people get angry when Activision releases a new COD every year, but Nintendo gets a free pass. I would love to see Nintendo turn around its fortune and become more diversified.

Just don't sell your soul in the process, okay Nintendo?

Because Nintendo DOESN'T release the same game yearly. When you have franchises that have survived that are entering their 3rd decade, that's the very definition of longevity as most franchises are lucky to hit ten years, if that. As for dynamics, it's actually the exact opposite; Nintendo has always been experimenting with its IPs, it's just that people handwave them for halfassed reasons. Furthermore, name me ONE genre they haven't dabbled in if not firmly established a franchise for? You can't get much more diverse than Nintendo

 

[Jumwa]

What does it say about Nintendo when a bunch of random high school students on various internet forums are able to tell you the exact reasons why the Wii U is a bad idea before the thing is even out? Think about that.

The internet is so big that everyone says everything everytime.

Let's remember those were the same kids who said the DS was dumb, the XL was idiotic because it defeated the whole point of a portable (it's more popular than the regular DS now), the Wii was stupid and gimmicky, the 3DS would fail because it's all smartphones now. Oh, and they predicted Nintendo's death continually at every point except maybe the height of the Wii's success.

These people do not have a great track record of being right, though if you keep saying the same negative things, chances are you'll eventually be right. It just too REALLY long in internet time for them to be at all right here.

And as was said, there's so much chatter online you can find people saying anything.

 

[Fox12]

I wouldn't mind seeing them expand. If they acquired more 3rd party developers than that could breathe new life into an otherwise rather sterile environment. Being independent is great if you're a dynamic company, but Nintendo is one of the most conservative gaming companies out there. Their guilty of the same crimes as other studios. I don't understand why people get angry when Activision releases a new COD every year, but Nintendo gets a free pass. I would love to see Nintendo turn around its fortune and become more diversified.

Just don't sell your soul in the process, okay Nintendo?

Because Nintendo DOESN'T release the same game yearly. When you have franchises that have survived that are entering their 3rd decade, that's the very definition of longevity as most franchises are lucky to hit ten years, if that. As for dynamics, it's actually the exact opposite; Nintendo has always been experimenting with its IPs, it's just that people handwave them for halfassed reasons. Furthermore, name me ONE genre they haven't dabbled in if not firmly established a franchise for? You can't get much more diverse than Nintendo

Perhaps, but most of their current franchises can be traced back to their early days, when they were young, and vibrant, and churning classics out at a consistent rate. Since then they've depended on those same franchises every generation, most of which follow the same formula as the old ones. Fire Emblem, a series that I love, nearly got cancelled for that reason.

We can expect to see the same lineup of titles every generation from Nintendo, as well as two or three games featuring Mario every year. Occasionally something new, like Pikmin or Wii Fit will get thrown in, but it's rare. I'm not saying that they should stop making those games, or even put them on other consoles. I'm just saying that it would be healthy for them to pick up some more outside developers in order to get some healthy outside influence and experience. Square Enix did that, and now almost all of their profitable games seem to be coming from a single studio.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Let's remember those were the same kids who said the DS was dumb, the XL was idiotic because it defeated the whole point of a portable (it's more popular than the regular DS now), the Wii was stupid and gimmicky, the 3DS would fail because it's all smartphones now. Oh, and they predicted Nintendo's death continually at every point except maybe the height of the Wii's success.

These people do not have a great track record of being right, though if you keep saying the same negative things, chances are you'll eventually be right. It just too REALLY long in internet time for them to be at all right here.

And as was said, there's so much chatter online you can find people saying anything.

It's like a fortune teller saying you'll meet your true love while wearing red shoes and thus you proceed to wear red shoes constantly even if it takes three years for that to come true. Or someone constantly saying it'll rain tomorrow. It could take weeks, but eventually they'll be right but not because they're insightful.

Also, a post on another forum kinda spelled out the obvious I missed: Iwata might be referring to acquisitions in the vein of that QOL idea they were talking about. We'll see how this goes as Nintendo is careful with its money and for good reason.