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[SirNiko]

Oh man you just reminded me about Klik & Play, those pie devil memories are coming flooding back. I think I'm going to download it and try to make something in it, just to see how cumbersome and limiting it is. Maybe we should have a K&P game jam.

http://www.glorioustrainwrecks.com/

Glorious Trainwrecks does a monthly klik-jam to make games in about two hours (rules are never actually enforced and you can take longer and/or make non-KnP games). They also do frequent other events including the Pirate Kart, which got entered in the GDC.

And if that wasn't enough, participating means you get to hang out with our own Turbo Brother, which on its own is worth setting aside an evening.

[Praying Mantis]

Oh man that's hilarious. I think I'll take part.

[gimymblert]

So I was thinking at what another crazy things nintendo could do that could surprise people by being unorthodox.

Nintendo has been historically japan centric, but there it's not going well at all, the wii U sells like shit and yet have double the ps4 sales month by month ... xboxone give up there fromp the start but the xbox360 used to sold has much as the ps4 now ... SMARTPHONE is literally dominating the market. Elsewhere, in the outside world, nintendo is currently not competitive as the trendy theme and gameplay are not things they are competent in, no super realistic cinematic gritty violent world for them, only through 2nd and 3rd party.

So a lot of voice urge nintendo to make game for smartphone, that makes a lot of sense. If you can't beat them join them ... but how? Nintendo has a firm grasp on quality of their software by being first party and designing hardware to their need. By going third party they loose what give their property their quality: polish. This quality will suffer exactly teh same way third party had traditionally suffer on nintendo platform, being slave on the whim of someone else, plus you must add the problem of hardware  fragmentation and perception of polish will tank their franchise on a per device perception, plus focus being chipped away to assure quality across all these device ... Plus they might need to get rid of their huge hardware division, but they can see go back at making toy like thy used to do initially. But what if going smartphone was inevitable?

But hey nintendo don't make TV and you need them for home console, why not making a "smartphone" console? A smartphone compatible hardware extension that take advantage of existing device to keep cost low and reduce hardware redundancy, they would take advantage of communication, connection, screen and storage to only build a core dedicated to assure their game quality in controlled environment and interfacing with the smartphone for the fluff. It also assure that not compatible or not worthy machine be out in a very straightforward way. It would in the form of a controller device in which you slot your smartphone.

[s0]

But hey nintendo don't make TV and you need them for home console, why not making a "smartphone" console? A smartphone compatible hardware extension that take advantage of existing device to keep cost low and reduce hardware redundancy, they would take advantage of communication, connection, screen and storage to only build a core dedicated to assure their game quality in controlled environment and interfacing with the smartphone for the fluff. It also assure that not compatible or not worthy machine be out in a very straightforward way. It would in the form of a controller device in which you slot your smartphone.

and who would buy that?

[gimymblert]

I told you it was crazy! It's still basically a controller with a chip

But:

- anyone who like nintendo product
- anyone who want a solid standard controller
- gamer who left nintendo because one more device
- kids because brand power is still strong
- anyone who hate playing on touchscreen
- anyone who like quality product
- people who think they don't have to buy another device because it could be inexpensive to "upgrade" with a this.

Nintendo have brand power and quality on its side, that's enough of a draw, low price because it reuse existing part would help focus on core game features.

It's not as much crazy that the wii concept, still crazy, weird and a huge bet


More seriously I'm thinking about how I can attack the market myself, I have seen that hardware are dirt ship nowaday, you can buy and even customize a game cube grade motherboard thanks to smartphone driving price down for lower than 70€. The video game market have hugely change these 5 last years I became "indie", with new market fad appearing and saturating faster than you can make a quality traditional game. Discoveries becoming the new ill. Crushing number I was realizing you could sold a game on a decent custom tailored hardware for the price of a usual boxed copy game or even lower. This looks like a new opportunity by moving outside of digital. Especially since you could add values by implementing even more game specifics physical gimmick. Basically the cartridge is the hardware is the game and the controller.

[SirNiko]

I still maintain the next major breakthrough for game console design is force feedback. There already exist force-feedback devices in the market, but making one inexpensive enough for home use would be a huge leap.

That said, it might be risky since it would be more like a virtual boy (complicated hardware, almost certainly uncomfortable to play) than a Wii (simple design makes games accessible to a huge market). If Nintendo did pursue force feedback it would, at best, be advancing game design at the expense of sales to all but dedicated Nintendo players.

I'm not understanding clearly what you think Nintendo should do when entering the smartphone market. Make a device like a 3DS but with telephone capabilities (effectively Nintendo competing in the smart phone market)? Make original games for smartphones (either as exclusives or also available on Nintendo handhelds)? Something vaguely like smartphones, such as a portable console that streams the game from your console at home?

I still don't clearly grasp what you (or Nintendo) is thinking with regards to smartphone technology, given that the 3DS already fills a lot of that niche (portable with online functionality). I'd like an example of what kind of a game you would make and how it differs from Nintendo's handhelds.

[s0]

@gimmy: the thing is i still think it would be a tough sell because actual good smartphone games already exist so the hypothetical nintendo smartphone console would not be adding a lot of functionality and would be competing with games that dont require a peripheral. by comparison the wii was tapping into a virtually untapped market (the ps2 eye toy doesnt count because it sucked)

my guess is it would be of interest to the same ppl who already buy nintendo stuff now so why bother

[gimymblert]

Warning - while you were typing a new reply has been posted. You may wish to review your post.


Rumble is the cheapest force feedback available, I don't know if "more" is feasible at consumer level while adding value. And then that's what nintendo introduced with the n64.

The 3DS or handheld genarally are being predates quite seriously by smartphone who offer similar or literally better option. If you compare the two handheld are now just crappy smartphone. Making them more like smartphone would still not make them compete with smartphone because they will never be good smartphone, it's not their primary use, plus the public is likely to have a smartphone already with offering tailored to their needs, it will be redundant.

The benefit of handheld now is only the input, and then it's only for gamer, they are loosing the bulk of the market and becoming even more niche than before, as game are more expensive to make it will not be sustainable period. And even the core niche have smartphone and play on them, smartphone fulfill way more need that handheld can.

Handheld lost on price and quality, I can buy a more powerful machine than the 3DS for less than half the price, and the game are two magnitude cheaper yet you still have good quality even among the sea of crap. Some franchise are still better on handheld but that's not a hardware problem.

You have a whole generation trained on handheld touchscreen input so the thumb generation will only go down as its public move on but the hardcore. I don't think the hardcore (as a market) is profitable for nintendo at all, the demand will go up as the public will go down, it already was even before the smartphone boom, each console sold less and less each generation wii not counting, in fact the wii u number are totally in line with this decline!

On hardware on general it's more the ability to free games from a standard platform and blurring the line with toys, physicality is still hot, it can be an option with the "cartridge" shape being just a "vanity toy" as you could mold it how you want.  So you have either a custom console

@CA
Yeah I agree, I don't see competing on console space at all, it only take a breakthrough in the smart tv/ game streaming area to totally kill their business forever. I know it's band aid, but that's the more logical move rather doing game from smartphone and would fit their mentality. Plus you never know how things like that take off, now it's easy to see that the wii was a value, but back then the disbelief was intense as who would play an underpowered hardware with non precise control would work? The targeted public wasn't on the radar at all. But the odd are still small for a smartphone add on as theer too much of an overlap, but it might be an ipod situation, the ipod didn't bring anything new, was just more convenient to use (and itunes). If nintendo reinstate a "nintendo seal of quality" and move from the (future) account base to a storefront like steam, they could capture the "premium" need smartphone suffer actually. Ie a positioning on a quality store they curate, that help with discovery through scarcity and space release.

EDIT:
For the "console toy" think skylander without the need for a console and toy communicate/interact directly with each other.

[gimymblert]

[gimymblert]

http://gamasutra.com/view/news/223716/Pokemon_developer_Game_Freak_is_making_its_first_mobile_game.php
NOTnintendo move to smartphone

[Leon Fook]

So, Ice Bucket Challenge.

[SirNiko]

So, Ice Bucket Challenge.

Never played it. Must be iOS.

[Impmaster]

its dum, my hearthstone buddy just nominated me

[gimymblert]

I don't like the nag the friend mechanics in those social games, thanks zynga

[Leon Fook]

Tap to get wet & cold! Tag some friend, help it spread! Don't forget to donate!

the fan and hater are obnoxious though.

[gimymblert]

  

[Manuel Magalhães]

hell yeah

[s_l_m]

  

[s0]

wat is that even

[s_l_m]

wat is that even

If I am not misinterpreting, it is for loading images onto a GD ROM based system from a memory stick. GD ROM was used for both Dreamcast and Naomi.