Nintendo could be on a 'path to irrelevance', says Atari founder

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Atari Founder Nolan Bushnell fears that Nintendo could be on a "path to irrelevance".

Bushnell had yet more harsh words for Nintendo during a recent interview with BBC, in which he questioned the future of dedicated gaming portables and the console market as a whole.

"I don't think handheld game-only devices make sense anymore," said Bushnell. "Not when you have an iPod or an Android microtablet," he added.

"When it comes to the console market, I think the market is truncating," Bushnell went on. "Nintendo always had a soft spot for young people - they sort of did the 12-and-under pretty well, and the other guys did the 12-and-over.

"And now I think the other [consoles] are good enough on those things, and the rush to upgrade from the 12-and-under is not nearly as important."

Bushnell has candidly expressed his reservations over Nintendo's latest home console in the past, admitting he's "baffled by Wii U".

"I don't think it's going to be a big success," he said.

The games veteran also recently suggested that the mobile games ecosystem is now on borrowed time, citing the end of an investment boom for the now overcrowded mobile platforms.

"The last five years have been the days of mobile gaming and shortform gaming, exemplified by Rovio with Angry Birds and Zynga with FarmVille. And that is over," commented Bushnell. "All the money's out," he said.

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Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/428341/nintendo-could-be-on-a-path-to-irrelevance-says-atari-founder/

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"Nintendo could be on a 'path to irrelevance', says Atari founder" :: Login/Create an Account :: 61 comments

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WokzePosted:

wii u just cant compete with the other big company's, kids as young as 3 have Xbox's or ps3's now.

DiniPosted:

They are on a path that no one cares for anymore :L

Dr-JPosted:

-Amp
Seem Nitendo need's to stop making devices no one's play's try to make a console like xbox or playstation


They need something to boost their sales again, something that will make people interested again. The last thing they need to do is stop.


The 3DS got them a lot of sales.... They either need a great game or another handheld that's is absolutely amazing

slapshot101Posted:

-InsanelyAwesome- He has a point, why get a hand held gaming device. When for roughly the same price you can get a smart phone which does Games, TV, Music, Social Media, etc etc.
I agree, It is way cheaper for me to get tons of games from an App store without much effort. Sadly I think we won't be seeing that much of Nintendo down the road with their current business model.

-InsanelyAwesome-Posted:

He has a point, why get a hand held gaming device. When for roughly the same price you can get a smart phone which does Games, TV, Music, Social Media, etc etc.

slaughtercellPosted:

I don't think it's the games... I think the console is too weak to compete with next gen... Samething happend to sega dream cast, shenmue was cool but Ps2 and gta3 just blow people's mind

TheDylanDylanPosted:

Nintendo deserves a LOT more respect. They did save the gaming industry crash of 83, but that doesn't matter. Nintendo didn't give us great memories of falling asleep at age 7 to goldenrod city's music.

The games today that most people prefer over games such as Zelda and Pokemon (go ahead and call it childish, research ev and iv training.) are mostly filled with underage kids playing the game that doesn't fit their age yelling and swearing at those who can actually purchase the game.

try bringing mario party or a smash game to a get together and compare it to that of another non nintendo game

DawPosted:

Well it's true. They are wasting their time. No one is focused on the Nintendo but more on the next gen consoles.

AlbericiPosted:

I wish atari would stop with wii comments and crap.

Dr-PonyfilePosted:

Dr-J
Gossip Nobody cares about the Nintendo anymore. Nintendo was big back in the day with Pokemon and Mario and so on. The Xbox One and the PS4 are the present.


To be honest, I don't think Nintendo will ever be big again in the console world. They had a good run though.


They did have a good run. But now they are struggling they need to stop making consoles now and carry on with making handheld consoles which is going very well for them especially in the Japanese and Chinese, Asia etc markets the Nintendo DS is still going strong for them so they should keep making games and supporting and even making that handheld console even better.


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