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Nintendo to focus on 'health' amid weak console sales

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Nintendo to focus on 'health' amid weak console sales

Nintendo has announced plans to launch a new health 'platform' that will operate independently from its video game business, after weaker-than-expected console sales led to a 30 per cent dive in profits for the third financial quarter.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/nintendo/10606464/Nintendo-to-focus-on-health-amid-weak-console-sales.html

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  • mats effect
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    They will get thought this. As far as I know they have little to no debt compared to Sony and MS anyway and quite a large bank account. They really need to re think some areas though.

    Health games could be a big market for them if they do it right for the right price.
  • Fuiosg
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    Fuiosg polycounter lvl 5
    this might be the first '21st century' idea i've heard from them, granted the details are extremely vague.
  • Equanim
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    Equanim polycounter lvl 11
    My 60 year old aunt bought a Wii for the cardio. I've also heard of physical therapy centers using them, especially with that mat peripheral that can track your balance. This might be a smart idea for them.
  • GarageBay9
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    GarageBay9 polycounter lvl 13
    Equanim wrote: »
    My 60 year old aunt bought a Wii for the cardio. I've also heard of physical therapy centers using them, especially with that mat peripheral that can track your balance. This might be a smart idea for them.

    If they released a Wii Cycle or Wii Jog game that was a dynamic open world for you to cycle / jog through, with trophies, leader boards, events, races, multiplayer, and unlocks, there wouldn't be an overweight gamer left in the world.
  • spiderDude
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    spiderDude polycounter lvl 8
    So Nintendo is dropping the ball left and right and Iwata wants to create a separate health division.....in what reality does this make sense???
  • Lamont
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    Lamont polycounter lvl 15
    Doesn`t matter anymore to me. I haven`t been too interested in anything Nintendo in a long time.

    I do own a 3DS, but only one 3DS Game (Biohazard). While I do have fun with the WiiU at work when I play with co-workers, but I just don`t feel the need to own one.

    Let's hope they bounce back and make something that people actually want (for longer than 8 months).
  • JacqueChoi
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    JacqueChoi polycounter
    It's so easy for Wii U to decide to win this console war, if they really wanted to.


    Pokemon + Metroid Prime would do it.
  • Two Listen
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    JacqueChoi wrote: »
    It's so easy for Wii U to decide to win this console war, if they really wanted to.


    Pokemon + Metroid Prime would do it.

    Eh, can't say I share that sentiment. Honestly, I just don't think Nintendo makes $60 games. What would we get so far as Pokemon goes? Another stadium game, or one of those little adventure things?

    I rented Super Mario 3D World recently, to see what sort of advancements had been made. Paid ~$4 for two nights, my wife and I played through the whole thing co-op no problem through only casual evening play, missed a couple stars along the way but other than that, it was basically a not-strictly side scrolling Super Mario Bros, which is to say nowhere near as creative or intriguing as the Mario Galaxy games, or even older games such as Sunshine. I cannot imagine paying $60 for it. I guess it was like, one of the first Mario games where things were actually as round as they've always wanted, but that's not exactly a huge leap forward.

    The nail in the coffin for me was this guy. Yep. Tentalus, the boss from Skyward Sword that looks ripped right out of Monsters Inc. It was that encounter that made me seriously question what sort of effort they're actually putting in to things these days - or if they even still had "it" in them.
  • ambershee
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    ambershee polycounter lvl 17
    spiderDude wrote: »
    So Nintendo is dropping the ball left and right and Iwata wants to create a separate health division.....in what reality does this make sense???

    It's the way Nintendo has operated for over 120 years. When their main venture isn't working out, they start focusing on another aspect of their business.

    Nintendo have dabbled in taxi services, running hotels and even steel in the past.
  • Super
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    Super polycounter lvl 18
    Nintendo, call it a day please. It's becoming embarrassing now.
  • arrangemonk
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    arrangemonk polycounter lvl 15
    nintendo probably also realized that the balanceboard is a worthy competitor to other medical devices
    http://gizmodo.com/5450150/in-early-tests-99-wii-balance-board-outperforms-17885-medical-rig

    so they are probably dumping the medical sector with low cost equipment so that even smaller doctors offices can afford them. like said in the "article". i think its a smart descicion to sell the stuff they already have as medical stuff so they get extra money
  • FAT_CAP
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    FAT_CAP polycounter lvl 18
    The gamer in me who grew up loving Nintendo and all their franchises me sees this and balks.

    The fact that both mine and my girlfriend's parents (in their mid50s to mid 60s) both have, and use their Wiis fairly often, only ever playing Wii Fit, Wii Sports and Brain Training, definitely says something about the success of their products in the fitness market. A standalone "medical" product to capture more of this market could be an interesting line for them if that's what this means.
  • thomasp
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    Fuiosg wrote: »
    this might be the first '21st century' idea i've heard from them, granted the details are extremely vague.

    well, there was also the wii.

    anyway, makes sense to me. no point in burning money in markets they seem to have largely lost.
  • ambershee
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    ambershee polycounter lvl 17
    thomasp wrote: »
    well, there was also the wii.

    POWERRRRRRGLOOOOOVE
  • spiderDude
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    spiderDude polycounter lvl 8
    ambershee wrote: »
    Nintendo have dabbled in taxi services, running hotels and even steel in the past.

    Yup, this was all before their first system and each of those ventures turned out to be failures. This medical venture is going to be another one of their flops. I'm betting that it might work in Japan, since they are big on convenience and gimmicks, but outside of that it'll flop.

    Iwata admits he hasn't been listening to the western markets....doesn't look like he's changing, sigh.
  • Richard Kain
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    Richard Kain polycounter lvl 18
    Branching out into health-related products could be really good for Nintendo. They have a long reputation of unusually tough, durable hardware. Producing cheap, dependable products in that sector could work out well. That's exactly what that market segment is hungry for.

    At the same time, I hope that they don't abandon their video game development. I really like my Wii U, and have gotten plenty of enjoyment out of it. I look forward to seeing what else can be done with that platform. I'd especially like to see some indie games produced specifically for the Wii U.
  • Isaiah Sherman
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    Isaiah Sherman polycounter lvl 14
    There would be 1 thing to rule the fucking Earth and would make Nintendo a super power.

    Pokemon MMO directly on Wii-U.

    Nobody can contest that.
  • Richard Kain
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    Richard Kain polycounter lvl 18
    Pokemon MMO directly on Wii-U.

    Nintendo has been experimenting with more out-of-the-box multiplayer with their SpotPass system, but they are stilled quite backwards when it comes to dealing with the internet. They still haven't really gotten their minds wrapped around how to deal with on-line infrastructure possibly. Just baby steps with Miiverse integration and the like.

    While everyone claims a Pokemon MMO would be great, Nintendo would have to go to great lengths to keep it kid-friendly. In the end, it almost certainly wouldn't end up being what most gamers dream of.
  • Equanim
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    Equanim polycounter lvl 11
    nintendo probably also realized that the balanceboard is a worthy competitor to other medical devices
    http://gizmodo.com/5450150/in-early-tests-99-wii-balance-board-outperforms-17885-medical-rig

    so they are probably dumping the medical sector with low cost equipment so that even smaller doctors offices can afford them. like said in the "article". i think its a smart decision to sell the stuff they already have as medical stuff so they get extra money

    If Nintendo made a dent in the ridiculous markups for medical supplies in the US, I'd buy a Wii U just as a show of support.
  • Isaiah Sherman
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    Isaiah Sherman polycounter lvl 14
    In the end, it almost certainly wouldn't end up being what most gamers dream of.


    It's all speculation. It is negative speculation to say that it is doomed to fail before it is even imagined.

    Who are we to say something we have never experienced would not live up to our standards?
  • NegevPro
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    NegevPro polycounter lvl 4
    Personally I'd rather have a WiiU over a "next-gen" console. People often bash Nintendo for no longer having "creative" ideas, but the most played games on the Xbox 360 and PS3 were Call of Duty games and Fifa games, and that alone speaks for itself. It's pretty fair to assume the same thing will happen to the XB1 and PS4 as well. I think the industry as a whole is having a creative slump, every other game released is just about killing, war, post apocalyptic events, shooting, etc. While I personally have no problems with that, it is nice to play something different for a change, and nothing can beat Nintendo's consoles when it comes to unique gaming experiences.

    Sure, there could be more variety as all we really see are Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, etc. but at the end of the day, all of the "best" gaming experiences offered on the XB1/PS4 can also be found on the PC whereas the best experiences offered on the Wii/WiiU are exclusive to that platform which for me justifies the purchase.

    I generally end up getting every major platform along with every major game by the end of each console generation but I think the first "next-gen" console I'll pick up is the WiiU. My only real complaint about Nintendo's modern games is the difficulty of their games. I remember playing some Pokemon game on the Wii where it was literally impossible to lose.
  • Equanim
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    Equanim polycounter lvl 11
    NegevPro wrote: »
    Sure, there could be more variety as all we really see are Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, etc. but at the end of the day, all of the "best" gaming experiences offered on the XB1/PS4 can also be found on the PC whereas the best experiences offered on the Wii/WiiU are exclusive to that platform which for me justifies the purchase.

    I think having the bulk of their innovation be hardware based was Nintendo's biggest mistake. Unfortunately they sacrificed memory for a "wow factor". The Wii is a lot of fun at first, but after the novelty wears off you're left with a sub-par console in terms of graphics and processing power. The Gamecube suffered a similar fate with the push for a smaller form factor. Third party devs seldom target Nintendo because their product would only succeed for that one console. That's why Nintendo is stuck rehashing twenty year old IPs.

    The creative drain in AAA games isn't due to hardware, it's because no one wants to take risks; there's too much money invested in AAA projects. Indie devs, by contrast, usually have to stand out by creating the next early access, open world, survival, zombie game. ;)

    I would absolutely love to see Nintendo use conventional hardware and release a console that's up to technical standards and as easy to develop for as the PS4 and XB1. Imagine how well a console that could play Zelda and Battlefield and indie titles would do. At this point they could even keep the small form factor by leaving out the disc drive and make it download only. They'd even save money in the long run for not having to print physical media anymore.
  • jddg5wa
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    jddg5wa polycounter lvl 8
    ^ This, I agree.

    On another note I've heard it a lot that the problem is not Nintendos games or their system, the problem is marketing. When Nintendo released the WiiU a lot of people did not even fully grasp that it was a new system. Most of the focus was on the controller and that is what people saw the WiiU as, a new controller with a touchscreen. It's only recently that I have seen a bunch of WiiU commercials. In those commercials they were still explaining that the WiiU was not the same as the Wii. Signs show they could improve on their marketing.

    The line "We already have a Wii sweetykins." points towards that stigma still existing. These are quiet recent commercials.
    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsbeQeiwW9o"]Wii U - "The Pitch" Commercial: Kids Edition - YouTube[/ame]
  • WDewel
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    WDewel polycounter lvl 7
    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1WFIUTqfmg"]Game fight scene from The Island - YouTube[/ame]

    Please? hahah
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