Despite the fact that nearly every household has a Wii and the sales of the 3DS continue to blow away the competition, industry expert Bing Gordon believes that Nintendo will soon go the way of Sega and bow out of the hardware market. The former EA executive told GamesIndustry that Nintendo is heading toward a software-only future.
“I think Nintendo’s already on track to become primarily a software company. We saw that with Sega back in the day; Sega made some missteps and became primarily a software company,” he explained.
And while Nintendo hasn't made many mistakes of the same magnitude as Sega, fierce competition from other companies may do them in. “Apple’s most directly competitive with Nintendo. So far, when Miyamoto makes a perfect game, in his career he makes games worth $200 – it’s worth buying a system for," he added. "I think the handheld is going to be under a lot of pressure. I can imagine a day when Nintendo wonders – and maybe it’s generational change – when Nintendo wonders if they ought to take some of their best games and make them apps.”
Do you think Nintendo will eventually make the jump to software only? Let us know what you think lies ahead for the Big N in the comments below.