Nintendo have “killer franchises,” but still needs to ensure that consumers diversify away from them.
Such comments come from Ngmoco CEO Neil Young, discussing the Japanese company with Gamasutra at a developer showcase.
“I think that Apple has done a number on Sony, and Apple and Android are now doing a number on Nintendo, Young explained.
“What they’re really doing is defeating the Nintendo hardware machine, and so in that regard maybe we’re competitive, but man, they’ve got some killer franchises. You wouldn’t want to go up against Zelda and Mario and Pokemon and Kirby every day of the week.”
With consistently high prices for their software, Young worries that the company will see decreasing returns for Nintendo 3DS.
He discussed, “[In] the ecosystem that they’ve created, it’s just really difficult to justify spending 30 dollars on a game that is anything other than a Mario, a Zelda, a Pokemon. I think that ultimately their ecosystem starts to fall apart.”
Given such strong first-party franchises, Young explained he is “actually quite happy for them to stay in their little custom handheld gaming space. I think it’s very difficult to imagine them breaking away from that.”
Ngmoco: Nintendo still have “killer franchises”
“Ngmoco CEO ”
mobile casual nothing to see here
“Apple and Android are now doing a number on Nintendo.””
Oh, so thats why the XL sold 200k in 2 days in japan, where they are dying>
“Extrapolating from trends in Japan, where mobile has far outstripped traditional console games to take the lion’s share of industry profits”
3ds has been the number 1 selling platform in japan since last june, 3ds is going away in japan huh?
the guy is a baffoon
Its another example of an insecure mobile guy trying to take a shot at the big dog on the block
He’s right, it’s Ninty’s own ip’s that keep the 3DS floating. In handheld gaming there is no doubt smart phones will eventually dominate. Perhaps it’s time for Nintendo to consider a partnership with a mobile company? Companies would be lined up around the block for some of that action…