Do you think there is ever a chance Nintendo will crack and release there games on pc as well

I mean every company has done it even sega at the time I think it’s really unlikely but who knows

Not likely; they're a Japanese company and while they might innovate in certain regards, their overall business practices tend to be very, very traditional and conservative.

That means they stay in their lane and avoid branching out.

Have a family member that works for a Japanese megacorp and he says it's always like this. They will have innovators and get suggestions and new ideas, but the big boss always says no. It's part of the reason being a "salaryman" is such a soul-crushing career path (among many other reasons).

With that said, hope they prove me wrong! Nintendo gets maybe one or two games each year I'm kind of sort of interested in, would like to try it out on my preferred platform PC. No way in hell I'm forking over $60 for it, though, they gotta be crazy if they think I'm paying full-price for years-old game that's likely going to be a minimal-effort port. But again, Nintendo: prove me wrong.

No way. Not unless they stop making hardware.

They aren't exactly hurting for money and multi-platform development is going to cost more, be more challenging and require more support.

Even if there's very very clearly a market for their games on PC, Nintendo can afford to be behind the times indefinitely. So no.

Legacy titles, maybe? Like the ones anybody with even a tiny bit of technical know-how can already play on pc (or their phone)

They'll go bankrupt before they go the route Sony or MS have gone though.

Nope, I don't see Nintendo evolving to PC nor are they hurting for money.

Yes, I just don’t think it will be anytime soon.

Not in the near future

I think they will, but only after two generations in a row of failed consoles. They can probably play it safe with a Switch 2, but after that they will need a new big idea to keep people interested. And big ideas can be hit or miss. If things get desperate enough, releasing their back catalog on other platforms will be a lucrative fall back.

Nintendo will not release its games on the PC unless a court rules or country passes a law that it must other than market reasons. Even if it is forced to do so, will it continue to stay in the gaming market or will it exit it and moved to other businesses like it had done several times in its +130 years? After all, Nintendo started as a card company before branching out to toys, video games, theme parks, and now film.

Nintendo is an interesting company. They definitely innovate in both hardware and software, but also stick on franchises that could not be more boring to me too.... If I never play another Mario kart or smash bros game again it'll still be too soon...

But tastes aside, I don't feel like Nintendo got drunk on performance power the way the two sinking ships have... Sony and MS are playing a losing hand, but Nintendo seems to have stayed conservative enough to retain the model they've followed for generations.... I don't see them spending 300 million on flaccid movie games with nothing to offer. Looking around at all the bad decisions from other companies and seeing Nintendo content and profitable and in the black makes you take notice of how well they've done to nurture their own thing.

I don't know if I'll buy a switch 2... I want to, but I won't buy 80 percent of Nintendo's exclusive franchises because I'm not really drawn to many of them. I loved switch 1 because the hardware was Godsend... Now that better options are available I need Nintendo to develop more attractive franchises and games for me to make the investment!

Yes!

It's almost inevitable at some point.. Likely the gen after next.

I could see them dipping their toes in sometime next gen.

Logic would say yes, but they have demonstrated that logic don't apply to them.

Less than 1% chance. All the higher ups are 80y old plus dudes that still believe in seppuku. You ain't changing their mind, like ever.

Well, Nintendo has recently expanded its major franchises far beyond the traditional game console(s) into a variety of entertainment areas, including movies, theme parks, mobile, and other forms of IP licensing, all with great success.

In a broad sense, Nintendo is one of the most aggressive publishers in terms of breaking out of their traditional video game mold and expanding their audience.

However, there is no indication that their current CEO has expressed any interest in getting into PC gaming. Perhaps movies, theme parks, mobile, and other forms of entertainment are more appealing to Nintendo that would expand their IPs and increase their revenues.

They're doing better than everyone else not doing that, so I'd say no.

Never is a long time, but with their current success I ain’t sure why they would want to. A big part of the switch success is undoubtedly because it allows access to Nintendo’s exclusive catalog of games, so if they don’t have that it’s just a handheld console which outside of Japan still is pretty niche…

Also currently I am guessing that Nintendo’s budget for a AAA game is a lot less that most other developers, because they don’t have to worry state of the art graphics. And they can still get away with selling their games for 70$, which is undoubtedly very lucrative! If they release their games on pc it will be a lot more obvious how outdated their graphics are…

Not until their profits are down.

No one really knows the future. I mean, people thought that Sony would never release games on PC, and they currently are.

In the near future, I could at best see Nintendo releasing retro titles on PC. Like NES, SNES, and Original Gameboy games for a few per month. Have it be their own storefront. Personally, if they don't do that, I think they need to go back to the mini consoles. There is a clear demand for their retro games, so why not meet it?

Now, I am curious, which Switch games are you interested in trying? :O

But I agree with your overall sentiment. Nintendo are a strange bunch. Their developers, artists and creators are top tier, their business managers make me constantly scratch my head.

Yeah, Nintendo makes so many business management makes so many questionable decisions. They are carried hard by their artists and developers.

Not for now. Maybe in the future one day but not anytime soon.

Unlikely. Nintendo have good synergy in their ecosystem. They expanding their theme park licensing with Universal, movies with various groups and their mechanising is as popular as ever. These will definitely make people search for more Nintendo content and they have to purchase nintendo products.

Nintendo? Who knows. Not in a near future at least.

Other people help them out with that though. What's that, Nintendo? Are you saying your fans can't play your games, unless they follow strict, expensive, and frankly bad rules? K. And you think people will abide? K. Have fun with that. Here I thought letting people play your games by paying you for said games would be a slightly better option, but hey, who am I.

People are never going to stop playing Nintendo games on PC. Why not just let them pay for it?

People want to play their favorite retro games. You think they're going to pay for a sub and hope you add it sometime instead of downloading a rom in 2 seconds?

Etc.

They would need to be at a point where they are scrambling for money to stay afloat. The Switch 2 and 3 would need to be dismal failures, Software sales (first and 3rd party) would need to be in the toilet and any mobile endeavours would need to hae also flatlined. It would very much be a last ditch "quick, throw up a store on the PC and put everything we can on it NOW!!" type situation (no way they would put their games on Steam/GOG etc.).

If they can survive the lean Wiiu and GC years then it will take them a lot to crack. Sure costs of development are going up generally but I suspect Nintendo are going to cap their budgets at similar to what they are now. They will have a few bigger budget games like the Mario Karts and Zeldas which are pretty safe to be a bit spendy on. But I don't think they will go all out for something like the next Xenoblade. They wont have full mo-cap and 100% voice acting or go for uncharted like production values.

So it's going to take them a lot to make them crack. I'd love to see it but, from Nintendos perspective, it's a tough sell.

Yes but not anytime soon I think. The most likely scenario is they'll start by releasing oldies.

If they ever do, it would only be in an environment where they would also create their own launcher and likely their own possibly required PC peripherals to play the games. No way they would or should give Valve a 30% cut of sales or even epic a 10% cut.

I can't see it happening in the next 10 years, but beyond that, well anything is possible and I wouldn't want to make predictions that far out.