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GameSpot: How the Nintendo Switch SAVED Nintendo

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman


After releasing the Wii U, Nintendo was in big financial trouble. They would need something truly special to help revitalize the company, and hopefully Nintendo Switch would be that answer.

After the incredible success of the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo seemed on top of the world. But, there were already issues, even before their new console. Lackluster 3rd party support meant their longterm success with the console was waning.

So, Nintendo launched the Wii U as a direct answer to that, trying to merge casual and hardcore gaming audiences, but it was a disastrous flop. So much so, that even despite the Nintendo 3DS being a success and earning the company money, overall, the company was losing massive amounts of money year over year due to their operating costs.

There's no telling where Nintendo would be today had they hit another big flop with the Nintendo Switch, but fortunately, it would bring life back to the company - and Dave Klein lays all of that out in how the Nintendo Switch Saved Nintendo.

Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:32 - The amazing success of the NES
0:55 - Nintendo's slow decline
1:34 - The Nintendo Wii
2:25 - The Nintendo Wii's Issues
3:46 - The Wii U's Development
4:31 - The Nintendo Wii U's issues
6:12 - Nintendo's Handheld Market
6:35 - Nintendo's financial troubles
9:00 - Development on the Nintendo Switch
12:32 - The release of the Nintendo Switch
 

SlimeGooGoo

Party Gooper
It saved the INDUSTRY as well

THANK YOU NINTENDO

I Love You Flirt GIF
 

Robb

Gold Member
Absolutely incredible turnaround for sure.

But who knows where they’ll go from here. Iirc they’ve even beaten the Wii/DS record of operating profits with the Switch, so it does seem like an anomaly. The higher you climb the harder you’ll fall etc.

Great they need more great IPs soon, sooner or later people are going get bored or of Mario and zelda.
37 years of Zelda and 38 years of Mario, but now people will suddenly get bored of them?
Nick Young Wtf GIF
 
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Same ol G

Member
Nintendo who had succes after succes and even their failing consoles (N64, GC) were making a profit.
Somehow it would be almost over for Nintendo after one dud released after one of the most popular consoles they launched.
Sorry but i always laugh at these stories, Nintendo is doomed for the past 20+ years so any day now.
 
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Kataploom

Gold Member
Great they need more great IPs soon, sooner or later people are going get bored or of Mario and zelda.
You're probably too used to iterative sequels even generation to generation from your favorite company, but Nintendo games are far from iterative, they retain same core concept with from the ground up completely redone ideas, art styles and gameplay mechanics. There are more differences between two subsequent Zelda releases than between Uncharted 1 and Uncharted 4, for example.

Wii U was a disaster but I don't think everything should be attributed to it, iirc at the time Nintendo was buying back many shares back so they took advantage of it, I have the hypothesis they did it somehow in purpose.
 

Knightime_X

Member
Wii to Wii U was confusing to the casual masses.
Simply changing the name was enough to save nintendo.
I don't know if making another handheld and calling it switch 2 will help.

My bet says they already have 1 handheld, why would they want 2?
I hope its a console that's BC with switch 1. Allow original switch to play switch 2 games via cloud.
 
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Banjo64

cumsessed
Yea, 35 years of popularity, and the last one sold 10 million copies in a weekend, but any day now, it's over for Nintendo....
Literally their games have never sold better than on Switch. They have about 20 different 15m plus sellers. Sony and Microsoft can only dream of those numbers.
 

Chastten

Banned
The only sad thing about switch success is that we can say goodbye to any potential classic home console from them.

Gamecube times are far away.
Nintendo was never going to join the gigaflop race again. GameCube was over 20 years ago, people really need to get over that dream.

Had Switched failed, they would've simply focussed on handhelds.
 

bender

What time is it?
Lol sorry, last 3 consoles, sometimes i forget that the wiiu actually existed.

The Wii U was probably the closest we will see to Nintendo chasing "more power". It was a weird half-step in a lot of ways: It's HD...kinda. It's a Wii. It's has a touchpad like our handhelds.

Not being in the hardware arms race is smart as is combining their handheld/console development efforts to one device. They can still make riskier design decisions in their tent pole games while releasing lesser appreciated fan favorites and not need them to sell gangbusters to be profitable.
 

FunkMiller

Gold Member
I think Nintendo are probably poised to become number one in the games console market.

You‘ve got Xbox shitting the bed repeatedly, and PlayStation now apparently becoming a GaaS machine…

The Switch 2 could do absolutely enormous business, riding off the success of the first one. Drop it with Metroid 4, a new Mario game and some ToTK DLC and it’ll dominate.
 
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Nydius

Member
I think Nintendo are probably poised to become number one in the games console market.
"Poised to become"?
They already are.


Nintendo has a level of longevity, brand recognition, and software sales rates Sony and Microsoft can only dream of. They have IPs sitting in mothballs that Sony or Microsoft would die for.
 

KellyNole

Member
hard to believe that the failed wii u brought them in problems

Only in marketshare. The Wii U was still profitable. They still could have a few flops in a row and would have been fine. Nintendo consoles are sold at a profit for the most part. That business decision, being somewhat different, and constantly changing their IPs up may keep them around longer than MS or Sony in the gaming business.
 
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Tams

Gold Member
Only in marketshare. The Wii U was still profitable. They still could have a few flops in a row and would have been fine. Nintendo consoles are sold at a profit for the most part. That business decision, being somewhat different, and constantly changing their IPs up may keep them around longer than MS or Sony in the gaming business.

People always forget that. The Wii U wasn't great for the company, but it was hardly the disaster some make it out to be. And going by the 3DS doing very well and the Switch smashing it, clearly wasn't that damaging to the company.

I'd say the 3DS launch was more damaging. Sales weren't great and they had to do a price cut (I think they even lost money afterwards on each 3DS for a while).
 
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I like how Gamespot made up that Nintendo was in great financial trouble when they were making cash with the 3DS and didn't cut the price of the Wii U so they wouldn't loss lead. Even their refurbished units were still too high imo.

It sold less than the gamecube but didn't lose anywhere near as much.
 

BlackTron

Member
The only sad thing about switch success is that we can say goodbye to any potential classic home console from them.

Gamecube times are far away.

Nintendo had plans to release a portable system with a docking station when we ended up with Gamecube, so I'd be glad we got as many consoles as we did.
 

Gambit2483

Member
I like how Gamespot made up that Nintendo was in great financial trouble when they were making cash with the 3DS and didn't cut the price of the Wii U so they wouldn't loss lead. Even their refurbished units were still too high imo.

It sold less than the gamecube but didn't lose anywhere near as much.
Gamespot is now acting like the DS and Wii didn't make them a shitton of money (for clickbait)

FMAgo7k.jpg


Not surprising.
 

Celine

Member
"So much so, that even despite the Nintendo 3DS being a success and earning the company money, overall, the company was losing massive amounts of money year over year due to their operating costs."
Nintendo amounts of money lost in those three "infamous" fiscal years pales compared to the losses incurred by Sony and Microsoft with PS and Xbox through certain periods (not shown in the graph below but the division in which Xbox was located lost $7.3 billions between 2001 and 2007) and came after what was the most profitable generation ever for Nintendo (record now held by the Switch era).
In fact Nintendo still had several billions in the bank after the WiiU/3DS generation.

The other missed point is that 3DS was among the causes for which Nintendo incurred into losses due to the sudden heavy price drop Nintendo enacted to save the 3DS momentum post launch.

6lNmVEg.jpg
 
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