Nintendo's profits rise 163% in a year

smiaras

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flogen

That's one of the things people often forget when they write off Nintendo, they still make a profit from Cubes and they are still way ahead in the handheld market. I'd say if they can keep up these kind of profit levels they'll have no problem being the nieche market they're becoming.

Bluehair

Flogens bang on. Nintendo have made being third place extremely profitable while Microsoft and Sony lose money hand over fist.

Peteee

ehh microsoft loose money on the xbox, but last i checked the playstation division was still doing quite handily

Retr0gamer

Peteee wrote:

ehh microsoft loose money on the xbox, but last i checked the playstation division was still doing quite handily

Your right but it won't be that way for long. The PSP is making a huge loss with each unit sold and the PS3 when it gets released will be the same. Sony reported a huge loss recently but it was mostly because the only division doing well is the sony games division.

steviec

Sony are losing big in electronics but making big in games, music and movies. As far as I know they're making a small profit overall. And the R & D involved in both the PSP and Cell have cost them a fortune too. Sony need to be making profit from games though and now the PSP is selling and once the PS3 is in production I think they'll be set up to make profits.

Microsoft don't, they're willing to throw as much money as the X Box needs to succeed which is potentially a big advantage for them. They're making huge profits in other sectors and they're willing to just spend spend spend till they own the games market the way they've done with other markets they've enterred. I don't know if they'll keep doing that for many more years though.

Nintendo are in a comfortable position thanks to handhelds. They'll be far more worried about the PSP than any next generation console. I think the Gameboy micro is a smart move. An inexpensive, highly portable gaming machine with a huge back catalog fits into the market without directly competing with PSP. There's no need for a GBA2 yet, it'll just dilute DS sales.

Jim

I think alot of people assume ninty is going down the tubes is because they only see the Irish and British gaming market. The Big N is massive in the states and Japan and really they never gave a ****e about the European market.

Ping Chow Chi

Jimeatsmenu wrote:

The Big N is massive in the states and Japan and really they never gave a ****e about the European market.

Which is probably why many europeans wouldn't mind seing them fail.

Retr0gamer

Ping Chow Chi wrote:

Which is probably why many europeans wouldn't mind seing them fail.

Not if it means no more Zelda games. (Saying that Capcom/Flagship have done great jobs on the handheld zelda games. Hmm)

LegacyUser

I like the fact they are all making money to survive. I don't want any of the three companies to **** up!!!

Velcrow

Zelda, Metroid prime, Res evil 4....Im glad they don't care about european gamers....

smiaras

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Balfa

smiaras wrote:

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That's always more interesting to read. Come on... where's the URL?

smiaras

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Memnoch

Velcrow wrote:

Zelda, Metroid prime, Res evil 4....Im glad they don't care about european gamers....

couldn't care less about those games, they are crap and couldn't care less if they didn't make another version of them ever again.

dearg_doom

That's cool for Nintendo, I wonder what the reason is:?


re: SONY: ATM the PS2 has gone through several hardware revisions which means it's now a lot cheaper to produce, along with economies of scale and all that jazz, I wouldn't be surprised if they're making profits on the console now, but the PSP is a different story:)

Peteee wrote:

...but last i checked the playstation division was still doing quite handily

This is true to a point, SCE make most of their profit(relatively) from Europe, then Japan, then waaay behind is USA!

But all isn't too rosy for them, Europeans are importing a lot more in the last couple of years which is hurting them.

Also the PSP has been a bit of a shock to them, not only in the 'missed opportunity' stakes for a company that is normally so efficient at being the best in all areas of consumer electronics, but in how little return it has reaped since launch and of course they never expected all the dodgy PR they got.

So shocked were they that they demoted they head of gaming, and PSP's daddy, Ken Kutaragi a few months ago.

Stiil ye'd be mad to bet against them 'winning' the next gen too:P

savemejebus

Memnoch wrote:

couldn't care less about those games, they are crap and couldn't care less if they didn't make another version of them ever again.

can't tell if this is trolling or you just haven't played them

Velcrow

Memnoch wrote:

couldn't care less about those games, they are crap and couldn't care less if they didn't make another version of them ever again.

Wow - what an extreme reaction - I'm no Nintendo fanboy ( they are to blame for pokemon ) but you can't know much about gaming if you don't give them some respect for Zelda: Ocarina of time on the N64 and Windwalker on the GC, the same can be said for RE 4 ( the other RE's are tripe ) and Metroid Prime.

If you are serious ( and not just lonely / or a chain puller ) I would like to hear why you think they are so bad!!

Retr0gamer

The problem with the PSP which sony didn't forsee is that most people will only buy two games for a handheld console in it's lifetime. At the loss sony is making they probably need to sell around 7 games per PSP to turn a profit.

Memnoch

Velcrow wrote:

Wow - what an extreme reaction - I'm no Nintendo fanboy ( they are to blame for pokemon ) but you can't know much about gaming if you don't give them some respect for Zelda: Ocarina of time on the N64 and Windwalker on the GC, the same can be said for RE 4 ( the other RE's are tripe ) and Metroid Prime.

If you are serious ( and not just lonely / or a chain puller ) I would like to hear why you think they are so bad!!

Well my problem with them isn't so much so that they are bad as that they are incredibly over rated. I tried playing some version of zelda a while back on the n64, but I found it to be a boring platformer more than anything else. I prefer the turn based style of RPGs and find the FF story lines and game play to be far superior. As for RE's, again zombie shooters aren't my thing. I prefer my FPS on the PC in multiplayer mode with actual skill involved and my action/adventure games to be like the MGS/Splinter Cell series.

So maybe it's a genre thing. But I think it's a mix of a) not liking the genre b) not getting the hype c) being annoyed at people talking these games up like they are the best thing since sliced bread.

So ya, I'm quite happy to never see another version of these games made again.

bounty

all the nintendo fan boys

gamecubes and nintendo ds are kiddie consoles

its inevitable, nintendo is doomed

Velcrow

Memnoch wrote:

I prefer my FPS on the PC in multiplayer mode with actual skill involved and my action/adventure games to be like the MGS/Splinter Cell series......So maybe it's a genre thing. But I think it's a mix of a) not liking the genre b) not getting the hype c) being annoyed at people talking these games up like they are the best thing since sliced bread.

I was the same, what stopped me from giving these games a fair try was the extra initial effort. Without turning this into a " what's better " thread. I think you are missing some great game play - I really enjoyed the FF ( esp 7 ) and MGS ( although...ruined by cut scenes now ) - and held off playing Zelda: Ocarina of Time, but in the end I bought a n64 and the game secondhand... and imho it was the best game I had played to date.

Forget the hype...and give it another go!!

steviec

Memnoch wrote:

Well my problem with them isn't so much so that they are bad as that they are incredibly over rated. I tried playing some version of zelda a while back on the n64, but I found it to be a boring platformer more than anything else. I prefer the turn based style of RPGs and find the FF story lines and game play to be far superior. As for RE's, again zombie shooters aren't my thing. I prefer my FPS on the PC in multiplayer mode with actual skill involved and my action/adventure games to be like the MGS/Splinter Cell series.

So maybe it's a genre thing. But I think it's a mix of a) not liking the genre b) not getting the hype c) being annoyed at people talking these games up like they are the best thing since sliced bread.

So ya, I'm quite happy to never see another version of these games made again.

I agree totally! And I thought I was the only one. I played some of the way into metroid, and just didn't see what was fun about it. Actually I did, being a ball is fun. But aside from that I didn't think the game was special at all. Got bored and stopped playing.

I never owned a N64 meanwhile and wanted to play Zelda for years, finally got the Gamecube Zelda disc and popped it in and my reaction could be best described as 'meh'. The settings and characters are just uninteresting and cliched. And it does play more like a platformer than an RPG. Again I got bored of Ocarina of Time, started Majora's Mask and got bored of that too, now the Zelda disc just gathers dust on my shelf. It doesn't have anything like the story of a Final Fantasy or a Suikoden, and I'm not mad about the platforming/combat gameplay. Reminds me of Kingdom Hearts, which I wasn't that gone on either but at least KH had some interesting Dialogue. Or Beyond Good & Evil, but it's not in the same league as that game for atmosphere and storyline.

Not that I dislike Nintendo. I love my Gamecube because it provides me with Monkeyball. Mario Party is great fun with a group of friends too. And F-Zero and Warioware. But I never got the appeal of their two big franchises at all, and I get the impression people have a tendency to over rate them because of nostalgia.

Gizzard

bounty wrote:

all the nintendo fan boys

gamecubes and nintendo ds are kiddie consoles

its inevitable, nintendo is doomed

youve never played RE4 then

dearg_doom

bounty wrote:

all the nintendo fan boys

gamecubes and nintendo ds are kiddie consoles

its inevitable, nintendo is doomed

ban request: fanboi

1huge1

steviec wrote:

I agree totally! And I thought I was the only one. I played some of the way into metroid, and just didn't see what was fun about it. Actually I did, being a ball is fun. But aside from that I didn't think the game was special at all. Got bored and stopped playing.

I never owned a N64 meanwhile and wanted to play Zelda for years, finally got the Gamecube Zelda disc and popped it in and my reaction could be best described as 'meh'. The settings and characters are just uninteresting and cliched. And it does play more like a platformer than an RPG. Again I got bored of Ocarina of Time, started Majora's Mask and got bored of that too, now the Zelda disc just gathers dust on my shelf. It doesn't have anything like the story of a Final Fantasy or a Suikoden, and I'm not mad about the platforming/combat gameplay. Reminds me of Kingdom Hearts, which I wasn't that gone on either but at least KH had some interesting Dialogue. Or Beyond Good & Evil, but it's not in the same league as that game for atmosphere and storyline.

Not that I dislike Nintendo. I love my Gamecube because it provides me with Monkeyball. Mario Party is great fun with a group of friends too. And F-Zero and Warioware. But I never got the appeal of their two big franchises at all, and I get the impression people have a tendency to over rate them because of nostalgia.

I bet you wouldnt be saying that when OOT first came out

steviec

1huge1 wrote:

I bet you wouldnt be saying that when OOT first came out

Maybe I wouldn't, as I said I only got it from the gamecube disc relatively recently. But why would it seem much worse now than it did then? Was it being carried by great graphics for its time which made up for poor gameplay? I only played Final Fantasy VI for the first time on PS2 and that didn't stop me thinking it was brilliant, and it's even older.

Retr0gamer

steviec wrote:

Maybe I wouldn't, as I said I only got it from the gamecube disc relatively recently. But why would it seem much worse now than it did then? Was it being carried by great graphics for its time which made up for poor gameplay? I only played Final Fantasy VI for the first time on PS2 and that didn't stop me thinking it was brilliant, and it's even older.

Well for the time it was technically amazing. Also I think you are approaching it the wrong way. No matter what anyone says Zelda is not an RPG. It's an action adventure game were you are the lincoln green indiana jones on an adventure and not getting wrapped up in an epic story like in an FF game. Zelda is completely different to an RPG so it is understandable that you like FF but not zelda. However i hope you gave it more of a chance than some of the games board regulars who thought it was rubbish because they couldn't find the sword at the very start of the game.

steviec

Retr0gamer wrote:

Well for the time it was technically amazing. Also I think you are approaching it the wrong way. No matter what anyone says Zelda is not an RPG. It's an action adventure game were you are the lincoln green indiana jones on an adventure and not getting wrapped up in an epic story like in an FF game. Zelda is completely different to an RPG so it is understandable that you like FF but not zelda. However i hope you gave it more of a chance than some of the games board regulars who thought it was rubbish because they couldn't find the sword at the very start of the game.

You could have a point there. Before I played the game I heard it compared to Final Fantasy constantly and I expected it to be something like that. What I got was more of a platformer with a bit of story bolted on. Now I didn't get far(I did get the sword but didn't go much beyond that) so maybe the story gets much, much better. But the dialogue felt so cliched and so wooden and I'd no reason to believe that was gonna change as the game went on. It seemed like it was just there to fill in the gaps between the action instead of the other way round like in a FF game. And I guess some people prefer it that way. There's certainly room for games with great action and little or no story of interest, I'm playing through Alien Hominid right now and it doesn't exactly feature Shakespearean dialogue! But its not what I expected of Zelda, plus I didn't feel the action was all that great either.

Retr0gamer

Well zelda is the opposite of an RPG. The emphasise is on action, exploration and puzzle solving with a story bolted on to give a sense of progress and RPG's are more focused on story usually. Zelda's story won't get any better. It has always had a cliched save the princess storyline. I like both styles but prefer zelda because the dungeons and bosses are so clever and well designed.

steviec

Fair enough... based on that I'm still content with my decision to give up on it. Never been into those kind of games really. Tomb Raider's another popular one that didn't grab me.