Nintendo Considering Mergers and Acquisitions

[DrRipley]

It seems like Nintendo is at a point of transition in terms of their evolutionary lineage, and after reading this article, I think they are going to be alright. The man in charge sounds like he has a good head on his shoulders and I even think they are headed in the right direction. Nintendo seems to have stagnated a bit in these past few years, and maybe an acquisition is just the right boost they need. What do you guys think and which companies do you want to see them buy?

In an interview with Japanese business publication Nikkei, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata shared his thoughts on the company’s recent financial losses and also revealed that he’s considering the idea of mergers and acquisitions.

He elaborated: “We built up cash reserves when earnings were strong. Because the entertainment industry ebbs and flows in wild swings, Mr. Yamauchi insisted it is vital to have deep pockets. Without savings, we could not have recovered from a single failure in game systems. Even now, we can afford many options because of our robust financial standing.”

Iwata added: “We should abandon old assumptions about our businesses. We are considering M&As as an option. For this reason, we’ll step up share buybacks.”



Of course, whether Nintendo plans on acquiring other developers involved in the development of traditional games or other kinds of companies entirely, is unknown. The last major acquisition Nintendo made in terms of adding an external game developer to its family was Monolith Soft, which was owned by Namco Bandai.

via siliconera

 

[SS42A]

Well, it's about time Nintendo makes such a bold, daring decision. Until recently, Nintendo managed to remain independent and stay out of mergers and acquisitions. Sooner or later, other companies are already targeting Konami and Capcom, which are the only game companies other than Nintendo which have not entered into a M&A just yet. For Nintendo, this M&A is a bitter pill, because that would mean a third-party licensing of Mario and all other Nintendo properties, and that is something the company will never give up so easily.

 

[Mikey Paine]

Would somebody explain to me what they mean by mergers and acquisitions? Is Nintendo considering sell IPs or buying IPs or am I totally off here?

While I haven't bought a Nintendo system sine the DS, I'd like Nintendo to stick around as long as they can.

 

[schoat333]

I will buy a wii U if they release a new Zelda that doesn't use motion controls.

 

[DrRipley]

Would somebody explain to me what they mean by mergers and acquisitions? Is Nintendo considering sell IPs or buying IPs or am I totally off here?

While I haven't bought a Nintendo system sine the DS, I'd like Nintendo to stick around as long as they can.

From what I understand, it pertains to acquiring and absorbing other companies rather than just specific titles. Probably a lot similar to how Facebook acquired Snapchat and Instagram once they got big enough for them to notice, but I suppose having that big of a budget would enable them to buy specific titles if they really wanted to but if how I understood the article is right then I would imagine they are looking at whole companies more instead of the products in it.

 

[Tomba]

For Nintendo, this M&A is a bitter pill, because that would mean a third-party licensing of Mario and all other Nintendo properties, and that is something the company will never give up so easily.

That's kind of what I gathered. Third parties would probably return to working with Nintendo if they could get at least one shot at doing a Zelda or Mario...or messing up a Zelda or Mario. Honestly Nintendo is the only group that pulls their games off perfectly since they know exactly what they want.

 

[SpaceTiger]

Since they bought back a number of their shares from Yamaguchi's family, Nintendo has more of a controlling grasp in the company and can pursue picking up developers. It's probably part of the reason why they didn't pick up Platinum Games when the company said they were interested in being a second party developer. Getting those kinds of developers is a big investment and Platinum Games are typically cult-popular.

I can see them picking up a number of studios. I'd love for them to get Natsume. That studio is a match for Nintendo since their games are perfect for each other. Like there's been Harvest Moon games on PlayStation consoles, but HM never really seemed like a PS game, really.