Iwata: Nintendo merger and acquisition is an option

[Lady Lilith]

http://www.gametrailers.com/side-mission/69173/nintendo-merger-and-acquisition-an-option-says-president-iwata

 

 

For everyone who told Nintendo to merge in order to stay relevant in the games business, your wishes may come true. According to Japanese newspaper Nikkei, the consideration for merger and acquisition is on the table for the house of Mario. This comes after Nintendo laid out its future plans in its corporate management policy briefing.

“We should abandon old assumptions about our businesses. We are considering M&As as an option,” Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said in an interview. “For this reason, we'll step up share buybacks."

He also adds: "Quarterly earnings reporting is not a good fit for Nintendo. We don't know in advance how much of a hit a product can be. Even when we make plans thinking that a goal is reachable, sometimes things don't go well and this ends up upsetting [shareholders]. But it is thanks to the stock market that Nintendo has grown to what it is today. I don't want to turn to a management buyout just because we are inconvenienced now."

Iwata says that they're able to take hits on failures thanks to their large cash reserves it has built from previous strong earnings. "Because the entertainment industry ebbs and flows in wild swings, Mr. Yamauchi insisted it is vital to have deep pockets. Without savings, we could not have recovered from a single failure in game systems. Even now, we can afford many options because of our robust financial standing."

Strategies that Nintendo will employ include changing how products are sold, discounts to loyal customers, and new ventures in the health business.

 

 

 

Look at Iwata, he considers every option but the fact that Nintendo needs to stop making outdated consoles, needs more third party, and more new IPs.

 

I wouldn't mind Nitendo games on PS4 though.

Edited February 3, 2014 by Sonic

[DarkStar83x]

While I doubt that means Mario will be on PS4 anytime soon, that doesn't sound good.

[siuilarun]

If Nintendo does get eaten, I'd rather  see Mario, LoZ, DK, Metroid, etc simply die. All empires fall and eras end. It's inevitable. What isn't inevitable is whether or not they die with dignity. I know that's not how business works, but the thought of Sony or Microsoft having there way with the old franchises just doesn't sit well with me.

 

That's more in regards to you last sentence, and not the article.

[Dr_Mayus]

If Nintendo does get eaten, I'd rather  see Mario, LoZ, DK, Metroid, etc simply die. All empires fall and eras end. It's inevitable. What isn't inevitable is whether or not they die with dignity. I know that's not how business works, but the thought of Sony or Microsoft having there way with the old franchises just doesn't sit well with me.

 

That's more in regards to you last sentence, and not the article.

But what if Nintendo could operate as a 3rd party (or even better a 2nd party)

 

Right now their games are the only thing that keeps their systems afloat (with no 3rd party support) but if they didn't have to worry about selling systems they could really hunker down and make their games special. Maybe only release 2 or 3 games a year (on Playstation because MS doesn't know how to treat their developers) and we could get an amazing Mario game or Metroid game on PS4.

 

I think Nintendo's biggest problem right now is their Hardware so if they got rid of that part of the problem they could really go wild.

[KitsuneChaos]

Is "stop trying to be a front-runner and back the fuck off" a viable option?

I'm pretty sure it could save them a lot of money.

[TheVader66]

Even though i am loyal to Playstation, I don't want to see Nintendo die

[ExHaseo]

I'm sure Nintendo is fine. Iwata even says they still have a ton of money. If they do merge with another company, I'd be interested to know what company. My first guess would have to be Sega though.
Also, the Wii U hardware is fine as it is. A more powerful system wouldn't have hurt, but it's capable enough as is. What they really need is a service comparable to PSN/XBL and an achievement system. Those two things would instantly make the Wii U far more comparable to current systems. Most importantly though, they need to stop looking at gaming consoles like they're toys, like way back when the gaming market was primarily children and young adults. All those people have grown up, and even more have jumped on the bandwagon. Gaming is just about as commonplace as watching TV now, so it needs to be approached differently.

Lastly, a lot of people seem to think Nintendo as a 3rd party would be great, but I really don't think so. The reason Nintendo makes such great games, is because they utilize the hardware exactly how it's meant to be used. They know the ins and outs of their system and the tricks needed to get things to work the way they want them to, because they created the hardware and OS from the ground up themselves. That's also why exclusive games on other platforms tend to be of higher quality. Like Halo and The Last of Us. Them moving over to an unfamiliar hardware setup will more than likely lead to a dip in quality.

Edited February 3, 2014 by ExHaseo

[Memnoch]

This would be awesome - pretty much the only way to keep them from slowly dying - well unless they have a new commercial success like the wii up their sleeves.