Nintendo says the success of its new Switch console will help it to double annual profits.
It has become the fastest-selling games console in the Japanese firm's history, with 2.7 million units bought in March - the first month it was available.
But Nintendo's profit estimate of 65bn yen ($583.9m; £453m) for the year to March 2018 was below market forecasts.
Like other console makers, Nintendo is having to counter the rise of the smartphone as a tool for gaming.
And because - unlike Sony and Microsoft - Nintendo relies on games and consoles for almost all its sales, it is arguably more vulnerable to this trend.
Does gaming on phones really cannibalize gaming on consoles and PCs, or is it in addition to?
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Nintendo Says Switch will Help Double Profits
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(Score: 3, Informative) by julian on Friday April 28 2017, @05:42AM (3 children)
It's incredibly under-powered and cheap hardware and it's the only way you can run the hottest game this season. So of course it will be profitable.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by infodragon on Friday April 28 2017, @12:43PM (2 children)
For a home console it's under speced. However for the convenience of moving from the TV to the toilet, or bed room, or the car... In general there is a lot people will sacrifice for convenience! Not to mention when I resume any game I'm playing in less than 30 seconds!
What happens when some kid brings a switch to school and 2 play Mario Kart; everybody wants in on the action. What happens when the reality sinks in that if they get 2 switches together 4 can play. If 12 switches are together then 12 can play with their own screen. What about Splatoon which is already a smash hit on the flop of the wii U? Local updates make sure nobody is left out because they didn't get the update online.
Do people realize there are many awesome games on the Wii U and that nobody has played them because the Wii U only sold 13m units? Nintendo ports those to the switch and it's new for most people! Easy win for Nintendo with minimal effort!
What about when they release a new Metroid with co-op? Smash bros? Yoshi's woolly world (never underestimate the power of cute!). Monster Hunter(Check out the sales for 3DS in Japan, if this hits the switch?) Pikmin? Local co-op mincraft? local co-op terraria? Mario maker, local creative competition? Think of the kids going crazy over this!?! Won't you think of the CHILDREN!?!? LOL
What happens if (and it's a big IF) Call of Duty WWII is ported. Yea gfx will suffer but local co-op with that convenience?
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on the go? Yes please!
Pokemon! Improved GFX big time over the 3DS!
1-2 switch has been poo pooed by many. However the reality is a bit different in my experience. My 10 y/o daughter is NUTS over it and all her friends. HOURS of them playing at a time and they are jumping, dancing moving around and most of the time not looking at the TV!
And I'm personally totally geeked out over Xenoblade Chronicles 2. What they did on the Wii was astounding! Can't wait for it on the Switch!
Check out the current game release schedule
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nintendo_Switch_games [wikipedia.org]
Don't settle for shampoo, demand real poo!
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday April 28 2017, @01:22PM
That's interesting, I'll grant them that. But it's a 6 year old game that probably has worse controls (and modding ability) than the PC version.
But that does get me thinking about TES 6, which would probably be a VR title by the time it's finally released.
I see the Untitled Pokémon game in the release list, but I doubt they will do a main game like all of the ones that debuted on handhelds. However, if they were to do one, this would be the console to do it on.
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(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 28 2017, @04:12PM
But there are not very many games games for Wii U that aren't also on other systems. Other systems that have way more selection than the Wii U does.
I suspect that all the best games for the Wii U are actually just Wii games.
I have and love Xenoblade on the Wii, but I was quite disappointed by Xenoblade X on the Wii U.
(Score: 2) by Lagg on Friday April 28 2017, @06:04AM (6 children)
I honestly think the only thing keeping sales going is the console exclusive titles like Breath of the Mint. If this stuff was on Steam or something would someone be able to justify spending $300 on a switch for it? Or just a plain ol' licensed download. Most people have something with equivalent or greater specs to the switch already. The article seems to agree that zelda is a major driving force of sales in any case
http://lagg.me [lagg.me] 🗿
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 28 2017, @06:13AM (5 children)
Yup, its the Disney method to profits. Zelda and to a lesser extent Mario are their cash cows, yes people will buy the console just for those games, so a $50-75 dollar game becomes $350-375, and then a couple of obligatory other games to make the system more versatile... load of crap
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Friday April 28 2017, @06:26AM
True. I've bought four of their consoles to play Zelda games. Admittedly, they were all bought second-hand, so my contributions to Nintendo's shareholders are not as substantial as they might have been.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 28 2017, @07:15AM (3 children)
Barely different than buying a $300 dedicated GPU (not the whole general purpose PC that can do spreadsheets) to play a particular game or two, and more later as they are released.
The consoles now have web browsers and integration with Netflix [bgr.com] so you can theoretically use them for more than just the one hot launch title.
(Score: 2) by Zz9zZ on Friday April 28 2017, @08:01AM (1 child)
No, I don't know any PC gamers that exclusively run a couple of games and never touch them again. Consoles however have little general purpose, Netflix sure but web browser? Without a keyboard and mouse you gotta be kidding!
~Tilting at windmills~
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 28 2017, @12:34PM
I've known people that will specifically upgrade or pay the Window's tax so that they can play a certain game. Now, they also typically will play other games as well but that is also the case for consoles.
As for general use, there were some that would end up using their gaming rig for heavy duty video/image/sound editing but the majority just let that extra power sit unused as they browse the internet.
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Friday April 28 2017, @01:39PM
Barely different than buying a $300 dedicated GPU (not the whole general purpose PC that can do spreadsheets) to play a particular game or two
If your PC is a laptop, then you do in fact need "the whole general purpose PC" because laptops aren't nearly as expandable as desktops. Or has it become common to buy and install a third-party MXM GPU a year or more after buying a laptop?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 28 2017, @11:53AM
That was the last console I owned, but I've been thinking about buying one of those Classic mini's
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 28 2017, @12:24PM (2 children)
Does gaming on phones really cannibalize gaming
On mobile consoles, yes, and this will probably get worse in the future.
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Friday April 28 2017, @01:35PM (1 child)
Mobile phones are good for point-and-click games. But I don't understand how the flat sheet of glass that is a mobile phone's primary input device substitutes for precise physical buttons for movement, jumping, and firing in games like Mega Man series. On-screen gamepads fail when the player accidentally presses outside the active area of a control because he's looking at the action in the center of the screen, not the buttons in the corners, and the player can't feel the edges of the active area to align his thumbs. Really the only reliable blind input on a touch screen is treating the whole screen as one button, or perhaps one per half of the screen, but not all games can be simplified to one or two buttons.
(Score: 2) by damnbunni on Friday April 28 2017, @02:01PM
While buttons are still a problem, movement is actually pretty well solved: Where you first touch your thumb to the screen is the center of the joypad, and wherever you move it, that's the direction the stick goes.
I'd still far rather have real controls, but it works better than you'd expect.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 28 2017, @11:03PM
People who had no intention of buying a Switch comment on its viability
People who already have a Switch talk about how much fun they're having
Film at 11...