Nintendo announcing projected losses of
$240 million is definitely not small fry so should we all be worried about the
long-term stability of Mario and friends? This will be especially concerning
since sales for gaming hardware has increased 28% mostly driven through the
launch of new gaming systems from Sony and Microsoft.
There might not be too many reasons to
panic as of yet. Most people would argue that Nintendo has been the main
company propping up the sales of the gaming industry since 2008.
Could the recent drop in sales really be
testament of how the gaming industry is structured more so than an indication
that the company could be facing a worrying future? The big names in gaming all
enjoy a piece of a pie when it comes to the launch of a new console. Nintendo
have carved themselves a successful niche over the years by positioning their
brand to appeal to families and groups of friends whilst Sony and Microsoft
have aggressively gone after the solo gamer. However as gamers can of course
have more than one console hence lining the pockets of more than one tech giant
is the recent decline in sales to be expected considering the launches of the
other consoles?
Whereas there is a lot to be said in
regards to the impact other console launches would have had on Nintendo you
would surely expect the analysts who work at the company to have considered
this in their projections. However if this is the case why have they the number
crunchers had to readjust forecasts?
Nintendo need to take stock of the
situation and react fast to keep up with the consumption habits of the customer
and changing trends in the market. One way they may look to do this if through
entering brave new worlds such as the smartphone market.
Nintendo’s extensive library of characters
could be utilized in exciting new ways through a number of hardware and
software capabilities. Nintendo could actually be the first games company to
take an innovative and important brave step towards addressing how the consumer
of tomorrow will want to consume gaming. It’s not like Nintendo have no history
of innovating in the sense of adversity. In short the threat could certainly
become an opportunity to contrary to what the good folks at Bloomberg might
suggest Nintendo shouldn’t make the move to utilizing smartphone technology
whilst fully turning its back on consoles. The true companies who make a difference
invest significantly in the future whilst maintaining presence in current
markets. If Nintendo are going to see out this storm it will be as important
for them to address the console challenge as it will be to be the first to
fully shape the future of gaming.
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