Business
Apple eating into portable Nintendo sales?
When Max Batch wants to play a video game, he turns to his Apple Inc. iPhone. The 22-year-old German has shunned hand-held consoles such as Sony Corp.’s PSP and Nintendo Co.’s DS, joining a growing number of people who use their smartphones for online and other games, eroding sales of the dedicated handsets. “It’s not worth having a hand-held,” said Batch, who spends about 2 eur...
Video games seek immunity from used sales, fail to see the irony
Used video games have been around since the early ’80s. But they weren’t a problem in the eyes of developers until the middle of the decade, at which point game sales weren’t growing as fast as they used to. Rather than blame the safe creative bets, bloated budgets, and $10 HD surcharge (yes, many games carry an MSRP of $60 these days) for the decline, developers set their sights...
Nevermind the critics: How 2D Mario beats 3D Mario
The Brainy Gamer writes: As much as we enjoy blasting 3D Mario into space and navigating him around 3D orbs, a quick glance at sales figures makes one thing clear. We like Mario best when his world is flat. We still, apparently, prefer running from left to right. Consider the numbers this way: Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 combined total sales: 12.3 million New Super Mario Wii total sales: 15.5 mil...
“It’s tricky,” Nintendo says of 3DS advertising
How the crap is Nintendo gonna show how awesome glasses-less 3D looks in non 3D commercials and billboards? Says one senior official from Japan, “We are constantly discussing how to market the product. Our internal PR departments are saying that we should use cinema advertising, because cinemas are capable of showing 3D movies. “But our key point with 3DS is that you don’t need g...
At $2.1 million a year, Nintendo CEO makes less than either Sony or Square Enix boss
Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata made $2.1 million last year (included bonuses), much less than Sony CEO Howard Stringer’s $9 mil or Square Enix’s $2.7 million-making CEO. That may come as a surprise to some, since Nintendo outsells the other two combined. But keep in mind we’re talking salaries here. And in senior executive land, salary is often peanuts when compared to year-end bonuse...
Nintendo Tops U.S. Video Game Hardware Sales in April
According to the independent NPD Group, Nintendo’s Wiiâ„¢ system and Nintendo DSâ„¢ family of systems outsold all other gaming hardware in the United States during the month of April. Even before the announcement of the new Wii hardware package, U.S. sales of the Wii console topped 277,000 for the month. Meanwhile, the Nintendo DS family of hand-held systems sold more than 440,000 units nati...
If it weren’t for GameCube profits, would there even be a Wii?
As the predecessor to Wii, the GameCube was Nintendo’s worst selling console ever. During its six year life, it sold only 22 million units worldwide. Despite this, Nintendo reportedly turned a profit on the little purple box, thanks to a strong lineup of first party games and low cost hardware. That said, I can’t help but wonder if Wii would have materialized had the GameCube operated ...
About those pesky Infendo ads (or “We love you long time if you stop ad blocking”)
Hi everyone. Boss Hog again. By popular demand, Infendo nuked those pesky flashing ads today. If our media rep tries to serve them again, our lawyers are going to be all over them like a rat on a Cheeto. Count on it! That said, I’m gonna leave the left side ads where they are for a month-long trial, as promised. Hopefully more germane ads will be seen as an immediate compromise’at least unti...
Was touch the secret to DS success?
Since launching nearly six years ago, the Nintendo DS has enjoyed otherworldly success. It has sold faster than any video game system before it. Including both DS Lite and DSi variations, Nintendo has shipped more than 130 million units worldwide, putting the DS on pace to become the best selling system ever’a mere 10 million away from current heavy weight champion, the PlayStation 2. And it still...
Report: Nintendo rushed 3DS announcement so Japanese press couldn’t scoop it
Announcing a new handheld a few days before your next one is scheduled to launch doesn’t make a lot of sense, as Nintendo did with the 3DS last week shortly before releasing the DSi XL. But the uncanny maneuver wasn’t planned, it was forced, reports CNBC. “Apparently, the Japanese press was all over it and talked with suppliers there and Nintendo just wanted to get out ahead by breakin...
Big money has Nintendo staffers overworked, focused on bottom line?
That’s the story in at least one Japanese paper today, transcribed by Kotaku. The paper reports that those working in the Online Division have voiced dissatisfaction, while those in the financial department have been pulling long hours. Continuing, the paper adds that even those employed in preeminent development positions have been feeling the crunch, spending their time working on sequels ...
The Final Word: Why the N64 wasn’t a huge success (and how the next Wii can be)
Looking back on Nintendo systems, it’s easy to see why the NES, GameBoy, DS, and Wii were such successes. The NES had Super Mario Bros. GameBoy had Tetris. DS had Nintendodogs. Wii had Wii Sports. In other words, they all had must-have launch games. But to get theses games, you had to buy the hardware. Conversely, it’s easy to see why the GameCube never really took off, despite its pot...