Polygon writer Steve Bowler has written an interesting article that suggests that an acquisition of Nintendo by Disney could help turn the company’s fortunes around. It should be taken into account that this is an opinion piece by Polygon, but it does raise some interesting questions. Although it’s unlikely to ever happen it makes for a good read. Be sure to check out the article, here.
“Nintendo would be Disney’s second priciest intellectual property grab to date. A fairly straightforward way to ballpark a company’s worth is to multiply their net revenue by three to four times. This puts Nintendo somewhere in the neighborhood of a $11 to $22 billion buyout based on the numbers of fiscal 2014”
“This is the lowest it would cost to buy Nintendo in seven years, since the company is in a slump and bleeding cash. If Disney were to buy the company, this is the time. Things are looking up for Nintendo in some ways, but coming off a long stretch of losses and struggling hardware sales there’s only so much big games can do to help the company. Nintendo is at a historic weak point, making the company very attractive for acquisition at a good price.”
“It would still cost a ton of money. To put the $19 billion-ish price into an easy to digest number, buying Nintendo would cost Disney more money than they paid for Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel, combined. It’s a huge purchase, unless you’re Disney.”
“Disney’s current Net Worth is hovering around the $142 billion mark, and the profit they made from the last two fiscal years would allow them to buy Nintendo with cash, if it came to that. And it wouldn’t.”
“The last time Disney made an acquisition this size was when they paid $19 billion for ABC in 1996. With inflation, that purchase would have cost about $29 billion today. Disney is no stranger to huge, ambitious acquisitions.”
“Disney — using the same game plan they used for Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars — could recoup that cost within five years. The secret is that Disney wouldn’t be investing in the video game business, they would be furthering their already near monopoly on characters.”
Thanks, Michelle
Well that was random.
Also, I wouldn’t want to see hidden penises everywhere.
Mmmmmm penises
Lol!
Nintendo believes kotaku could help save polygon.
If someone from Nintendo sucks someone at Kotaku’s dick….
The same people that gave Bayonetta at 7.5 for being to sexual. The theme of the game
Sexual the theme of the game? LOL are you a child? Did you even play the game?
Another day, another piece of shit Journalist.
What an insult.
Disney are not the salvation
Sure they have the money but they lack the true integrity of what Nintendo stands for.
Hell, even Disney can’t manage their properties properly
Every show they produce will last 2 seasons until they grow bored of it, and they move on to a new program.
The best thing to come from Disney in a looong time were shows such as Phineas and Ferb and even now they managed to suck the life from that series.
They did it to Spiderman, they will do it to Star Wars, they would do the same to Nintendo.
Are you saying Nintendo is a TV show?
Disney owns Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm, ESPN, ABC, 11 theme parks, their own film studio, and own a shit ton of cash.
And yet you blame the entire company because Phineas and Ferb got old after two seasons like many other TV shows? Maybe you shouldn’t watch kids’ TV.
If you’re talking about the Spider-Man movies, that’s Sony, not Disney.
Disney’s not going to fuck up Star Wars, but then again, I don’t know for sure, so I’m going to wait before getting hyped and/or passing judgment.
Disney’s made Marvel work.
I for one don’t want Disney to own Nintendo, but that’s just because that would mean they’re one step closer to owning the world.
It’s not just one insignificant cartoon, it is all the TV series they make and end on an annual basis.
I am talking about Spiderman because Disney were obviously overseeing the movie production but I was talking about the cartoon as well now I think of it.
Otherwise can we blame Sega for the disaster that is Sonic Boom and not Big Red Button?
They already fucked up Star Wars by cancelling The Clone Wars series.
The new spiderman movies with andrew garfield I find much better than the ones with tobey maguire. Garfield was a much better spiderman and peter parker. And emma stone as gwen stacy was just nice :p
Spider-Man movie rights belong to Sony, not Disney. They had nothing to do with the film whasoever!
Disney had nothing to do with the spiderman movies. That was all Sony.
Disney has had more failure in the video game market than success. Let’s face it, other than Disney’s Infinity project, (which has always been second to sky landers) what has Disney actually accomplished in the gaming market? It’s a joke that this writer thinks Disney is somehow more qualified to run Nintendo just becouse they have the money to purchase the company.
I sware we have more wannabe prophets than we have journalists anymore…
Kingdom Hearts, bro.
All Square Enix basically.
Ultimate Spiderman is Awesome
Please no,disney suck.
I meant disney games suck so much.
Nothing would change, games would still be developed by Nintendo EAD. Even more, maybe Disney games would become better (and probably exclusive for Nintendo consoles)!
As much as I loved both companies, I wouldn’t want this to happen.
This is complete bullshit.
Dispose of yourself Disneys and spare me your embarassments..
.
God, DISNEY?!
I mean really, is it just cause they have enough money to buyout my own country and then some?
Um, Nintendo don’t need to be saved. Sony is the one that needs saving. The PS4 is quickly becoming the next Atari Jaguar.
Ouch.
Let’s not go over this f**king dance please.
Nintendo don’t need saving
I cannot say the same about the PS4 or Xbox One cause frankly I don’t f**king care about them, whether they go bust or not.
Can’t we just shut the hell up about console wars, it’s now staler than 18 year old toast.
Can’t say the same for Sony ir Xbox because you don’t care? LOL You really are shallow aren’t you?
What, because I don’t care?
So I am expected to worry about their welfare when I don’t even own their consoles?
Quit your righteous act and shut your trap, after all it’s people with statements like yours that these stupid console wars started
I only care about Nintendo, always have, always will and if you have an issue with that, feel free to bite me.
The PS4 is quickly becoming set to sell more than the Wii in the same timeframe and is also outselling the PS2.
LOL! you really are delusional the ps4 isn’t selling that well , di
d it sell 30 million in one month ? not i guess not now plz shut that fanboy side of you and plz leave im getting sick of you people making fun of nintendo on literary every nintendo website plz go to your sony websites where you belong
NINTENDO 20 BILLION IN WORTH 5 BILLION IN THERE SPENDING ACCOUNT ,JUST BUILT A 1 BILLION DEVELOPMENT BUILDING AND UNITED HANDHELD AND CONSOLE TEAMS
EXPANDING INTO QOULITY OF LIFE HEALTH CARE PRODUCTS
200MILLION CLEAR NET PROFIT IN THE LAST 3 MONTHS VS SONYS 1.3 BILLION LOSS
SONY GOING BANKRUPT , XBOX BRAND HAS LOST 20 BILLION TO DATE
DIESNY HAS TOTALLY FLOPPED IN THE GAMING INDUSTRY OVER AND OVER
POLYGON ARE FUCKING MORONS THAT SITE IS A JOKE AND ONLY WRITE ABOUT NINTENDO AFTER A RESENT SUCCESS
HE IS TROLLING BECAUSE SMASH BROS WIIU JUST AAAed AT REVIEW SCORES AND HAS EVEN BEATEN BAYONETTA 2 IN REVIEW SCORES
JELOUS MORON IM SICKENED BECAOUSE WE SHARE THE SAME SIRNAME
BOWLERS ARE USUALLY INTELIGENT PEOPLE GOD FORBID A BOWLER TALKING SHIT HE HAS SHAMED MY NAME
Never go full retard.
Yeah, this is a really interesting article, especially because Disney and Nintendo technically have the same mentality towards media production. But at the same time I think that Disney itself is a bit of a control freak, so they’d probably get rid of a lot of thing Nintendo fans like about the company. Just look at Lucasarts; no Star Wars 1313 :(
Star Wars 1313 was canceled before Disney acquired LucasArts if I’m not mistaken.
No, the project was pretty much cancelled by Disney. They Ceased development by laying off most of the team at lucasArts leaving only a handful to work on the game. Later on it was pretty much confirmed that the game was cancelled because Disney didnt renew the Patent for Star Wars 1313, they killed off LucasArt, and they made an exclusive deal with EA to make the new Star Wars games.
You could say that since the game wasnt technically “canceled,” EA could be working on said project and it got renamed, some how. Thats very farfetched but it could be a possibility.
disney doesnt buy game studios, i think apple will buy nintendo
Now that would be awful… The left thing that should happen is ninety being bought by money greedy fucks like Apple. Their products might be good and even better than the competition but humble, nice Nintendo shouldn’t be under those big greedy arrogant Americans wings if you ask me.
Nintendo should stay Nintendo because I can’t find a company that would suit them. Nintendo should just become a humble, not shitty Disney. Yeah, I said Disney is shit, the only likeable thing about them is Pixar, but they are on their way to ruining that to by forcing sh*t like Cars…
But who will save polygon?
Nintendo doesn’t need to be saved they have sold millions of handhelds and home consoles and billions of pieces of software worldwide for 3 decades.
Founded in 1889.
I often call Nintendo the Disney of video games. The thing is, I’m talking about the Disney of ~25 years ago – the one that produced timeless classics. And even back then this would have been the wrong thing.
(No, Frozen is definitely not a timeless classic)
Let it go ;)
nintendo doesnt push classics like they use to either. So they are pretty much the Disney of today of the video game market.
Seems like they are pushing it today.
BUY NINTENDO
YOU PEOPLE ARE ON DRUGS THERE 140 YEARS OLD AND LISTED IN THE CUTY OF LONDON AS THE GREATEST COMPANY EVER
LOL BUY NINTENDO YOU SERIOUSLY NEED TO STOP SMOKING CRACK
sony going bankrupt ms xbox has lost 20 billion to date
nintendo has profited for 140 years and is the highest profiting company on earth PER EMPLOYEE ratio
lol @ polygon LOOSING THE PLOT BECAUSE WIIU GAMES ARE AAA SCORING
Nintendo needs saving??? News to me…
What the fuck did I just read? NINTENDO DOESN’T NEED SAVING, they are sitting pretty. Sony on the other hand, God bless them, they are FUCKING UP!
No they aren’t. They reported a profit even when they predicted losses for the next 2 years and have a clear plan looking forward to reach full profitability by 2016
lol don’t listen to this guy sony is going bankrupt he’s just a fanboy so of course he’ll deny it
You fanboys are wasting data in internet. So far, this Yoshida, ice, and anubis are better nintendo fans than most of you blinded zealots.
Also, because everybody wants ‘Mario and Mickey Mouse at the Olympic Games’ right???
The journalist must be high or something. Disney barley advertises Kingdom Hearts for starters, what makes you think they’ll do any better with Nintendo if they did acquire them.
And Nintendo is really making an example on how marketing should be done? While I do prefer my Nintendo games on my Nintendo consoles, there are three things that Nintendo does, whereas one of them are bad, and one is just okay:
– They make some of the highest quality games out there.
– The suck at advertising
– They make okay consoles (some good, some bad, mostly good). It would really help them sales wise to release their games on others consoles, but I don’t really want to see that happen.
http://i.4cdn.org/v/1416654812385.png
Not even the Kirby amiibo is safe from drop of quality.
What are you talking about, Kirby was clearly hit in the head with a hammer.
This won’t happen…anytime soon that is. It would be absolutely terrible if it did. Globalisation anyone?! Disney owns enough already!
Polygon can go out of business for all I care.
A) Nintendo doesn’t need saving
B) polygon is the worst gaming site ever. Fact. Its literally written by clueless, stupid fuck nuggets
The proven nepotism and corruption within their publication doesn’t help this article that much, either.
Please no
That article is a logical fallacy because:
a) Every company that could be bought by Disney would receive a major boost, and by that definition “saved”, not only Nintendo.
b) Nintendo is not in danger and does not need to be save.
Yeah, and we all know how “Amazing” their recent films have been…. *end of sarcasm*
Nintendo is actually doing BETTER than Disney at the moment, at least they make animated films that are actually GOOD… OOOOOHHHH BURN!!
I banned my daughter from Disney after learning bad habits from its “kid” shows . Nintendo is fine on its own, they’ll have up and down years but a corrupted would not “save” Nintendo . Obviously this post was put here to irritate nintendo fans , especially this sites readers, as there is no weight behind poloygons article other than a anti Nintendo writer sharing his useless opinion . Sorry if I sound random it’s just that I woke up 5 minutes ago lol.
As for my Nintendo news posting this garbage ? Stay free ………..
I’m not against the idea, but Nintendo isn’t that bad off.
They should make Mickey Mouse a DLC smash character so Mario can beat his ass and dedicate the match to poloygon
saving nintendo from what…
I have huge respect for Disney, and they have proven people wrong repeatedly with hate against them purchasing Marvel and other companies. Nevertheless, I think I’ll have to follow the trend to be questioning about the purchases.
If it’d help Nintendo, and only help them, it wouldn’t be that bad. The MCU is easily one of my favorite movie universes ever, and it has all been made possible by Disney. And as Disney do not have a big part in the gaming market as of now; it might not be bad. Big companies buying other companies are only really bad when it leads to somewhat of a monopoly, where they run the industry (kind of, like Nintendo did all those years ago!) As long as it would keep up the quality of Nintendo games, and in addition raise the quality of Nintendo platforms, I would actually like to see it. However, there is quite a big chance for it failing completely, too! (Also, Nintendo departments in the different Disney Lands? Yes, please!)
To finish it: I can see it to be a good thing, but there is quite a risk. In addition, while Nintendo seems to be at a low point as of now, I’m really not sure if it is the right thing to do. Could be good, could be bad. There’s a reason I’m not an investor: I have no idea what would be the best thing to do, so I’m not sure on what to hope for!
Tl;Dr – Disney is awesome, but maybe Nintendo doesn’t have to take the risk at the moment.
Agreed. Also you seem to be the only calm person in this whole comments section so far
lol plz your the one to talk sony fanboy i don’t see you calm when some talks bad about sony ;)
I’m very calm, but still see it as a bit of trolling by the author. Nintendo is not up for sale, and will not be anytime in the foreseeable future. You could easily make the same article about Disney buying Microsoft, Sony, or any other company for that matter. It’s too hypothetical, with an obvious fanboy console war agenda. Nintendo just reported a third quarter profit, and their console sales have doubled since last year. They just released one of their biggest titles to date with Smash Bros. and simultaneously released a very popular, well accepted new product called Amibo. So there could be no other motive for writing this garbage besides simple trolling.
Get the fuck out
Whoever wrote this doesn’t understand the stock market one bit, there wold have to be a proxy vote to allow a take over and it would be at the going rate share prices. The amount would be way higher cause it has to be agreed upon by the share holders and since Nintendo is making a solid profit again (they actually made a profit in the second year they refer to as a year they lost money cause of exchange rates on the yen), it makes it even more unlikely. There would have to be a huge change in management first. Bottom line to do it would make Disney a bloated company with not a lot of cash to operate.
Agreed. While the Wii brand in some ways both hurt and helped the “Nintendo”-brand, I believe the brand itself is worth at least just as much as the physical company!
Next article will be about exxon mobil being able to buy nintendo within half a year of net income.
The way that Disney only makes crap these days, is Nintendo that could save Disney.
Polygon.
um no
disney movies and nintendo games do not mix i do not need tons of bad licensed games
Oh look another Nintendo is doomed unless they do _____________ article….. well i’ll just get back to internet browsing then.
Now this is an example of why nobody takes gaming journalism serious. What a fucking retarded article… why would ypu spread this garbage?
I called this years ago, what took them so long? I also saw this article yesterday, so why is It on here?
Nintendo doesn’t need saving. They’re drowning in money.
Drowning yes, but the drain at the bottom of the pool is open.
I’ve been hearing people say crap about Nintendo for SO many years. But they’re still doing great.
While we’re at it, maybe Disney can buy out Harley Davidson too. They have the money to do so, so that must mean they are better at building motorcycles right?
The author of this ridiculous article is a troll if he believes that Disney is more qualified to run a video game company than Nintendo. Disney, the company that has more video game flops than LJN. What good is owning the Mario IP if you don’t have the talent to back it up with quality?
Disney would OWN Nintendo, not run it.
Just like Microsoft “owned” Rare? You really think Nintendo developers would remain at the company after selling to Disney? No, they wouldn’t. Disney would have to higher all new developers. It would no longer be Nintendo.
Wow this was fucking pointless. Nintendo has been getting better and better lately they sure as hell dont need saving thats so idiotic.
You know, it was only a couple of years ago when all these analysts were screaming for nintendo to buy Disney….
amazing. Of course it would be published when Smash bros, pokemon AND Amiibo were released and then claim Nintendo needed ‘saving’. Polygon thrives on being negative towards Nintendo when they release something, such as the failed prediction that Mario Kart 8 would only sell 1m copies.
I still don’t get why people keep saying this, of course them working together makes a lot of sense but there’s no real reason why this has to be done unless Nintendo is about to be bankrupt and need a wealthy entertainment corporation owning them. Nintendo maybe could enter the lisense game business making video games based on movies,tv shows,etc. But they don’t need to be with Disney
Is Polygon running out of ideas on how Nintendo is doomed? Or they just make these articles for click bait? I go for click bait.
Click bait
No, thank you! I don’t want Disney to own every fucking thing, it’s even scary to think they want to be an entertainment monopoly, just like Facebook and Google fucking buy almost everything. Fuck them!
….I swear to god if they dare acquire Nintendo, I’m done with video gaming for good. Disney can’t even fucking manage its own franchises anymore. That’s why they rely on buying companies at its weakest point so they can bleed them out and then go for more. Disney are like vampires with no brains at this point.
There wouldn’t be any real gaming at all left so we true gamers would end with this garbage forever…
Anticipating the demise of the corrupted ones…
Um, how about no? Now, I don’t dislike Disney really, but I have zero confidence in how they handle video games outside of Kingdom Hearts (and that’s Square Enix anyway).
Can’t unsee this :/
Nintendo doesn’t need saving.
Well usually a company needs “to be saved” in order to need saving, but Nintendo is in no such need.
This Polygon article is kinda wishful thinking.
Polygon hasn’t done their research. Nintendo has billions of cash reserve to stay in business for several decades. Besides, isn’t there a Japanese law that prevents foreign companies from buying Japanese companies?
nintendo does not need saving, both nintendo fans and fanboys/girls will agree in a civil manner. sure the wii u is struggling but its getting back on its feet, slowly, 3ds is what keeps nintendo afloat and also their software, the ones need saving is sony, sure the ps4 is doing great but the company itself isnt
Everyone needs to stop saying that Nintendo is failing when they aren’t.
I think they meant Sony….Sony needs saving not Nintendo lol.
I agree, fyi make a vid about this plz. Disney put a lot of dirty things in everything they do. ps people insulted wolf & toad
guys think about this for a second! if nintendo releases a new console about 2 years before sony and microsoft… then nintendo will have 2 years of stronger console! then when they release their respective consoles nintendo will have 3 years left! then they release another stronger console. so if sony and microsoft want to keep up! they would have to come out sooner with new console ( or not because that would give them bad rep! ) but if they plan with their console life cycle then nintendo would just come out with a better console again. and who want’s a weaker console for 3 years only when nintendo moves ahead ?.and if they keep that up then what is the point in having the other 2 consoles at all if there will be another better system out there in just 3 years ? ( just fyi i don’t care about console power at all! it’s just that i want to end the fucking hate nintendo get for no reason) and i apologize if i made some mistake here. just popped in my head and did not proof read it because i’m lazy. if someone else can explain better then thank you :)
tl dr? : nintendo releases console 2 years ahead of other consoles. ps/xb arrives. in 3 years nintendo releases another better console meaning ps/xb will have weaker systems for 2 years and the cycle goes on meaning nintendo will have the better system for longer periods of time! “added thoughts” better console more of the time means more third party ?
I think Nintendo just has to simply outlast their competition, rather than outsell them every generation. It is almost inevitable that either Sony or Microsoft will eventually lose the “console war”. Nintendo can maintain a healthy profit by simply selling 30 million consoles, becouse they have a popular and robust first party line-up. They keep 100% of profit from these games. Not to mention their handheld business that could single handily keep them afloat. So Nintendo just needs to keep doing what it’s doing. Maintain quality, and the longevity of Nintendo is guaranteed. It’s different for Sony and Microsoft. They literally depend on third party support, and could not survive by only selling 30 million consoles. If the Xbox one only sold 30 million consoles, there would not be another one. Same with the PS4. They are in direct competition with each other, and history has proven that usually only one comes out victorious in that situation. As proven at the Xbox one launch, the Xbox will eventually evolve into a PC with controllers. And that is when the Xbox brand will more than likely die out.
Nintendo needs to go ahead with the console/handheld fusion device. That would be extremely popular in Japan, and also here in the States. Their handhelds are always popular worldwide, and the idea of having a home console that you can take on the go is very exciting. You need not worry about Nintendo.
You sir, I believe managed to hit it right on target
A writer striving for censoring games to his clique’s wishes with a monopoly is suggesting the most well-off gaming company on the planet need saving by more media monopoly. Not surprised.
Polygon who said that Mariokart8 would only sell 1.4 million copies by March 2015. They are the oracles of truth.. Anyone who goes to that site is supporting a troll site.
The guy who wrote this article needs a good kick in the nuts
Why do pople go to that shithole Polygon again?
Except Nintendo is still doing okay financially- they could take a certain loss every year for the next 50 and still have a positive balance in the bank. Not to mention, Nintendo is on track to turn things around again so they really don’t need to be bought out right now.
tl;dr
Pretty sure it’s a load of bullshit anyway
Hey everyone…FUCK DISNEY……just all about money for them….they do not give a fuck about anyone
Oh yea and fuck bowler! He needs to take his head out of his ass!….fucking brown nose pussy
Hey Guys I’m Back From The Dead And We Are Dumb For Saying That We Could Buy Nintendo So Don’t Buy Any Disney Products Unless Your A Faggot.
Love From Walt Disney The Faggot