Nintendo: intelligent, creative, sustainable and completely EXCLUSIVE.

[Johnic]

So you think they would invest in ports/multiplatform releases for an even smaller userbase?

Yes. Because they lose out on the majority of their revenue stream on consoles. Shit games won't sell well and no amount of PC sales (about 2 million, tops) won't offset that.

There are over a billion of PC users ("gamers") these days. Why haven't they downgraded their games to take advantage of that market by now? Even HD2, a game that released on PC day one, can't run on the vast majority of PCs. If there was a game to take advantage of that, it'd be a live service game.

 

[arvfab]

Yes. Because they lose out on the majority of their revenue stream on consoles. Shit games won't sell well and no amount of PC sales (about 2 million, tops) won't offset that.

There are over a billion of PC users ("gamers") these days. Why haven't they downgraded their games to take advantage of that market by now? Even HD2, a game that released on PC day one, can't run on the vast majority of PCs. If there was a game to take advantage of that, it'd be a live service game.

HD2 runs on graphics cards which are 7+ years old...

 

[Yurinka]

That graph must be fake, Sony apologists like @Yurinka and @Fenton told me that growth is impossible without PC

Fake news from a gaming flatearther, I never said that.

PS Studios released some secondary stuff in PC since 2015 or so like Helldivers 1, and then in 2019 started to port their big AAA games. A timing that would match the graphs, but the revenue from PC was very small until started to heavily grow in recent years as they started to stack ports of old PC games and to have active GaaS there.

Next week they should announce they made around half a billion dollars (or moe) from PC in this recent FY23.

I always said (and proven with factual data posting receipts) that PS continues growing and breaking many all time records in console both for their brand and for any console maker in gaming history. As an example their active console userbase very recently achieved a 123M MAU all time record.

So you think they would invest in ports/multiplatform releases for an even smaller userbase?

There are over a billion of PC users ("gamers") these days.

The PC gaming userbase is way bigger than the PS one. To be exact, there are estimated to be 867M PC players.

Which is way more than the estimated 625M in console (counting the ones from all the consoles from the 3 active generations, ignoring the overlap between them even inside the same brand).

As comparision, even if player population isn't active userbase, in console PS had the all time record of 123 million Monthly Active Users last December.

Let us not forget that Nintendo has also the cheapest online subscription.

Yes, the Sony one is more expensive and more successful than the Nintendo one.

 

[xollowsob]

Nintendo are shit. Prove me wrong.

 

[J_Paganel]

I'll have more fun witha PS1 game thay some od the AAA games these days. But better hardware offers us much more than graphics.

I also recently had a lot of fun with a PS1 game on SteamDeck, such as Sonic Wings Special.

But this Japanese game was made at a time when the PS1 was gaining weight and becoming one of the market leaders, including thanks to exclusive games. Now, thanks to its terrible actions, PS is gradually becoming less attractive to players and third-party publishers.

Without a system seller policy, there is little point in making big single-player games when you can get more and safer through GaaS. Similar games from Sony attracted a certain paying audience, which also bought games from third-party publishers, and now this will not happen...

We can already see from the XBOX example what the future holds for Sony.

 

[Nhomnhom]

I also recently had a lot of fun with a PS1 game on SteamDeck, such as Sonic Wings Special.

But this Japanese game was made at a time when the PS1 was gaining weight and becoming one of the market leaders, including thanks to exclusive games. Now, thanks to its terrible actions, PS is gradually becoming less attractive to players and third-party publishers.

Without a system seller policy, there is little point in making big single-player games when you can get more and safer through GaaS. Similar games from Sony attracted a certain paying audience, which also bought games from third-party publishers, and now this will not happen...
k
We can already see from the XBOX example what the future holds for Sony.

Kind of Sony to be porting PS1 games to the Steam Deck.

 

[Zzero]

Its not Mario has a grappling hook but Mario throws a hat or Mario turns into a cat I guess... last truly great Mario was Galaxy.

"Throwing his hat" wasn't the change, it was controlling enemies which each had a unique play-style. Oh well, while I like the article's like of Nintendo I also think its disingenuous to celebrate them, who are doing great, for not laying people off when they are doing so much better than everyone else. And they're Japanese and thus don't lay off at nearly the rate that other companies do. AND a lot of their games are contract work by third parties so, yeah, Nintendo didn't lay anyone off but at the same time two of their permanent collaborators went bankrupt in the Switch era (no different from the employee's financial perspective-actually it might be worse.) And yeah, the whole "contractor" thing, its easy to not lay off your employees when the person who's spent a decade QA testing your games isn't technically an employee.

 

[J_Paganel]

Kind of Sony to be porting PS1 games to the Steam Deck.

I played the game on an emulator, because if you can buy this game legally, it's only available in Japan on a disk (there is also a lot on eBay for $84, in general, it exists only on the secondary market).

In general, Sony does not support the PS1\2 game library well, it is more interested in porting current games to PC and getting miserable sales there.

 

[RE4-City]

Nintendo seem to be the only company in gaming that seems completely solid at the moment. With their head count actually increasing by a few hundred.

I believe other platform holders still have a lot to learn from the OG.

First of all, they keep their costs in check. Take note PlayStation.

They do not allow their budgets to bloat, hire additional writers needlessly or pay narrative consultants. They don't feel the need to expand the maps of their games to absurd extremes and fill it all with busy work... Usually.

Exclusivity is a key pillar of Nintendo's game plan. It has been ever since the Nes, when Mario was the pack-in.
Exclusives are what define a platform and grow people's attachment to the company.... Without exclusives, you have no identity and the relationship to the customer is weak at best, usually nonexistent.

Creativity is the last part I will speak about here. With each IP, Nintendo has used their creative and loyal developers to reinvent the offering every time they release a new game. It is not simply "Mario has a grappling-hook this time"... No, there is usually some deeper gameplay changes that are constantly evolving through the play through.
Santa Monica Studio is the closest of Sony's studios to do his with GOW.

Not just Nintendo but Capcom is another dev out there thriving in this crazy market where we have of layoffs and studios closures left and right from and some of them are from companies making record profits.

Honestly seeing how Ubisoft and Bethesda were doing phenomenal a decade ago when Nintendo and Capcom were struggling really bad is fascinating to see how things did a 180 in current year.
Ubisoft not too long ago was fighting off a hostile take over and Bethesda was doing great until around the time Fallout 76 happened and it was around this time Capcom and Nintendo started going on the rise and those two went on the decline. now almost all companies are on the decline for some reason

 

[Evilnemesis8]

Not just Nintendo but Capcom is another dev out there thriving in this crazy market where we have of layoffs and studios closures left and right from and some of them are from companies making record profits.

Many Japanese video game companies are doing the best they've ever done and/or are close to it.
So much so that Capcom/Square-Enix/(And others I can't recall on the top of my head) have made mention in earning calls of the fact they're having difficulty finding enough new hires to fit all the new positions they need/want towards growth.

Really fierce competition for local talent, especially with the addition of Chinese gaming giants(NetEase/Tencent,etc...) poached a bunch of talent to set up their own studios in Japan in the last few years, although that gold rush seemed to have ended in the last year or so.

Nintendo of course won't have that problem, their salary/work-life balance is better than almost any other gaming company in Japan. Their reputation is extremely high with multiple polls, like this one, putting it at the top of the list of where parents/grandparents would want their children to work at. Nintendo also rates highly as a desirable place to work with teenagers or young adults.

When you're so dominant in your domestic market, it really nets you a lot of benefits when it comes to image and you're going to get first dibs on new hires a lot of the time. If Nintendo wanted, they could go on a complete hiring spree.
They're not going to do that of course, they love their steady approach.
This does sometime means that they miss certain opportunities and are late/miss certain trends but often they give it their own original twist, so it turns out alright if they're later than the rest of the industry.

 

[Boswollox]

Nintendo still hold Japanese culture close to their core values of business, whereas Sony have abandoned them for western values.

Once you understand manufacturing efficiency in Japan Vs USA and how the corporate cultures differ, it will come as no surprise as to how Nintendo can keep ticking over, on time, in budget, with hit after hit on affordable hardware.
Compare that to slopcord with Sony and slopfield with MS, where both companies seem to be aroused by wasting money.

 

[Zzero]

Its not Mario has a grappling hook but Mario throws a hat or Mario turns into a cat I guess... last truly great Mario was Galaxy.

"Throws a hat" was actually "psychicly controls his enemies" and, since all of his enemies have relatively unique movement, it openned up a lot of niche gameplay options.

Edit: Oops, this post is old. And if I saw it last time I certainly would have called it out then too.

 

[Entropi]

It’s so heartwarming to see Nintendo thriving. They create amazing games and focus solely on what they do best. And without any greedy board members or CEOs screwing things up, that’s a huge plus!

 

[RE4-City]

Many Japanese video game companies are doing the best they've ever done and/or are close to it.
So much so that Capcom/Square-Enix/(And others I can't recall on the top of my head) have made mention in earning calls of the fact they're having difficulty finding enough new hires to fit all the new positions they need/want towards growth.

Really fierce competition for local talent, especially with the addition of Chinese gaming giants(NetEase/Tencent,etc...) poached a bunch of talent to set up their own studios in Japan in the last few years, although that gold rush seemed to have ended in the last year or so.

Nintendo of course won't have that problem, their salary/work-life balance is better than almost any other gaming company in Japan. Their reputation is extremely high with multiple polls, like this one, putting it at the top of the list of where parents/grandparents would want their children to work at. Nintendo also rates highly as a desirable place to work with teenagers or young adults.

When you're so dominant in your domestic market, it really nets you a lot of benefits when it comes to image and you're going to get first dibs on new hires a lot of the time. If Nintendo wanted, they could go on a complete hiring spree.
They're not going to do that of course, they love their steady approach.
This does sometime means that they miss certain opportunities and are late/miss certain trends but often they give it their own original twist, so it turns out alright if they're later than the rest of the industry.

Well Square is not doing very well at all in the moment:

Square Enix Shares Tumble by Most in 13 Years on Weak Outlook

Shares of Square Enix Holdings Co. tumbled 16% in their biggest decline in 13 years after its president said sales of recent big-budget games disappointed and that it would take years for a recent reorganization to bear fruit.

www.bloomberg.com

Square Enix to lay off employees in American, European offices

Square Enix's "unforgettable experiences" will be made without some unforgettable people.

www.gamedeveloper.com

I know they recently had a quarter that tripled in profits despite the decline in revenue:

Square Enix's Q1 profits rise 68% to $72m despite sales decline

Square Enix released its financial earnings for the three months ended June 30, 2024, reporting a significant decrease …

www.gamesindustry.biz

But seeing how the final fantasy franchise is not doing the big numbers it use to is quite worrying.
With Capcom and Nintendo you have almost all of their franchises do record breaking numbers at the moment.

 

[voke]

They make amazing games and that's all that matters. Easily in the Top 3 publishers of this industry.

 

[Bryank75]

I always feel bad when I see members that got banned. Keep the community together, the rules aren't too tough here.

 

[Evilnemesis8]

Well Square is not doing very well at all in the moment:

But seeing how the final fantasy franchise is not doing the big numbers it use to is quite worrying.
With Capcom and Nintendo you have almost all of their franchises do record breaking numbers at the moment.

Yeah I wasn't too clear in my post.
I coupled Capcom/Square-Enix and other big JP publishers more on the fact that they're seeking to expand their workforce rather than slim down, even the ones that aren't doing as well as Capcom/Nintendo.

It's clear the difference in mentality at the corporate level compared to the west.
They value talent much more, regardless of labour laws(the point that you can't fire people is overblown, it's absolutely possible). People at the top of Japanese companies will prefer to restructure and re-orient their approach and keep all their staff instead of firing a bunch of people. We saw this years ago when they restructured how divisions worked at SE and now with the new CEO and and another wave of change and a total re-do of how they assess their upcoming software stack(milestones etc).

All of them also know that since employees can stay a long time at a company, you can't afford to NOT continue to hire juniors even if you're not doing as well as your competition because you're going to miss out on your future leads years down the line.

This is what happens when people your board and at the top have the mentality that it's their fault if their ship is entering rocky waters and not the people at the bottom.

 

[arvfab]

Oops, this post is old. And if I saw it last time I certainly would have called it out then too.

You did

"Throwing his hat" wasn't the change, it was controlling enemies which each had a unique play-style.

 

[riesgoyfortuna]

nintendo fans are one of the most funny zealots on this hobby,no matter what year its,always the same dance

 

[peter42O]

Nintendo is massively successful because their IP's are top tier, their games are usually top tier, they don't have overinflated game budgets of hundreds of millions of dollars and rarely if ever put their hardware or software on sale and they never take a loss on anything. Because of all this, they don't need to chase trends like live service even though they have a few massive ones of their own already nor do they have to release their games on other platforms.

But the downside is that their tech is always a generation or two behind, their online infrastructure sucks, they don't release realistic looking games at all and while their third party support is the best it's been since Super Nintendo, you have to wait years to get a lot of those games. And their consoles always revolves around some kind of gimmick as opposed to here's a console and controller, have a good time.