Nintendo realises Apple threat and will challenge in digital downloads… within three years
This one passed me by, so thanks to Wired for pointing out this gem from Nintendo president Satoru Iwata:
In my mind, I would like to make the presence of the Nintendo eShop much larger in three years [sic] time.
Three years? Really? Nintendo needs to be working on digital now. It needs to be competing with the might of the App Store now. If it doesn’t, the presence of Nintendo regarding digital downloads in three years won’t be on the eShop, but will be on the App Store.
Any chance we’ll see Nintendo transition to an all-software company, a la Sega of the early 2000s? I’d love to see some classic Nintendo franchises come to other platforms.
They have such a lot of ground to catch up on. And such a lot to unlearn. Like pegging downloads to individual handhelds, restricted saves etc. Not only are iOS titles much cheaper, you can use them on multiple devices. Much more friendly for families, ironically.
@CTD: The inability to scorch saves on some 3DS titles certainly caught be unawares. What a bonkers idea.
I don’t think Nintendo will go Sega’s route. Sega only stopped making hardware after four failed platforms (Mega CD, 32X, Saturn and Dreamcast).
They definitely need to do something though. Hardware cycles alone are too long. If the 3DS has a comparable lifespan to DS, we’ll be playing on iPhone 12 by the time its successor ships.