How Nintendo Leaves Money on the Table

My History with Nintendo

And here are two topics I love to “chat” about product management and the gaming industry. As a gaming fan and a dedicated player, I’ve loved Nintendo since I was a kid. They make unique, fun games, and the company has always thought “outside the box.” I got my first Super Nintendo when I was 14! Yep, that was back in 1994 (you’re probably doing the math to figure out my age now—yes, I’m old). This was a big deal because even though the Super Nintendo had been released in 1990, it was still wildly popular!

Let me tell you, for that time, the Super Nintendo’s specs were so impressive that they shone through in the games: beautiful graphics, soundtracks that could rival any music producer’s work, and more. If you’re Gen Z, you probably think, “What’s with this guy? Where are the AAA games, 60 FPS graphics, and all that?” I’ll tell you, that was still a long way off, but it was the height of technology for the time! The Ricoh 5A22 CPU with its 16 bits brought me endless fun with my brothers! We’d even place bets on who’d have to do the dishes after playing International Super Star Soccer!

Well, time went on, and I acquired a newer lineup of my beloved Nintendo’s products. Today, I own several consoles (from newest to oldest):

• Nintendo Switch
• Nintendo Wii U
• Nintendo 3DS (handheld)
• Nintendo Wii
• Nintendo DS (handheld)

This is me, super happy, with all my consoles in what I call my “warrior’s haven” at home.

But what does this have to do with product management, Cleverson? Hold on—I’ll tell you. On a day in January 2012, Nintendo announced its online service for consoles, the Nintendo Network, and of course, the market welcomed it with open arms. As a user, you could play games like Mario Kart and others online with friends who were often miles away, all without leaving your home. Fantastic! However, my excitement plateau started its sunset from this point on.

On May 20, 2014, Nintendo shut down its online services, including a service called Wi-Fi Connection, which was used for multiplayer and other online features. The consoles affected were the Wii and DS. Fast forward to April 2024, and the same story repeated with the Wii U and 3DS.

So how does Nintendo leave money on the table?

I’ve heard various reports, tweets, and announcements on social media from Nintendo’s current president, Shuntaro Furukawa, stating that the company wouldn’t enter the “Console Wars” known in the gaming world for famous clashes, especially between Sony and Microsoft, over which console has the fancier and more powerful hardware. However, I believe that here, the Console Wars have a different meaning. The idea of not engaging in a hardware battle doesn’t mean the company won’t push out new hardware at least every six years, as the intervals between console launches clearly indicate this approach.

But going back to the issue of online services, what about users who didn’t acquire a Switch? What about those who bought games that had online gameplay and were even re-released with the same services on the Switch, like Super Mario Maker, for example?

I’ll answer you: all of them were left “high and dry,” meaning they couldn’t use the service and sometimes ended up with games rendered useless due to the lack of these features. And that’s when this group of enlightened people emerged:

Pretendo Network

Wiimmfi

These two initiatives recreate the Nintendo Network with an open-source effort for both the Wii (Wiimmfi) and for the Wii U and 3DS (Pretendo). And now, you’re probably going to ask me: For this to work, it requires people working on reverse engineering the payloads and servers of the games and money to keep everything running, right? Yes, and that’s where I make my point about Nintendo leaving money on the table:

The project consistently raises at least 200% of the funding needed every month to keep everything running, and on top of that, more games and features are being released every day!

My conclusion: fifty cents.

Looking back, we see that the gaming market is transforming more and more, shifting from being less about “consoles” and increasingly about “games and services.” It’s a shame that companies like Nintendo miss opportunities like this and simply discontinue services to push for the acquisition of new products—in this case, consoles.

So here are my fifty cents: there’s a need for a greater focus on customers and for listening to what they have to say. Can you imagine if Nintendo continued to support the services of past consoles? Just think of the massive player base they would have every day! And let’s be honest, in times of the internet and information, the audience is everything!