Poll: Nintendo pulls ahead

Matthew Jabour

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As we all know, Nintendo's been struggling this generation, what with the Wii U's flagging sales and the 3DS basically succeeding because it had no competition. But today, Nintendo made what seems like their first serious move to shore up their side of the games industry. The 2DS, a 3DS without the 3D (obviously) available for $130, about half the cost it was at launch. The Wii U, meanwhile, saw a price drop of the deluxe edition to $300, not to mention a new Wind Waker bundle, which comes with two games and also costs $300. So, not only has the handheld dropped drastically in price, their most expensive console is $100 cheaper than the cheapest model PS4 will be for some time. This - in my opinion - is big. Very big. Certainly enough to leave Microsoft in the dust, and they may even be vying for the lofty perch Sony now sits on.

But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this is just the final Splash from a beached Magikarp about to get Hyper Beamed into oblivion - to borrow a phrase from a certain individual. Maybe Sony has some last minute ace in the hole that will make this pale in comparison, or maybe the Ouya will drop to $10. If the stars align, Microsoft might even manage to pull out of the tailspin they've been in since the Xbox One's reveal. So, what do you all think?
 

Aris Khandr

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"This generation" just started, and Nintendo is the only one with a console available to buy. If they hadn't pulled ahead, there would be something catastrophically wrong. It's really too early to start picking "winners" (and, really, the entire idea of "winning" a generation is pretty absurd on its own).
 

Andy Shandy

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Jun 7, 2010
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What's in between just saving them from bankruptcy and neck-and-neck with Sony?

Because with the Wii U, I do think they are going to be 3rd in the next generation - possibly by quite some way - but they're also not going to be in any financial trouble either.
 

Vern5

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That's a rather bold statement.

You can't win a race when you're the only horse on the track.
 

Dryk

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Nintendo could stop producing products for the rest of the generation, have all their employees sitting at their desks twiddling their thumbs and still avoid bankruptcy. They'll be fine.
 

Callate

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I think the 2DS is kind of a silly idea. On one hand, it's good that Nintendo might be trying to wrestle with the idea that gimmick-based platforms aren't going to be their salvation; on the other, it's basically a more powerful DS. Without a hinge. (Whose bright idea was that?!) The 3D aspect is actually kind of important.

Maybe I'm misjudging the market, but I wouldn't count on selling a lot of 2DSs unless it can offer something significant in exchange, like substantially better battery life. Otherwise, I don't think it's enough of a price drop to justify buying what some will see as a crippled system.

I suspect the Wii-U price drop will be too little too late, but it depends on the software and just how badly Microsoft continues to mismanage. Christmas 2013 will certainly be an interesting race to watch.
 

Hero of Lime

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I wouldn't put bankruptcy in regards to Nintendo's financial situation. They could put out a few Virtual Boy blunder systems and still stay afloat easily.

As for the question at hand, they could win from a sales perspective considering the handheld competition is almost non-existent. On the handheld front, it will more than likely be a repeat of DS vs. PSP.

The Wii U will probably end up like the Gamecube, a minor success, but nothing to write home(or the bank) about.

It's still anyone's game really, I can see any one of the big three winning this generation.
 

LetalisK

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Aris Khandr said:
"This generation" just started, and Nintendo is the only one with a console available to buy. If they hadn't pulled ahead, there would be something catastrophically wrong. It's really too early to start picking "winners" (and, really, the entire idea of "winning" a generation is pretty absurd on its own).
This was my thought as well. They're the only ones in the race right now, they fucking better be in the lead.
 

runic knight

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My first thought was that as the only horse in the race, it would be hard for Nintendo to actually win or lose. That was before microsoft's apparent attempt at suicide and more recent backpedaling. As such, while I don't think we have seen enough of sony to tell if nintendo will against them, (and I doubt it given how the launch has been and the general luke-warm reaction to the wii u), they seem to certainly be winning against microsoft, regardless that they have no horse at the moment. While the Wii u may be a derpy horse with a head start, it still is better then the Frankenstein horse microsoft wanted and then had to abort and is no trying to reanimate enough to limp up to the line.
 

O maestre

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LetalisK said:
Aris Khandr said:
"This generation" just started, and Nintendo is the only one with a console available to buy. If they hadn't pulled ahead, there would be something catastrophically wrong. It's really too early to start picking "winners" (and, really, the entire idea of "winning" a generation is pretty absurd on its own).
This was my thought as well. They're the only ones in the race right now, they fucking better be in the lead.
I'll throw my voice as an echo to the above. The OT is jumping the gun, as the other competitors haven't even entered the arena yet.

But Nintendo lowering prices is not a sign of victory, they can lower them as much as they want, it won't make consumers any more excited to buy the "Wuu" by the time the PS4 and "Xbone" get to store shelves. Who is going to care about a (by that time) year old console when all the new toys have arrived. Nintendo is hoping that by lowering prices some consumers might give in and buy a Wii U and subsequently not buy any of the competitors as most people only have one or two consoles per generation. The strategy might have worked if they had dropped the prices before the two other products were announced, or while the Microsoft "Xbone" marketing was busy blundering their way to the grave. There is no buzz around the Wii U since we have seen enough of the other consoles to deserve our attention.
 

Yopaz

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Jun 3, 2009
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Aris Khandr said:
"This generation" just started, and Nintendo is the only one with a console available to buy. If they hadn't pulled ahead, there would be something catastrophically wrong. It's really too early to start picking "winners" (and, really, the entire idea of "winning" a generation is pretty absurd on its own).
Oh look, it's someone who's trying to be logical in a thread discussing consoles. Burn the witch!

OK, so I agree that we're getting ahead of ourselves here. Nintendo going bankrupt? Eh, I don't think it will happen. Nintendo "winning the race" maybe, maybe not. I don't really consider them part of the race in the first place. They're appealing to a different audience. It would be like saying Toyota is winning against Lamborghini or Ferrari. They both offer vehicles, but there's a difference in who they target.

I think Nintendo will be fine on their own turf, but if they will do as poorly as they did with the GameCube or if they will approach the Wii remains to see. There's too many unknown variables. I won't even say that Microsoft has lost despite how much of an ass they have made of themselves.

Let the console generation start before picking winners. That is a sentence I have said so many times for the past year that I must be typing it in my sleep.
 

Something Amyss

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Andy Shandy said:
What's in between just saving them from bankruptcy and neck-and-neck with Sony?
Reality.

I don't get the hysterical extremes of the internet, mind, so this is common and still strange to me.

People are talking doom. DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! It's not going to happen in one generation.

Buuuuut I'm not sure they're going to accomplish a huge "comeback" either.
 

Yopaz

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Zachary Amaranth said:
Andy Shandy said:
What's in between just saving them from bankruptcy and neck-and-neck with Sony?
Reality.

I don't get the hysterical extremes of the internet, mind, so this is common and still strange to me.

People are talking doom. DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! It's not going to happen in one generation.

Buuuuut I'm not sure they're going to accomplish a huge "comeback" either.
Oh, but there can only be extremes. Nintendo either win, tie with Sony or they go bankrupt. Just look at the GameCube, it's not like that sold 1/8th of what the PS2 did. If it did they would have gone bankrupt. And if the Nintendo 64 had sold one third of what the PSOne did then they would definitely have gone bankrupt.

I think I need a pause from the internet. I am tired of black and white. Even old movies had some grey in them.
 

THEMILKMAN

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A friend of mine mentioned an almost impossible but still fairly interesting scenario a while ago: What if Apple bought Nintendo? Apple and Android are already making some serious headway into games on their many mobile devices. Now, if Nintendo ever somehow found themselves in serious trouble (God forbid), it might be in Apple's best interests to pick up Nintendo. Could you imagine the huge spike in sales of both iOS devices and Nintendo games if everyone with Apple products had access to the newest Nintendo games? Again, it seems like a very far fetched scenario but when my friend mentioned it it made for some food for thought.

As I see it though, Nintendo's software is here to stay. People still drool over Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and everything else. As for their hardware though...it's not looking great but it could still be much worse I suppose. Maybe the recent price-cut on the Wii U will help but they really dropped the ball on marketing the Wii U pre-release. Most people outside of the core gaming loop either didn't know about it or understandably thought it was just another version of the original Wii.
 

stormeris

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I seriously don't really care about the consoles, been playing PC for the longest time.

Though i kind of hope they don't fail terribly, cause it's the only console that is somewhat different from the others.
 

Ed130 The Vanguard

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I wouldn't say save from bankruptcy, but no way in hell is it going to win the next console generation. Second place however may be up in the air, it really depends how retarded MS is and how much damage they did to the Xbox brand.

runic knight said:
While the Wii u may be a derpy horse with a head start, it still is better then the Frankenstein horse microsoft wanted and then had to abort and is now trying to reanimate enough to limp up to the line.
That is one of the best summary's of the current console race I've seen on the internet.
 

Doom-Slayer

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Matthew Jabour said:
The 2DS, a 3DS without the 3D (obviously) available for $130, about half the cost it was at launch. The Wii U, meanwhile, saw a price drop of the deluxe edition to $300, not to mention a new Wind Waker bundle, which comes with two games and also costs $300. So, not only has the handheld dropped drastically in price, their most expensive console is $100 cheaper than the cheapest model PS4 will be for some time. This - in my opinion - is big. Very big. Certainly enough to leave Microsoft in the dust, and they may even be vying for the lofty perch Sony now sits on.
First off, the handheld market is dominated by Nintendo, nobody disputes and that isnt likely to change. Its also unlikely that if they continue to do badly, that will be enough to save them

In terms of the console market, the WiiU and the upcoming big two are in different generations essentially, they arent competing. If the previous consoles were generation 1, the WiiU is 1.5 to the upcoming generation 2 of the xbone and the Ps4. Im not saying its bad(it still is) but its just not aiming for the same sort of audience.

Nintendo will continue to do as it does, but I can easily see it pulling out of the console market because of this, and just making handhelds, as thats what it is better at.
 

DeimosMasque

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Dryk said:
Nintendo could stop producing products for the rest of the generation, have all their employees sitting at their desks twiddling their thumbs and still avoid bankruptcy. They'll be fine.
Pretty much this. Nintendo made so much money with the DS and the Wii that they could probably sit the next two console generations out and still be a profitable company. With other game companies when they go "We are finally making profit" it's heralded as the second coming. When Nintendo goes, "We're making slightly less than we did last year" suddenly it's all about Nintendo going out of business.
 

VoidWanderer

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Well... I am of the opinion that Nintendo isn't the first horse out of the next-gen race. I am not a hater of Nintendo, I do have a lot of respect for the company and their IPs, but since their latest console is only slightly more powerful than the Xbox 360 and the PS3, I find their 'next-gen' console baffling. It is innovative but not, in my eyes, 'next-gen'.

With the mediocre sales of the 3DS, and someone's idea that smashing the WiiU gamepad and a 3DS together, I think Nintendo is, I know this is going to piss people off (sorry Jeffers), is in their own race. I would like the 3DS to be more successful, but as someone who can't see 3D, and the fact that most people don't seem to care about the stupid thing, I am worried that Nintendo are looking back for good ideas, instead of forward.

The PS Vita is a powerful handheld, but with the worst support that Sony can fart out, so the 3DS being successful is like winning a race against a man with a broken leg. With the actual next-gen consoles (ie significantly more power than last gen) get released in a few months, Nintendo will need some good NEW IPs to get new fans, instead of remaking the same game over and over again. And I do not mean HD remakes.

Mario will always have to save Peach, Link will always have to save Zelda/Hyrule. Pokemon need to be caught. Donkey Kong will always want his bananas back. Sonic needs to find the macguffins to beat Robotnik. I never bothered finishing Fire Emblem Awakening, as I had no freaking clue what was happening there, and no longer care.

I was relieved when I found out that the Wonderful 101 would NOT feature Nintendo's IPs. Nintendo are like the WoW of this generation. They are stuck in the mud, gunning the engine and anything that sticks in the tyres is hailed as 'the next big thing from Nintendo'.

Like I said, I want Nintendo to be more successful, but I also want original ideas coming from them involving their games, not how to play them.