Mar 07
Nintendo is Doomed – Analyst
Posted in: nintendo, Today's Chili, video games
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata seemed pretty positive his company’s future, as he addressed a crowd at the Game Developers Conference last week in San Francisco. Iwata also used the occasion to slam the competition–namely the ever-growing presence of casual smartphone and social network-based games, which have taken a bit of the wind out of console sales.
Iwata didn’t pull any punches this time out, telling the crowd, “The value of games does not matter to them. The fact is, what we produce is value, and we should protect it.”
Iwata’s critics were equally pointed. Here’s what industry analyst Michael Pachter had to say, “Long-term, Nintendo is doomed. He’s under full frontal assault by Apple.”
Brian Reynolds of Zynga, the company behind Farmville and other social media-based properties (which, let’s face it, is exactly who Iwata was talking about), opted for the defensive, “I expected better from Nintendo. They are missing the point of what we are doing, We are making games that everyone can play and socialize on while playing.”
Reynolds seems to come out looking the best in this situation–staying away from the hyperbole on either end. There are enough gamers in the world for there to be room for both (not to mention the more hardcore folk who spend their days in front of Xbox 360s, PS3s, et al). Iwata’s pointed rhetoric was a bit surprising, given how focused his company has become on social gaming for the whole family.
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