While Nintendo has never fully faded into the distance in the video game industry the way some companies have, it has been quite some time since they were considered one of the true leaders in the field. Lagging behind rivals Sony and Microsoft in the home console market since the two companies jumped all in on the original next-gen days of the Sony PlayStation 2 and the original Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo has struggled to lead the way as they once did in the 8-bit and 16-bit generation. Nintendo could be on the verge of a bit of a renaissance as a company, however, and it seems to be starting with one area the company has tried to stay away from for so long: the mobile market.
Nintendo dipped their toes in the crowded mobile gaming market with the launch of their own social network app, Miitomo, in mid-March. The app was received somewhat well early on with the promise of rewards from The Big N, but has already started to lose users due to a lack of interest and reason to really come back in on a regular basis. But this past week Nintendo let another mobile developer take a Nintendo franchise and come up with an app that is sweeping the nation. Pokemon Go, a GPS-based mobile game, hit the Apple and Android stores last week and has quickly become one of the most addicting apps in the country. It is worth noting Nintendo was only expected to receive 10 percent of the profits from the Pokemon Go app, as roughly 30 percent would each go to Apple, developer Niantic and The Pokemon Company (the company that owns the marketing and licensing rights to international Pokemon content). But, as Bloomberg suggests, Nintendo would then cash in on its 33 percent stake in ownership of The Pokemon Company.
#PokemonGO is now available in the US! Who’s ready to catch Pokémon in the real world? https://t.co/9S8QGxxJfyhttps://t.co/qkk73DXb5b
— Pokémon (@Pokemon) July 7, 2016
Safe to say everybody was ready, Nintendo. I mean everybody.
I live next to a park, and I walk through the park everyday with my dog at least once. In the past few days, I cannot count how many people of various ages I have seen walking around searching for Pokemon on their phones that I have never seen before. This is what this app has done. It has lured gamers of all ages out of their homes and forced them to walk around outdoors. Groups of kids, younger and older teens, are getting together and walking around in search of more Pokemon, building teams together and interacting with people they’d likely never hang out with or communicate with before. I even saw one car drive into the parking lot, have a guy get out and snap a photo before getting back in and leaving the park. I can only imagine this was a Pokemon Go pit stop.
I have been a loyal Nintendo customer since the mid-1980s, yet Pokemon is a franchise I never touched once. Until yesterday, when I downloaded the app. I did so because my wife was already walking around the house looking for Pokemon. My timeline has been filled with people talking about Pokemon, and these are sports writers and bloggers, and college football coaches…
Gotta catch 'em all! #POKEmon pic.twitter.com/j0Kd5CyD7J
— Mike Gundy (@CoachGundy) July 11, 2016
On Monday, Nintendo saw their stock price jump 57 percent over the past five days. It’s not a coincidence. Nintendo’s stock has been floating around the mid-teens for a long time now, and the price had slumped in the last few years as the company battles Wii-fatigue and sluggish WiiU results. This may just be a short-term boost that is not worth the long-term investment, but it surely makes people feel a little more positive about their Nintendo stocks right now. Nintendo has new life, and that has to feel good after years of downward trends. So, if you are Nintendo and sit back and see what Pokemon Go is doing as your stock price skyrockets in Japan, you have to be kicking yourself for not getting involved in the mobile market sooner, right?
Nintendo's mobile strategy:
2008: what's an iPhone
2010: what's an Android
2012: nope
2014: still no
2016: change how society functions— Aaron Levie (@levie) July 11, 2016
Nintendo has a big calendar year ahead of them. The success of Pokemon Go should inspire Nintendo and their partner developers to find smart ways to experiment more with other franchises, and Nintendo has some big name franchises like Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda. Neither likely has the open-world draw Pokemon may, but Pokemon Go will certainly get people brainstorming more. On top of the mobile efforts, Nintendo is also closing in on the release of their next home console, the code-named NX, which is due out next March. A brand new Legend of Zelda title, which was the only game featured by Nintendo at the recent E3 event, is expected to be a launch title.
This is a critical point in Nintendo’s future, and it looks as though they may finally be getting some things right again. Nintendo has always been about having fun with games, and they are delivering with Pokemon Go. If they can do the same with their NX efforts, Nintendo may once again have a seat at the big boy table with Sony and Microsoft.
Now if you will excuse me, I have to go catch more Pokemon.
[Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal]
