gaming Why don't more companies rip off Nintendo?

[Forlong 1,726]

Now I'm not saying I want everyone to rip of Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon.  I just think, with so many companies copying each other, why does almost no one copy Nintendo?  They are easily the most successful company in the business.

 

Most developers and publishers want to rip off Call of Duty, but that multiplatform game can't outsell Nintendo's exclusives.  It just doesn't make sense.  Why haven't we seen a bijillion Pokemon clones?  Or a bunch a Mario Bros copycats?  What's the deal with this?  Do they think Nintendo exists in some sort of space-time rift wherein they can make whatever they want and it will sell?

[Scootalove 10,692]

The companies feel that if they copy off of Nintendo, they wouldn't get too far in the process. If you have too much of a good thing or if that good thing is copied, it would lose all purpose or any popularity that the company had in the first place.

[Zygen 6,066]

I think that maybe they just don't see the reason to copy nintendo because it won't get them far most likely.

 

It doesn't bug me at all really.

 

I guess other companies seem easier to copy? Or maybe the ideas are just harder to make totally

Different.

 

Idk I'm not an indie company so idk.

[QuirkyUsername 1,576]

go on the IOS app store deep enough and you'll have the ludicrous amount of Mario and Pokemon ripoffs you seek.

Call of Duty is the easiest game to rip off throw a sub par story in a first person shooter geared to multiplayer and boom sold a bagillion copies for your cut and paste idea. I suppose they'd have to put in alot more effort to rip off a nintendo game and have it sell. Darksiders 1 was a darker Ocarina of time clone (still good though) that hasn't sold anywhere near as well as ocarina of time especially when it came out 3D

[Commander Urdnot 2,680]

Nintendo isn't doing as well as you'd think. Their stock has went from 55 dollars a share to 14 dollars a share in just 5 years. That's 77%, and it continues to decline.

 

Nintendo is effectively running their franchises into the ground. Almost every game that has been released on the 3DS and the Wii U is either another installment in one of their franchises, or a remake. After playing Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Pikmin and Pokemon for over 10+ years, people are starting to get bored of them. Nintendo is in trouble. They need to bring something new to the table other than the 2DS if they want to succeed.

 

People don't copy off of Nintendo because people are growing tired of Nintendo's games. Just look at how much Call of Duty-like games sell in comparison to Mario and Pokemon-like games.

 

 

Back in 2007 (Which was 6 years ago) Mario and Pokemon were both selling more than these Call of Duty-like games.

 

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl (2006) - 18.1M

Super Mario Galaxy (2007) - 10.6M

New Super Mario Brothers (2006) - 29.3M

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007) - 16.3M

Battlefield: Bad Company (2008) - 2.7M

 

 

Now let's fast-forward to 2009. (About 4 years ago)

 

New Super Mario Brothers Wii (2009) - 27.1M

Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010) - 7M

Mario Kart Wii (2009) 33.8M

Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver (2010) - 11.6M

Pokemon White and Black (2010) - 14.77M *Sold more than Gold Silver remake*

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) - 24M

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (2010) - 6.6M

 

As you can see, Nintendo was starting to slow down 2009.

 

 

Now let's look at some more modern numbers. 2011-2013. (About now)

 

Super Mario 3D Land (2011) - 8.6M

Mario Kart 7 (2011) - 8.3M

New Super Mario Brothers 2 (2012) - 6.4M

Pokemon White and Black 2 (2012) - 6.9M

Call of Duty Black Ops II (2012) - 32.4M

Battlefield 3 (2011) - 16M

 

 

It's obvious that Nintendo is relying too much on previous success, and have run their franchises into the ground. People are getting bored of playing the same Nintendo franchises over the years. Nintendo needs to make something new if they want to succeed. People copy off of Call of Duty-like games because they sell more money. They don't copy Nintendo because everyone is getting bored of NIntendo.

[Megas 28,137]

Because it's not the "in-thing" right now, meaning that it's not the thing selling hot cakes at the moment. When Mario(and to a lesser extent Sonic, which is Sega) was a big thing, back at the NES/SNES era, many tried to make similar games to it. When Pokemon was big, many tried to copy it, and Motion Controls Sony/Microsoft jumped to the band wagon. 

 

The popular thing right now is ultra-dark/gritty/edgy/brown/m-rated interactive movie block-buster shooters, or some other genre with the same criteria. And judging from Nintendo's previous history, it's the kind of game they as a company they tend to avoid making

 

 

Nintendo isn't doing as well as you'd think. Their stock has went from 55 dollars a share to 14 dollars a share in just 5 years. That's 77%, and it continues to decline.

 

Nintendo is effectively running their franchises into the ground. Almost every game that has been released on the 3DS and the Wii U is either another installment in one of their franchises, or a remake. After playing Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Pikmin and Pokemon for over 10+ years, people are starting to get bored of them. Nintendo is in trouble. They need to bring something new to the table other than the 2DS if they want to succeed.

 

People don't copy off of Nintendo because people are growing tired of Nintendo's games. Just look at how much Call of Duty-like games sell in comparison to Mario and Pokemon-like games.

 

 

Back in 2007 (Which was 6 years ago) Mario and Pokemon were both selling more than these Call of Duty-like games.

 

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl (2006) - 18.1M

Super Mario Galaxy (2007) - 10.6M

New Super Mario Brothers (2006) - 29.3M

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007) - 16.3M

Battlefield: Bad Company (2008) - 2.7M

 

 

Now let's fast-forward to 2009. (About 4 years ago)

 

New Super Mario Brothers Wii (2009) - 27.1M

Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010) - 7M

Mario Kart Wii (2009) 33.8M

Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver (2010) - 11.6M

Pokemon White and Black (2010) - 14.77M *Sold more than Gold Silver remake*

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) - 24M

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (2010) - 6.6M

 

As you can see, Nintendo was starting to slow down 2009.

 

 

Now let's look at some more modern numbers. 2011-2013. (About now)

 

Super Mario 3D Land (2011) - 8.6M

Mario Kart 7 (2011) - 8.3M

New Super Mario Brothers 2 (2012) - 6.4M

Pokemon White and Black 2 (2012) - 6.9M

Call of Duty Black Ops II (2012) - 32.4M

Battlefield 3 (2011) - 16M

 

 

It's obvious that Nintendo is relying too much on previous success, and have run their franchises into the ground. People are getting bored of playing the same Nintendo franchises over the years. Nintendo needs to make something new if they want to succeed. People copy off of Call of Duty-like games because they sell more money. They don't copy Nintendo because everyone is getting bored of NIntendo.

 

 

I'm gonna repost an old post I made because it feels like an appropriate response to this

 

Gonna play the devil's advocate, but can you really blame them for using established IP's over new ones/old ones given past history? Usually the cycle goes like this:

 

1) People beg for a new IP from Nintendo

2) Nintendo announces new IP

3) People bitch and moan, saying the new IP is shit, and then say Nintendo doesn't care about old franchises

4) New IP ends up having abysmal sales

And the poor sales for Wonderful 101 in Japan and Europe are unfortunately proving this true(hopefully the game's performance in the US is a lot better)

 

likewise, the cycle can be reversed for established IPs

1) Nintendo announces new game from established IP

2) People complain about rehashing the same games over and over again

3) People buy them anyway

 

In the end of the day, why should Nintendo continue to make new IPs when no one gives jack shit when they actually release one? Why should they stop releasing games from established franchise when people will still buy it anyway. Look, I like seeing Nintendo make new IPs and reviving old franchises(still waiting for that Starfox and F-Zero game  ), and I do think Mario should take a break outside of  the main series and Mario Kart, but Nintendo's not willing to bow down to your every whim when your return response is essentially "fuck you" and not support the shit you criticize them for. This alone made me happy when I saw Reggie called out the gaming community as being incredibly hard to please

 

Also I love how you included Pikmin on that title featuring milked franchises, and then go on to say Nintendo should bring back franchises they never touch, especially since it was 9 years between Pikmin 2 and 3 with fans practically begging for a new game

Basically Nintendo is in a "Damned if they do, damned if they don't" situation(and has more or less always been in one)

 

Seriously, how the balls are people already getting tired of fucking Pikmin?

Edited September 28, 2013 by Phoenix Trite

[Commander Urdnot 2,680]

Because it's not the "in-thing" right now, meaning that it's not the thing selling hot cakes at the moment. When Mario(and to a lesser extent Sonic, which is Sega) was a big thing, back at the NES/SNES era, many tried to make similar games to it. When Pokemon was big, many tried to copy it, and Motion Controls Sony/Microsoft jumped to the band wagon.

 

The popular thing right now is ultra-dark/gritty/edgy/brown/m-rated interactive movie block-buster shooters, or some other genre with the same criteria. And judging from Nintendo's previous history, it's the kind of game they as a company they tend to avoid making

 

 

 

 

I'm gonna repost an old post I made because it feels like an appropriate response to this

Basically Nintendo is in a "Damned if they do, damned if they don't" situation(and has more or less always been in one)

 

Seriously, how the balls are people already getting tired of fucking Pikmin?

Right, because every single new IP is going to be spectacular and sell tens of millions of copies, and if a couple of them flop that means we should just instantly quit on the endeavor and continue to milk the same IP's that we've been milking for 10 years despite the overwhelming evidence that says it's a bad idea. I've never even heard of the new IP you mentioned. Perhaps advertising the IP would help sales? I can't buy a game if I don't even know it exists.

 

Not every IP is like Mario. Not every IP can have 40+ games in it. Some IP's get stale faster than others. If you look at the sales, it's pretty obvious that people have been growing tired of Pikmin since Pikmin 2. Pikmin 2 was on the exact same console that Pikmin 1 was on, and it sold 430,000 copies less. So don't blame Pikmin 3's failure on the Wii U or on the game's age. People are growing tired of Pikmin, and people are growing tired of Nintendo.

 

Pikmin 1 - 1.63M

Pikmin 2 - 1.2M

Pikmin 3 - 0.46M

 

"Insanity: Doing the exact same over and over again expecting different results." - Albert Einstein

Edited September 28, 2013 by Commander Urdnot

[Megas 28,137]

Right, because every single new IP is going to be spectacular and sell tens of millions of copies, and if a couple of them flop that means we should just instantly quit on the endeavor and continue to milk the same IP's that we've been milking for 10 years despite the overwhelming evidence that says it's a bad idea. I've never even heard of the new IP you mentioned. Perhaps advertising the IP would help sales? I can't buy a game if I don't even know it exists.

 

You obviously missed my point. Nintendo has always had terrible luck when it comes to new IPs, but it's even more irritating that people continue to bitch and moan about only for them to completely ignore it, and again Wonderful 101 is a good recent example of this(though at least here in the states Nintendo did a decent job of pushing the game, so maybe it'll have better luck here than in Japan or Europe)

 

Here's a list of New IPs Nintendo's made since the Gamecube

 

Nintendo Gamecube

Luigi's Mansion

Pikmin

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

GiFTPiA

Donkey Konga

Battalion Wars

Geist

Chibi-Robo!

Odama

(of these, only Pikmin and Luigi's Mansion did well. And before you bring up Eternal Darkness, people didn't start giving a shit until long AFTER the game came out)

 

Nintendo Wii

Art Style

Wii Series

Excite Truck

Endless Ocean

Disaster: Day of Crisis

Captain Rainbow

Common sense of people power TV

Tact of Magic

FlingSmash

Dynamic Slash

And-Kensaku

Pandora's Tower

Kiki Trick

Xenoblade Chronicles

The Last Story

Zangeki no Reginleiv

(of these only the Wii series did well, though Xenoblade and Last Story did better than expected thanks to Operation Rainfall. And admittantly, this was when Nintendo was anal about localizing their games) 

 

Wii-Ware

Bonsai Barber

Rock N’ Roll Climber

PictureBook Games: Pop-Up Pursuit

You, Me and the Cubes

Eco Shooter: Plant 530

Snowpack Park

ThruSpace

Line Attack Heroes

Fluidity

(yeah, I don't think these did well)

 

Wii-U

Wonderful 101

Panorama View

Nintendo Land

X

(most of these aren't out yet, but I'm pretty sure Nintendo Land sold well)

 

Game Boy Advance

Golden Sun

Magical Vacation

Napoleon

Kuririn

Horse Racing Creating Derby

Stafy

Tomato Adventure

WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$

Drill Dozer

Rhythm Tengoku

bit Generations

(WarioWare and Golden Sun did the best here)

 

Nintendo DS

Polarium

Nintendogs

Jump Super Stars

Electroplankton

Big Brain Academy

Brain Age

Clubhouse Games

Magnetica

Elite Beat Agents

Hotel Dusk: Room 215

Trace Memory

Master of Illusion

Slide Adventure MAGKID

Soma Bringer

Jam with the Band

Fossil Fighters

Style Savvy

Glory of Heracles

Friend Collection

Walk with me! Do you know your walking routine?

Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What To Eat?

(the Brain games and Nintendogs did well)

 

Dsi

Aura Aura Climber

Art Academy

Kappa Trail

Pinball Pulse: The Ancient Beckons

 

Nintendo 3ds

Steel Diver

 

3DS Ware

Harmo Knight

Freakyforms: Your Creations, Alive!

Pushmo

Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword

Dillon's Rolling Western

Ketzal's Corridors

 

If you haven't noticed, they actually do make plenty of new IPs some of them actually getting decent advertising. The thing is though, it isn't just Nintendo at fault, but gamers as well. If they keep begging Nintendo for New IPs, they could at least support them(which more often they don't). And on top of that why should Nintendo stop making remakes when the same people are still begging for them? People keep complaining that all Nintendo does is remake games, yet the same people are still getting on their knees begging for Majora's Mask being remade, Pokemon Sapphire/Ruby, Metroid II, Starfox 64(again...)

 

 

 

Not every IP is like Mario. Not every IP can have 40+ games in it. Some IP's get stale faster than others. If you look at the sales, it's pretty obvious that people have been growing tired of Pikmin since Pikmin 2. Pikmin 2 was on the exact same console that Pikmin 1 was on, and it sold 500,000 copies less. So don't blame it on the Wii U or on the game's age. People are growing tired of Nintendo.

Then people are just really fickle, there's no freaking way after two games for people to already get tired of Pikmin, especially for the wait between 2 and 3 being a 9 year wait. I haven't played Pikmin 2 myself, but from what I've heard, there were actually some big differences, mainly the lack of the time limit, which many actually praised more than anything.

 

Which brings up another problem, gamers are fickle in general

- Nintendo makes lots of new changes

- "What is this shit? It's not ___ anymore! This blows ass!"

- Nintendo makes little to no changes

- "What is this! Same shit over and over! BORING!"

 

again, Damned if they do, Damned if they don't

 

I may not agree with Phil Fish on many things, hell I hate the guy, but if there's one thing I can agree on, it's this:

 

“Gamers are the worst f***ing people” - Phil Fish

Edited September 28, 2013 by Phoenix Trite

[Forlong 1,726]

I think that maybe they just don't see the reason to copy nintendo because it won't get them far most likely.

Yeah, because copying Call of Duty is doing them so much good.  Than again, we're talking about companies like EA, Ubisoft, and Microsoft.

 

Nintendo isn't doing as well as you'd think. Their stock has went from 55 dollars a share to 14 dollars a share in just 5 years. That's 77%, and it continues to decline.

 

Nintendo is effectively running their franchises into the ground. Almost every game that has been released on the 3DS and the Wii U is either another installment in one of their franchises, or a remake. After playing Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Pikmin and Pokemon for over 10+ years, people are starting to get bored of them. Nintendo is in trouble. They need to bring something new to the table other than the 2DS if they want to succeed.

 

People don't copy off of Nintendo because people are growing tired of Nintendo's games. Just look at how much Call of Duty-like games sell in comparison to Mario and Pokemon-like games.

While that might be true now, it was not last year.  Or the year before that.  Or any year of Nintendo's history in video games.  And it's unlikely to remain true with how huge Nintendo is.  Why is it that Microsoft was the only company that thought to copy Wii Sports?  Nintendo's current financial state does not change the fact that it's the best selling game ever.  And it was made on a shoe-string budget.  EA, Activision, and Ubisoft should be creaming their pants at the possibility of copying that game.  It just makes no logical sense.

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

I tend to sit ask myself a similar question with every COD knock-off that comes out "what can't you knock off something interesting?"

[Zygen 6,066]

Yeah, because copying Call of Duty is doing them so much good.  Than again, we're talking about companies like EA, Ubisoft, and Microsoft.

 

While that might be true now, it was not last year.  Or the year before that.  Or any year of Nintendo's history in video games.  And it's unlikely to remain true with how huge Nintendo is.  Why is it that Microsoft was the only company that thought to copy Wii Sports?  Nintendo's current financial state does not change the fact that it's the best selling game ever.  And it was made on a shoe-string budget.  EA, Activision, and Ubisoft should be creaming their pants at the possibility of copying that game.  It just makes no logical sense.

I guess thats true, it really doesn't get them far either.

 

I frankly don't know i'm not a game designer. ;p. I can't think of any real reasons exactly.

[Planty 1,053]

I have a feeling that to a large exstent, there games are mainly all about the characters rather then the actual games (although dont get me wring the games are very solid they just repeat alot from itteration to itteration) !

 

I mean look at pokemon they barely change anything at all but we all still love the new games !

[Marthy 15]

Nintendo is pretty much the most successful videogame company out there. Of course people will try to emulate them.

 

Sony is actually in a pretty bad position right now, seeing as their PS3 has JUST become profitable and Vita is basically dead on the water. They tried to get the Wii audience with the PS Move, but failed terribly. Now, they're pretty much treating the Vita like a PS4 accessory.

 

I find it funny that people say Nintendo is doomed just because the Wii U is struggling right now. They're blindly ignoring the massive success of the 3DS, and ignoring the fact that both PS4 and Xbone will go through the same drought the Wii U is going through right now during their first or so year.

[Radiance64 7,059]

Not eveery company is Sony you know.

But seriously, I've seen Nintendo be ripped off of a lot of times, and I think I'd say especially by Sony- mascot platformers, the Move, that one Smash Bros like game, etc- not that it's a bad thing really. Heck, Nintendo made things like control sticks and 4 face buttons standard, in that sense I guess you could say everyone's copying them in a way.

[Forlong 1,726]

Nintendo is pretty much the most successful videogame company out there. Of course people will try to emulate them.

 

Sony is actually in a pretty bad position right now, seeing as their PS3 has JUST become profitable and Vita is basically dead on the water. They tried to get the Wii audience with the PS Move, but failed terribly. Now, they're pretty much treating the Vita like a PS4 accessory.

 

I find it funny that people say Nintendo is doomed just because the Wii U is struggling right now. They're blindly ignoring the massive success of the 3DS, and ignoring the fact that both PS4 and Xbone will go through the same drought the Wii U is going through right now during their first or so year.

I know.  I bring that up all the time and the fanboys say that it will somehow be completely different for their platform of choice.

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,331]

Well probably because Nintendo is not exactly the most talked about gaming company so they rip off games currently popular like Call of Duty or something. And there have been rstuff that's been considered rip offs of nintendo franchises.

For example when Pokemon was popular, there were other stuff people considered Pokemon knock offs like Digimon or You Gi oh (not saying they're bad, I've heardpeople say that)

Heck I've even heardpeople call SonicaMario rip off I think.

[Darker 1,352]

There have been a lot of Nintendo games' rip offs. Some companies are not afraid to rip-off some concepts from Nintendo. Look at Invizimals, just a bland rip-off of Pokémon. A little bit more realistic, but that's it.

[Deathstroke 1,564]

because nintendo is heavily focused on kids games rather than mature games

Edited September 2, 2014 by Conscript

[QuirkyUsername 1,576]

Bloody hell wasn't expecting to see this thread pop up again O.O that's some necromancy you guys are workin here.