Apple CEO Tim Cook was spotted at Valve’s headquarters in Washington recently sparking rumours that the Steam Box could be a joint venture between the two firms. Earlier today I posted that a Valve computer engineer stated via Twitter that he was working on “next-generation hardware”. If turns out to be true then it could be a very exciting E3 indeed.
Japanese publication The Nikkei has announced that Apple is Japan’s top consumer brand with a staggering 90.5 points (out of 100) for total brand power for its products. The top consumer brand was voted on by the Japanese public. Sadly the report doesn’t mentioned where Nintendo or any of the other video game firms were placed.
Apple has finally removed the Pokemon Pocket Edition app from the App Store. There was plenty of controversy over the app, which despite being advertised as a game, was nothing more than a glorified picture gallery. Plenty of people downloaded the application and then complained that the application either crashed, or it wasn’t what they thought it was. The Pokemon Company has already stated that they will take action against individuals who use the Pokemon name without authorisation.
Apple has had a bigger impact on video games than Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft according to 1000 people surveyed at the London Games Conference. The top five people who have shaped video games are, Steve Jobs (26 per cent), Gabe Newell (16 per cent), Shigeru Miyamoto (seven per cent), Tim Berners-Lee (four per cent) and Mark Zuckerberg (three per cent).
Zelda is now officially on the iPhone, though it’s not quite what you would expect. Ultimate iZelda Climb developed by Audio Attack is not your standard Zelda game but is quite simply a clone of DoodleJump. I haven’t had a chance to play it but be sure to grab it before Nintendo take it down.
Apple claimed that the iPod Touch is the worlds most popular gaming device during its press event which took place yesterday. It’s clear that it’s an extremely popular device amongst consumers, but the worlds most popular gaming device? I’m not too sure on that one.
“Not only is it the most popular music player in the world, but we’re excited to announce it’s now also the most popular portable game player in the world.”
- Apple CEO Tim Cook
Oh man, despite Nintendo announcing that one of the biggest franchises ever in Japan will be coming to the Nintendo 3DS and Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 will be coming later this year, Slash Gear believes that Apple’s iPhone 5 will ‘officially kill’ the Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo: consumers do not and will not care about the 3DS. And the iPhone 5, which will likely come with improved components to help deliver even better gameplay to owners, will make that abundantly clear.
The 3DS is failing right now, more than any other reason, because of smartphones and tablets offering compelling gaming experiences. And when the iPhone 5 launches in the next several weeks, you can expect it to officially kill off the 3DS.
Sorry, Nintendo, but if smartphones and tablets already on store shelves are killing the 3DS, the iPhone 5 might just be enough to put the final nail in the device’s coffin.
There’s plenty of people online that seem convinced Nintendo is doomed and that the best way out of their current predicament is if Apple purchased the company. It’s never going to happen. Anyway, an artist has designed what he thinks an Apple branded Nintendo 3DS would look like. It’s not how I would expect the console to look but check it out regardless.
According to Bloomberg investors are clamouring for Nintendo to bring their hit franchises to the iPhone. The investors feel that Nintendo has lost touch with the current market and would be wise to bring Mario and company to Apples iPhone.
In “Super Mario 3DLand,” Nintendo Co. will make its iconic Italian plumber battle turtle-like Koopa Troopas on its 3-D player. The company instead should develop titles for Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone, investors say.
The rift highlights the dilemma President Satoru Iwata faces as consumers shun Nintendo devices to play games on iPhones, iPads and Facebook Inc.’s website. The flop of the 3DS debut prompted the company to slash prices 40 percent in Japan starting today, the first time the games developer has resorted to such a move within six months of a product’s debut.
Iwata, who’s said Nintendo will only make titles for its own products as long as he’s in charge, should scrap that strategy to avoid further alienating investors who’ve driven the stock to six-year lows, fund manager Masamitsu Ohki said. One option may be acquisitions as the past successes of the Wii and DS helped Nintendo, the world’s largest video-game maker, build a 1.05 trillion yen ($13.7 billion) war chest in cash, equivalents and short-term investments.
“Smartphones are the new battlefield for the gaming industry,” said Ohki, a fund manager at Tokyo-based Stats Investment Management Co. “Nintendo should try to either buy its way into this platform or develop something totally new.”
He declined to identify his holdings or to name any companies that Kyoto, Japan-based Nintendo should consider as acquisition targets. Yasuhiro Minagawa, a spokesman at Nintendo, declined to comment beyond statements made previously by Iwata.
Ohki isn’t alone in saying Iwata should reconsider his strategy. On July 6, Nintendo shares jumped the most in almost four months after Pokemon Co., a former unit, said it’s developing a game for the iPhone and handsets running on Mountain View, California-based Google Inc.’s Android software. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) sent a note to clients saying the move indicated Nintendo may begin making titles for products outside its proprietary hardware.
Hours later, Nintendo denied any change in strategy, and the shares surrendered gains.
“They just don’t get it,” MF Global FXA Securities Ltd. said in a sales note that day, referring to Nintendo. “Sell the stock, because a management once feted for creative out-of-box thinking have just shown how behind the times they are.”Given the concerns over the outlook of Nintendo’s handheld and home-console business, which account for most of the company’s profit and sales, Nintendo should make better use of its more than $10 billion cash pile, investor Tetsuro Ii said.
“Nintendo should aggressively make acquisitions or increase returns to its shareholders,” said Ii, president of Tokyo-based Commons Asset Management Inc., which held 2,200 Nintendo shares as of February, according to the company’s website. “It’s management’s task to consider how to make use of the cash.”
David Edery, founder of Fuzbi, a consulting firm focused on video game development has told Gamasutra that Nintendo needs to keep an eye out for both Google Android and Apple iOS.
David Edery was speaking to online gaming publication Gamasutra about how free-to-play games and online microtransactions are now affecting the video game market.
“In the very near future, it’s very possible that Nintendo could wake up and find that Apple has eaten their lunch — or Google through Android has done it,”
“If the console makers don’t start the transition process immediately, well, history is littered with companies that waited too long to embrace a revolution that was threatening their core business,”
- David Edery, Fuzbi
