Nintendo may go software only: Gears Of War creator

by Gaetano Prestia Featured 18 Comments 14 Votes 1074 Views 26/02/2013 Back to News

Nintendo may soon be a software-only company and Sony may struggle with the PlayStation 4, according to Gears of War creator, Cliff Bleszinski.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Bleszinski said the video game industry was currently in a transitional period that hadn't been seen since the industry crash of the '80s, and that Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo would struggle to come out of it.

"I really think we’re in a massive state of turmoil," he began. "I think Nintendo could possibly be faced with the situation of becoming a company that only makes software moving forward."

Both Sony and Nintendo are about to "come to major blows" with their PS3 and Xbox 360 successor, but the success of the tablet platform is proving too powerful, according to Bleszinski.

So then who's leading the way if the major platform holders are going to struggle moving forward?

"The PC is going through a wonderful renaissance right now," he said.

The industry is also ready to go digital, with Bleszinski saying he was very interested to see where the industry goes.

"In regards to the industry, it’s like the Super Smash Bros. of business right now, and I want to see if Peach or Mario wins.”

Powerful words by Bleszinski. Do you agree about his thoughts on Nintendo, and PC going through a "renaissance"?

By Gaetano Prestia

Link to us http://wii.mmgn.com/News/nintendo-may-go-software-only-gears-of-war-cr

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Nintendo may go software only: Gears Of War creator Comments

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Kudos: 73,589

Tsunamo

NINTENDO DOOOOOOOOOOMED!

26/02/2013

[Perth, W.A | MMGN]

Kudos: 33,837

Blob

luls :D

26/02/2013

Your mums bed

Kudos: 297,683

Tano

Tsunamo said: NINTENDO DOOOOOOOOOOMED!

I don't think they're doomed either, but they're not in a very comfortable place.

26/02/2013

"Niko! Cousin!"

Kudos: 28,431

chucky110

Don't agree at all with the part it's ready to go digital, I don't think Nintendo will get to the point of software only for a farewhile

26/02/2013

Melbourne Australia so deal with it

Kudos: 297,683

Tano

chucky110 said: Don't agree at all with the part it's ready to go digital, I don't think Nintendo will get to the point of software only for a farewhile

It is ready to start making the transition. Sony has done that with Vita, is doing that with PS4. Digital option on launch day of a game suggests eventually it will be digital only. Maybe 6-7 years off still until that, though.

26/02/2013

"Niko! Cousin!"

Kudos: 186,104

Heller

Anyone who doesn't see this as a possibility is naive in my opinion. The industry is really hurting right now, It's not just studios closing down and franchises being shelved, but it's starting to come through with sales and the development costs for the big games we all want to see.

Activision will always have their big hitters with Skylanders and CoD and that will keep them afloat, but for all those other games who are "big" but not that big, they will simply fade out. Nintendo would have to be losing money on each 3DS and Wii U being sold right now, and considering the sales figures aren't that impressive, it's not exactly looking bright.

None of the console manufacturers have satisfactory infrastructure to provide a digital only service, which is what they need to do in order to keep the costs down and content always flowing. Nintendo are making great strides, but it's too little too late.

Indie devs are really stepping out, and while a number of them have been focused on mobile development, this year a huge amount will be launching on PC as their major platform. PC is easy to develop for, is cheap, and even if games don't end up on Steam, users are starting to branch out and use other services or buy directly from the developer's websites anyway.

Console gaming is in big trouble. Anyone who doesn't consider that we COULD (yes, I said COULD) be heading for another crash really needs to re-evaluate the current climate from a developer's point of view rather than a consumer.

26/02/2013

Melbourne, Victoria

Kudos: 281,457

Gryllis

Beta said:
Tsunamo said: NINTENDO DOOOOOOOOOOMED!

I don't think they're doomed either, but they're not in a very comfortable place.

What about all the piles of money they made last gen?

And the 3DS is going along quite well (albeit not as well as the DS).

26/02/2013

The member formerly formerly known as ICC_06, formerly known as Ben.

Kudos: 186,104

Heller

No one on the other sites sees my huge comment because it's only displaying on MyWii U :(

26/02/2013

Melbourne, Victoria

Kudos: 4,559

1wiierdguy

The ps3 and 360 both sold 70+ million and the Wii 100+ million hardly seems to point to the demise of consoles. Whilst I believe Nintendo won't replicate the Wii's success with Wii U, I do believe it will still garner a large enough user base that it will still be profitable for them.

26/02/2013

The basement in Luigi's mansion.

Kudos: 11,137

kangle4

I love Nintendo and the only three franchises I will always buy are all on Nintendo consoles/handhelds but a large part of me kind of hopes they do go third party, for consoles at least.

Sony and Microsoft clearly make the consoles the majority want now and seeing the best Nintendo games on those consoles would be brilliant.

26/02/2013

Melbourne, Victoria

Kudos: 174

Tj866

This guy like to slam everything that's not Microsoft, why do people still listen to him, the only thing he said which made sense was we are moving to digital only, so when we get the PS 5 and xbox 1080, expect them to be digital only,

26/02/2013

Kudos: 84,356

renagadez

lol

26/02/2013

Sydney, New South Wales

Kudos: 84,356

renagadez

I personally would not cope if everything was digital only. I don't even know if or when my area will be receiving the NBN within the next couple of years. It took me two and half hours just to download the demo of MH3U for the Wii U.

26/02/2013

Sydney, New South Wales

Kudos: 297,683

Tano

Ben said:
Beta said:
Tsunamo said: NINTENDO DOOOOOOOOOOMED!

I don't think they're doomed either, but they're not in a very comfortable place.

What about all the piles of money they made last gen?
And the 3DS is going along quite well (albeit not as well as the DS).

The pile of money doesn't exist anymore.

finance.yahoo.com/...

27/02/2013

"Niko! Cousin!"

Kudos: 4,559

1wiierdguy

Beta said:
The pile of money doesn't exist anymore.

Last years loss was the company's first since 1981. Nintendo's stockpile of cash is estimated to be about 10 Billion dollars. Nintendo is in no danger whatsoever. The booming 3ds has already returned them profitability and thing are only going to improve on that front.

27/02/2013

The basement in Luigi's mansion.

Kudos: 90

Pugszly

"Are sales bad? Yes, will they get better? Of course they will. Nintendo has proven generation after generation they can be profitable and make money. Nintendo has more money than Sony and Microsoft’s gaming divisions.

“Buried in reams of financial data is the revelation that Nintendo have 812.8 billion Yen (£6.7/$10.5 billion) in the bank – enough for it to take a 20 billion Yen loss (£163/$257 million) every year until 2052. Then there’s almost 469 billion Yen (£3.8/$6.0 billion) held in premises, equipment and investments. When that runs out – we’re in the year 2075 by this point – they’ve got some of the most valuable intellectual property in gaming to sell off before the company goes out of business.”

Nintendo isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, according to the almighty dollar.

Sorry to break it to you Cliffy B, The data says your wrong.

Even Cliffy B jumped into the whole Nintendo Doomed conversation, saying Nintendo could go software only next generation….. with NO DATA to back up his claims.

Meanwhile, Sony had to sell their US headquarters to pay off debts, and rarely posts profits in their gaming division. Wouldn’t the company selling off their own assets to cover debts be more at risk of going software only? Things aren’t looking great for Microsoft either. The RROD fiasco was costly, and they don’t have enough first party IP that sells. Instead, leaning on charging for online play and monetizing the 360′s dashboard with ads for users who already pay for their service. If the PS4 has free online play next generation and Microsoft charges, I think Microsoft is dead NOT Nintendo. Only die-hard Gears and Halo fans will buy the Xbox 720 if Microsoft doesn’t come out with some more Killer IPs. I personally can’t trust Microsoft after going through three Xbox 360′s. Faulty hardware and charging for online play? I’ll pass.

03/03/2013

Wyndham Vale, Victoria / Steam ID: pugszly

Kudos: 90

Pugszly

Comparing Sega to Nintendo ends now

Did Sega have a killer IP like Pokemon, which has sold over 125 million units Lifetime-to-date? Did Sega have a console that sold over 100 million units worldwide before the Dreamcast launched? Did Sega have 812.8 BILLION Yen in the bank during the Dreamcast days? Did Sega have have Mario, Metroid, or Donkey Kong? Did Sega have a market leading portable that dominates the sales charts? The answer to all these questions is no. Nintendo is not Sega, the Wii U is not the next Dreamcast. Nintendo has stronger IPs that sell. The Wii U doesn’t have to sell as much as the Wii to be successful. They can sell 40 to 50 million units in 5-6 years and be ok. Nintendo might have had a weak January, but that doesn’t turn them into Sega. Lets list all the failed hardware Sega had before the downfall of the Dreamcast:

1. Sega GameGear
2. Sega CD
3. Sega 32X
4 Sega Saturn
5. Sega Nomad

(Yeah, Nintendo is totally like Sega)
The economy is pretty bad right now. We are in a recession. The US income tax went up in January. March should be better, as people will be getting their tax returns back. Plus, Nintendo actually has exclusive software coming out for the Wii U in March. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and Lego City Undercover.

You can even look at the Wii U’s sales of New Super Mario Bros U. The Wii U has sold over 3 million units worldwide and NSMBU’s sales are over 2.5 million including the eShop. That’s a damn good attach rate for a new console. Sega’s highest selling game on the Dreamcast was Sonic Adventure, which sold around 2.5 million units. I can guarantee you, New Super Mario Bros U and a host of other games will crush Sonic Adventure’s game sales. Check out this chart of best-selling games on Dreamcast from Sega. just to see how pitiful Sega was during the Dreamcast days. Even the Gamecube, which is considered a failure by many, CRUSHED the Dreamcast in software sales.

03/03/2013

Wyndham Vale, Victoria / Steam ID: pugszly

Kudos: 90

Pugszly

So why is Pachter Saying so much Negative Things About Nintendo?

This is actually quite simple

1.Pachter has told investors Nintendo is dead, even saying Nintendo will become ”irrelevant“…… Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, and Animal Crossing New Leaf say hi Pachter. Over 20 million units sold between those three games. That’s anything but irrelevant. Wishful thinking perhaps?

2.Pachter has advised investors to buy Sony and Microsoft stock. Yet Pachter FAILED to comment on all of Sony’s lost profit. Pachter failed to comment on Sony selling their US headquarters for 1.1 billion. Those seem like significant financial information that he should discuss on a Pach-Attack right? Nope, not a word from Pachter. Ever wonder why Pachter doesn’t talk about Sony or Microsoft’s failures much? The writing is on the wall, this is all about money.

Every Analyst Ignores Nintendo’s Japanese Sales

Is it me, or is Michael Pachter ducking the Japanese sales questions? Nintendo has been on a financial rampage in Japan, clobbering Sony and Microsoft. I have not heard one bit of positive news come out of Michael Pachter’s mouth about the 3DS in Japan. Nintendo is making money hand over fist in Japan. Shouldn’t that be a topic for Pach-Attack? Why is he acting America is the epicenter of gaming? As if Japanese sales don’t matter? Tell that to Square Enix who sold nearly a million copies of Dragon Quest VII on the 3DS a couple of weeks ago. Capcom is pulling in some good numbers with Monster Hunter Ultimate on the Wii U as well.

An open Challenge….

The numbers and facts speak for themselves. Nintendo isn’t going software only next generation, Sony and Microsoft are closer to that reality. If Nintendo didn’t go third-party after the N64 or Gamecube, it’s not happening after the Wii U. If somebody has any facts or hard evidence that Nintendo will go third-party next generation, do tell. Use the comment section below."

Source: playeressence.com/...

03/03/2013

Wyndham Vale, Victoria / Steam ID: pugszly

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