Let's talk mobile entertainment here for a few minutes. I have had a go at each new breed of mobile gaming device (original and still ownner of a first-gen monochrome green Game Boy) and I have always been fascinated with cellular and the technology evolution in that industry, long and short: I want a Nintendo phone.
Reading that Sony is likely to miss a critical pre-christmas launch date for the new Playstation Vita handheld, which may offer Nintendo 3DS units still in the supply chain to do relatively well (mind you, at ~40% of the original unit price in most markets) made me wonder where the Nintendo phone was? I've been getting innundated with ads for the new Sony Experia Play, http://bit.ly/f14ztp
the only thing it looks like that rig does not feature is a physical keyboard for teenage text-addicts(which I think could be easily integrated with a dual direction slider, and a silghtly thicker body).
A quick browse on the internet dug up an interesting tale:
06/30/2008 - MobileMag.com (http://bit.ly/orA4fV) asks Where is the Nintendo phone? A fellow Nintendo fanatic laments the lack of a Nintendo device capable of calling people & being the HOMER CAR of the mobile industry, I get where he is coming from here, but in 2008? integrating that wishlist into one handest would have been excruciating for any team of engineers, even the innovative, and creative folks from Nintendo. Points to this article for tugging violently on my Geek heartstrings, but I'm a little too technically-minded to dream that far in advance of where current hardware advancements will allow.
08/10/2010 - PocketGamer.co.uk (http://bit.ly/r7gfEH) drops a big juicy story about a proposed Nintendo/Nokia gaming phone in 2000!
Hell, Nokia obviously kept kicking that hobby horse after Nintendo's board shuttered the idea early in its infancy. The article goes on to say Nintendo likely rejected this idea due to its focus and development of the DS platform, not finding any need to compete in a new device space at that time, furthermore, have you heard what's new on the N-Gage lately?
Riiiiiiight, Nokia got taken to the cleaners on that one, whereas Nintendo made 4 hardware redesigns and had over 12 million units sold by mid-2010, ten short years later?
I think Nintendo's approach is caution, caution, test for marketplace reaction, followed by proceed cautiously. I can respect a company that understands their industry, and like John C. Dvorak, I think the Wii really was exactly what the gaming indusrty needed to prevent another "Atari Crash", so do I blame them for killing an interesting proposition that was likely a decade ahead of its time? Nope.
...But the times they-are-a-changin' and now there are more handset manufacturers in the marketplace, sure they mostly shop out of the same - or similar parts bins. Today's Nintendo is in a different place in its business, riding a great, if unexpectedly larger than anticipated surge in both popularity, and profitability, which makes this a good place to drop the last find on my internet ramblings :
07/07/2011 - SiliconEra.com - (http://bit.ly/omZqFI) Details about shareholder questions to Satoru Iwata, regarding either development of a gaming phone, or integrating cellular capability into the existing 3DS platform. {Side Note: I like Iwata, having dogged his words on the internet for years, I have to admit I respect both his poise and demeanor, he would have made a phenomenal politician, imo... but back to the narrative!}
Let's address his reply to upgrading the current generation of 3DS for cellular capability, Iwata addressed this by saying (paraphrasing here) we've already got a mature, successful product, with an existing long tail of revenue, we have designed this device to be intentionally diferent from anything potentially competing in the same technology space, and we're focused on maximizing the key differentiators about our platform, that can't be duplicated by our (sort-of) competition. Iwata, again is one sharp dude.
Iwata replied to the new device question with (paraphrasing, for direct quotes, hit the link above) we would be remiss in our duty to our company and shareholders if we did not consider that potential marketplace. He goes on to say that there are obvious challenges to their traditional target market demographic, Modern Mobility typically requires a contract AND monthly paments. Add to that the global hodgepodge of cellular networks, regulations, and standards, and he is completely right: It's a big kettle of fish as a package deal.
Okay. Now that we have set this stage, sit back and watch the third act amaze you with simple solutions to what appears to be a complicated issue.
1. Nintendo is already a hardware manufacturer. After all, who better to make a device that integrates modern smartphone/pda functionality and connectivity with a portable gaming system that already has a huge back catalog of cherished games I would LOVE dearly to play again, but can only find time in bits and pieces here and there - I typically whip out my cell in those minutes where there's no conversation or reading around to while away some time, these minutes are GREAT stress relief, and I look forward to launching some Angry Birds as much as the next guy! ... But Angry Birds does not any Mario title make.
I get that Nintendo might not want to undergo the direct manufacturing costs though I see them developing, vetting, and shaking out bugs internally as a crucial part of competing with Apple's current marketplace advantages, Nintendo can look at the current best-in-sales leader and copy most of their playbook, don't want to underwrite the development costs, you can bid that out and every cell maker will be your new best friend. Since the marketplacee has never received a Nintendo phone, we do not have any preconceptions of such a device, giving Nintendo the advantage of complete flexibility to design a MUST-Have device for casual and obsessed gamers alike.
2. OH SNAP! - did you know parents bought their kids PS3's when they first launched? Despite the original sticker price, Sony did manage to move units, albeit slowly. They knew to make the powerhouse with unbeatable raw specifications, they had to eat a loss on every unit for the first few years, until marketplace adoption and engineering refinements finally began to see a profit per unit instead of losses on the books.
Wait - where am I going with this? Riiiight, everybody and their dog is takling about Apple sitting on platinum thrones and swimming in their Scrooge McDuck / Apple-themed money bin, but surely Nintendo has GOT TO BE sitting on a little excess capital right now? Go ahead, cut a cheque out of the cash-on-hand reserve, and take a swing Nintendo! Commit $5 Billion, out of this year's fiscal profits, and go for it, calculate what exact loss you are willing to take on each unit, then reverse engineer the unit capability, price, development budget for R&D, marketing and do all of that out of the original $5 Billion.
Please?
I'll buy two!
But seriously, you launched the Virtual Boy, and survived that, surely we can make this phone thing happen? Give me a ring Nintendo! I am happy to collaborate and share consumer friendly ideas!
-Oh, one last thing - Iwata's second reservation regarding cellular & contracts being inaccessible to their target demographic? Ask any parent when their children started pestering them to have their very OWN cell phone? (recent verbal survey on this one by me: average age : 7 - seven!) Even with the widespread adoption of "Family plans" from most major mobile carriers, the simplest solution here? Pay as you go model, using existing Wii points cards to "load" minutes/data direct to the account, either through the device via WiFi, or an online web portal.
There it is folks, Nintendo has all the right cards up their sleeve, has allowed the market to mature through growing pains their company, but more importantly their brand did not have to suffer through and now the marketplace is ready for a new kind of mobile entertainment device. I've tasted almost every North American flavor of cell phone, CDMA/TDMA/Tri-Band/GSM et ctera, but I would ditch any Apple offering, and any Android to get my geeky little paws on a Nintendo phone.
Did I mention I'll buy two?
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