Jul 26, 12:46 PM

Nintendo is No Longer a Game Company

On Monday, Nintendo launched their Opera Web Browser for the DS in Japan. I hope it makes its way over here, because it actually looks very usable and more functional than other web browsers on mobile devices. One issue, however, is that here you can only get Nintendo WiFi at home (where you presumably have access to a computer already) or at McDonald’s (who wants to sit in a McD’s for any extended period of time browsing the internet?).

This event is significant because it is the first major step in Nintendo’s transition into not a games company, but a general software company.

Reggie continues to say that “it’s all about the games.” But if you look at their strategy, you might notice that Nintendo is actually moving away from being a video game company for gamers and instead becoming a software and hardware company for everyone. Browsers, Brain Age, remote control-like controllers – if you try to appeal to a larger market than traditional gamers, you have to stretch the definition of a game or just bypass it. By definition, to reach new customers they can’t make the same things they’ve made for us “core gamers” in the past.

Although Sony and Microsoft started out in video games trying to be more like Nintendo, in the end it is Nintendo that is trying to be more like them.

videos:
video (via PocketGamer)
review 1 and review 2 (via GoNintendo)

-Jon
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  1. testing the comment system!

    — mr. test man    Jul 26, 08:15 PM    #

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