Fils-Aime: Nintendo's Biggest Current Threat is Apple

[castlezelda]

"I can bench press Steve Jobs all day"



Could Nintendo be taking Sony and Microsoft too lightly, or over-reacting to Apple?


It's strange that Nintendo would see Apple and its range of iOS devices as more of a threat than Sony or Microsoft and their stake in the home console and handheld markets. Reggie Fils-Aime, President at Nintendo of America has echoed the concerns of Satoru Iwata and singled out Apple as the real enemy in terms of console sales.


However, Fils-Aime is confident in the software that's on offer with Nintendo systems and although Apple sold over 14 million iPhones in the quarter ending September, he finds games like Angry Birds only offer short bursts of fun, whereas he claims to have spent over 150 hours on his copy of Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies. Strange choice of comparison: could Angry Birds be on his mind because it has been rated by the ESRB recently as possible Nintendo download titles?


Haruhiro Tsujimoto, CEO at Capcom, actually thinks Nintendo could benefit from looking closely at Apple's business model and learning a thing or two. So Reggie, what do you think of them apples, then?

Via gamesindustry.biz

 

[Kalivera1]

Why does nintendo choose to single out apple as a higher threat than sony or microsoft.Sony not only makes game consoles but ( correct me if im wrong ) household appliances tv,stereo ect.Microsoft makes electronics ect.Apple has made iphone,ipad ect.

But ive seen more of sony and microsoft than apple

Please correct me if im wrong about any of this.I probably am

 

[raisinghelen]

Why does nintendo choose to single out apple as a higher threat than sony or microsoft.Sony not only makes game consoles but ( correct me if im wrong ) household appliances tv,stereo ect.Microsoft makes electronics ect.Apple has made iphone,ipad ect.

But ive seen more of sony and microsoft than apple

Please correct me if im wrong about any of this.I probably am

Apple is more of a competitor in the portable gaming market, where as Microsoft and Sony are not (sorry PSP but you're not). The growth of the IPad etc is also much larger and aps sales have risen dramatically. So I think Reggie's comments were more focused on handhelds, especially with the 3DS on the horizon.

There is also the view that the 360/PS3 and Wii are not direct competition due to offering their customers different things. Nintendo probably don't see Move or Kinect being any real threat to them this gen either, as they are a little too late to the party and won't get enough market penetration to dethrone the Wii. Even if they do become a huge success it would be a short term problem as I think that Nintendo will have a Wii successor in a few years which would eclipse Microsoft and Sony's add-ons.

I think that the 3DS is a huge cornerstone of Nintendo's future domination. Despite building a huge amount of brand recognition, they did lose some of the 'hardcore gamers' with the Wii, so to win them back they need to show that they can produce the kind of software/hardware that can satisfy them whilst still providing the great Nintendo experiences that anyone can enjoy. If the 3DS can do that (and the early software lineup seems to have all the bases covered so far) then the Wii successor will be a much easier sell. They need the 3DS to be a success for this to happen though and the direct threat to that is Apple's mobile platforms (sorry PSP2 but you're not either).

 

[Kalivera1]

Why does nintendo choose to single out apple as a higher threat than sony or microsoft.Sony not only makes game consoles but ( correct me if im wrong ) household appliances tv,stereo ect.Microsoft makes electronics ect.Apple has made iphone,ipad ect.

But ive seen more of sony and microsoft than apple

Please correct me if im wrong about any of this.I probably am

Apple is more of a competitor in the portable gaming market, where as Microsoft and Sony are not (sorry PSP but you're not). The growth of the IPad etc is also much larger and aps sales have risen dramatically. So I think Reggie's comments were more focused on handhelds, especially with the 3DS on the horizon.

There is also the view that the 360/PS3 and Wii are not direct competition due to offering their customers different things. Nintendo probably don't see Move or Kinect being any real threat to them this gen either, as they are a little too late to the party and won't get enough market penetration to dethrone the Wii. Even if they do become a huge success it would be a short term problem as I think that Nintendo will have a Wii successor in a few years which would eclipse Microsoft and Sony's add-ons.

I think that the 3DS is a huge cornerstone of Nintendo's future domination. Despite building a huge amount of brand recognition, they did lose some of the 'hardcore gamers' with the Wii, so to win them back they need to show that they can produce the kind of software/hardware that can satisfy them whilst still providing the great Nintendo experiences that anyone can enjoy. If the 3DS can do that (and the early software lineup seems to have all the bases covered so far) then the Wii successor will be a much easier sell. They need the 3DS to be a success for this to happen though and the direct threat to that is Apple's mobile platforms (sorry PSP2 but you're not either).

Oh i guess i never thought about the portabilates of consoles and I agree sorry the PSP dosent seem to be getting far.

 

[Splash_King]

An epic post.

Sums up my take on this quite literally, perfectly.

Also, to elaborate a bit more on "There is also the view that the 360/PS3 and Wii are not direct competition due to offering their customers different things.", it's rather simply put as Nintendo targets the casual audience, and Sony/Microsoft target the hardcore. Another fact to consider is the few and far between who blend into both types of gaming avidly by buying a Wii and a 360/PS3, which aren't as large as a majority as the people who fit into only one of the aforementioned categories. Thus, the 360 and PS3 need to focus their attention on ousting the other system in the hardcore market.

But with these "games" like "Angry Birds" clearly targetting the casual audience, as well as the epic post above describing how Apple could weasel their way into the handheld market, Nintendo is receiving a combatant regarding both of their niches towards success. Nintendo's had no reason to pay attention to any other company the entire generation, really.

 

[DG~X]

Pros on apple games: They are entertaining everywhere you go, help shorting the time, hella fun, cheap(well some),


Cons: The games too short, you kinda lose taste in the game after playing it for a long period of time.


Apple games have a big sale when people by there 1st itouch/iphone ect.
Go on a app spree. Its like a 2 week addiction.

Games that might be a big threat are


Angry birds,angry birs(halloween), fruit ninja, cut the rope, & plants v zombies.