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Published On: Tue, Jul 19th, 2016

Is Nintendo a dying game breed?

Even with the new Nintendo NX, could Nintendo be fizzling out?

It should come as no surprise that the day would come when gamers would ask “Is Nintendo dying?”. This is especially true of you look at the progress (or lack thereof) in comparison with other major gaming platforms available on the market. True, the brand has made a bit of progress in the recent years, but whether or not these advancements are enough to breathe life back into the Nintendo followers is yet to be seen. Here is what we know:

X-box and Playstation remain the dominant consoles

X-box and Playstation have been the top two competitors in the game industry for a number of years. According to Ign, the PS4 has exceeded 18.5 million sales worldwide. IDC reports that the x-box one will dominate the market in 2016. This is not likely to happen as PS4 has more pixels and more features, but the report is out there so it is best to mention it. What makes the Nintindo stand apart, and not in a good way, is that the projected sales for the entire year are not to exceed 800k, according to a report on April 27,2016.

photo/ Mike Birdy pixabay

photo/ Mike Birdy pixabay

If Nintendo wants to gain a foothold in the market, then the console must offer better 3D graphics, specifically in open world concepts and RPGs. There needs to be an aesthetic design that sets it apart from its competitors, and the system must have the storage and processing to compete with the dominant consoles on the market. Let us hope that the Nintendo NX can do such.

Nintendo needs new material

Mario, Luigi, and Zelda have carried the Nintendo brand for a good long while. However, these iconic images may be what is holding the company back. There are only a certain amount of ways in which to play Mario and Zelda before the content becomes cliché and gamers see the new content as redundant and repetitive. We have already heard tales of the new Zelda which will be released along with the Nintendo NX.  Granted, the open world concept and the 3D Modeling is reported to be far superior to any of the games available on the Wii U, but again the character is being rehashed. Unless there are some major developments to the story and some very exquisite real-world graphics, I cannot foresee this saving the Nintendo brand.

New characters must be developed and new content must be created to gear to the market. This has long been Nintendo’s downfall. The content and games which are available for their consoles greatly limit the target audience. In general, the games are geared to the younger audiences. This is in a sharp contrast to the Playstation and the X-box which are seeing more and more adult themed games.

Game availability

Perhaps one of the main factors which will determine if Nintendo continues for another decade or whether it fizzles into the great consoles of the past such as Atari, is whether or not the brand will finally embrace and market their brand to a wider audience. The games which are desired currently are not compatible and available on the Wii U. Batman Arkham City was one of the most popular games of the year, and X-box and Playstation both offered the game. Yet, Nintendo did not. You cannot grow your business if you do not cater to the demand of the market. Nintendo must diversify their selection of games to meet the needs of the market if they want to stay alive.

Nintendo’s Hail Marys

There are a few power plays which have kept Nintendo afloat for the past few years and a few which are coming up. These are:

 

  • Pairing with Disney to offer the infinity series
  • Changing their controllers to be more intuitive
  • Redesigning the console with the Wii U
  • Building up an anticipation with the Nintendo NX
  • Debuting an Open World Character Based Game

 

What is the probability?

Much rests upon Nintendo’s ability to provide a console that rivals the PS4 and X-box One. This means that the 3D rendering has to surpass that which is already available. And as the market is dominated by a gamer base which already has a ton of games from their prior x-box and PlayStation, it may be hard to convince those users to switch to a new console. Additionally, if Nintendo refuses to open up its target audience to include both the older and younger gamers, then it will not receive the sales needed to keep the company in the black.  The outcome does not look great for the company. Should the NX fail to deliver the results Nintendo anticipates, I could easily see the company be either sold and re-envisioned or slide into oblivion.

Guest Author: Laura Paškauskaitė

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