Peter Molyneux: If I were Nintendo, I'd Put Mario On The iPad

Peter Molyneux and Ian Livingstone are two of British gaming's most influential figures. The former — who has been quite outspoken about the Wii U lately — founded Bullfrog and Lionhead, and is responsbile for titles such as Populous, Fable, Dungeon Keeper and the recent "gaming experiment" Curiosity. The latter had a hand in the creation of Games Workshop and co-authored the Fighting Fantasy books, before moving into the world of video games with Domark and Eidos.

[ltachiUchiha]

In a way he is right, u know how many ppl would buy mario on ipad. My nieces & nephews play games all day on the ipad.

[LAZL0-Panaflex]

Bring Mario to Xbox, PS, iOS, and android = more $ than wiiu sales! -ha while you're at it bring over Zelda and smash brothers Kirby and dinky Kong and stop making consoles.

[lilbroRx]

And less $ in the long run, as people will start waiting for the games to come to other products they already own instead of buying Nintendo hardware for them eventually leading to it losing popularity from saturation and overavailabilty, then to the collapse of Nintendo.

Putting Mario on the iOS, Playstation and Xbox would be like putting Uncharted, God of War, Halo and Gears of War on the Wii U. Why buy more hardware when you can get the game for the one you already have?

If putting exclusive first party titles on other hardware was such a great idea, then why don't I see Sony fans begging Sony to put Gran Turismo and The Last of Us on the iOS/Android? Wouldn't they = more $ as well?

[SilentNegotiator]

IDK. You could probably go back and forth all day about whether or not they would be better off without the hardware.

But there would certainly be a lot of people who would buy Mario games on iPad. Look at all of the ripoffs, hacked stuff, etc.

[HammadTheBeast]

Peter Molyneux.

Currently the 3DS is selling extremely well.

Thank you Mario.

[SilentNegotiator]

@Hammad and Libro

What's to stop any of the big three from publishing some stuff on 3rd party platforms like iOS/Android, though?

It's not like they would have their most complex games on those platforms. Throwing an occasional title on those massive networks, could potentially be a win for them, though.

But IDK. I'm not going to speculate too hard on something that probably won't ever, ever happen.

[Muffins1223]

No,you have the nintendo audience more on ipad devices than you do on pc,ps3,or xbox 360

[Maddens Raiders]

I'm a huge PlayStation fan but I grew up like millions of other kids my age (at the time) burning the skin off my thumbs on Ninty and Sega consoles. This pains me to hear because it seems that now even "credible" and highly influential people are talking about Nintendo "getting out of the console biz". No matter my preference for another console, this would be a huge mistake imho and puts us one step closer to that bastardized idea of a uniconsole which will effectively end my gaming hobby/career as I've said many many times in the past.

Please tell me I'm not watching what happened to Sega in slow-mo... because that would not be good for gamers or the industry. Not good at all. It's not that we "need" companies like Nintendo or Sega to simply exist, we need these companies as lovers of games to show us what's possible in our lovable past time and how "good" can be made even better.

I don't like the implications of this article. Not good; however I see where Molyneux is coming from in a monetary way which unfortunately is all ppl w/ tons of cash seemed to be concerned about and those w/o want.

[1OddWorld]

"Agree in a way". But I will never stop gaming. I think its time to purchase a Wii-U to show my support. The last thing we want is Nintendo to disappear. That would be truly tragic.

PS4 for the win though.
Watchdogs
GTA5

I am going to go sandbox crazy at launch. Need a racing game and a FPS. Don't know if I want drive club and F#k Call Of Duty. Hoping on Gran Tourismo and Battlefield :D

[zerocrossing]

How is Molyneux credible? I'm not trying to instigate an argument here but honestly the guy is incredibly overrated.

Nintendo aren't making the best decisions to appeal to the "core gamer" whoever that may be, but they are keeping their consumers happy and at least they are still making dedicated gaming machines instead of multi media entertainment devices.

[raWfodog]

That's the number one reason why Nintendo shouldn't "Put Mario on the iPad", not if they want any chance of the WiiU 's sales to pick up. People definitely wouldn't buy it for their kids if they can get Mario on a device they already own.

[Blaze929]

he's right - Mario on iOS/Android devices would be golden. it fits the market to almost a 100% tee.

potential to easily outsell any numbers mario pulled on its own Nintendo systems.

[grailly]

agreed, I always see kinds nagging their parents to play on their iPhone or iPad. Still, unless there's a way to make a mario game work flawlessly with a touchscreen I don't want to see it on the iPad, Nintendo has always made great use of the hardware features with their games and I hope they'll continue that way.

[BullyMangler]

yeah, real gamers want mario everywhere nowadays.

[Shnazzyone]

... And we all know how awesome Peter Molyneux has been for gaming. Obviously we need to take his opinion seriously.

[_QQ_]

Ninendo already dominates the software market for both handhelds and consoles.Why not mobile devices also.

[Trunkz]

If they put Mario on the Ipad it would hurt sales of 3DS and future handhelds, what a dumb idea just to sell $1-$10 Mario games on a Ipad...

[LOL_WUT]

"Truer words were never spoken" Mr. Molyneux ;)

[Root]

If people were more like you Peter....they probably wouldn't have a job anymore.

[WeAreLegion]

I hate to admit it, but he's right. Mario on iOS and Google Play Stores would not only outsell everything else...it would have a chance at catching up to Angry Birds' lifetime sales.

[Apex13]

So why not use it to their advantage and let it sell their systems?

[WeAreLegion]

Because, obviously, that isn't working.

[StockpileTom]

People buy those games because they already have the device. They don't buy the device for those games; that's why.

[LOL_WUT]

Nintendo's consoles don't keep the company afloat it's their software that does. Imagine how much earnings they'd make if they release some their old catalog on iOS/Android devices?

Look at how many people have downloaded the NES/GameBoy app in android that's a lot of potential revenue being lost. ;)

[deafdani]

Right now, Super Mario Bros U's attach rate is at about 66%. That means that roughly 1 out of each 3 Wii U owners have that game.

So yes, it IS working. That franchise remains a system seller. The problem is that Mario Bros U, alone, is simply not enough. The Wii U would've sold even less than it's sold so far if Mario U hadn't been there at launch, and the games' sales numbers back up that claim.

[StockpileTom]

"Super Mario Bros U's attach rate is at about 66%. That means that roughly 1 out of each 3 Wii U owners have that game."

ummm...you might wanna correct that...

[deafdani]

@StockpileTom: oh, derp. I meant 2 out of each 3 Wii U owners. I don't know what happened to my brain here. :P

[Roper316]

I don't agree, when a true Mario game releases on the WiiU it will have a huge sales bump imo, where if you release Mario on other platforms Ninty would be giving a reason not to buy their console. Why buy the WiiU to play Mario when I can buy it on what I already have. Same goes for Zelda, Pikmin etc etc.

[WeAreLegion]

Super Mario Galaxy didn't help the Wii.

[deafdani]

Dear God. New Super Mario Bros Wii sold around 30 million copies, and Mario Galaxy about 10 million. Both games are among the best selling Wii games of all time. Stop saying lies and do some proper research.

[jacksheen0000]

Agreed, putting Mario on other platforms is a bad idea.

[diepdiep]

Keep dreaming, Peter.

[JohnDread]

Molyneux rustling all the jimmies again.

[kirbyu]

Why specifically iPad, and why specifically Mario? Or, better yet, WHY?!

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Its an easy game to bring to the ipad (thinking original Mario) , it would be a cash cow for Nintendo (at this point they need revenue) and it wouldn't interfere with anything on 3DS or WiiU given those systems all are far beyond the original Mario. Additionally it gives more exposure for Nintendo games and could prove to be a boost for their marketing and get new consumers interested in thdir games.

[kirbyu]

No, what I meant was why iPad but not iPhone? And how could Super Mario Bros. work on either? There's no buttons or anything.

[PopRocks359]

Easy game, my foot. Without proper buttons there's no way to sufficiently port over ANY Mario game. Not in my eyes anyway. Without proper buttons, sticks or d-pads, any of those games would be severely gimped.

[PigPen]

That's very simple and direct "Kirbyu".

[TekoIie]

If I were Nintendo I would consider putting more Mario on the Wii U but I'm not a game developer or an influential figure in the industry so what would I know....

In Molyneux's defense, all that he said was "Of course I would!" so I would find it interesting to hear his reasoning.

[linkenski]

Oh just shup up mr. Molyneux. I don't exactly think that's gonna sell more Wii U's.

[Apex13]

Maybe he should do fable and them other games that were exclusive to 360 for other systems and iPads too. Idiot

Do people know what exclusives are and why people by certain consoles? Because you can't get that experience in other systems because if you could then you will just by the box that you like the look off.

It's clear Ninendos games are great otherwise why is everyone catching an issue about them putting it on other platforms. How about Halo or Gears come go multi platform, grantourismo, killzone etc go multi platform? I wish idiots while just stop talking crap.

[Axonometri]

I can't believe the disrespect industry veterans get. I think he is right, I've said so myself. Nintendo is losing out on a huge customer base. A good number of their IP's just make sense on iOS.

[Theyellowflash30]

Looks at the 3DS sales worldwide (best selling platform current on the market).... um no.

Nintendo should put Mario on the Wii U, that's going to sell the system.

[manman6]

And how is that going to help Nintendo sell Wii U. It would be good for Apple but I don't see this helping Nintendo that much.

[PigPen]

It will help Apple more than Nintendo. Lol

[Gamer-Z]

The one thing about Nintendo is that they make really fun games, They could potentially double their profits if they where to release their ip's on other platforms. Imagine if Nintendo brought Pokémon to iOS and other mobile platforms, they would make an insane amount of money. Their ip's could easily topple games like angry birds and candy crush in sales. It would be a good source of revenue for them and something they really could use right now while the Wii U struggles to take off.

[jcnba28]

Why would Nintendo put Mario on the iPad giving Apple 30% of the revenue? Nintendo have always made their games to suit their own hardware. Also selling Mario on iPad could damage the sales of Wii U and 3ds. Makes no sense Molyneux.

[raytraceme]

Nothing good usually happenes when u leave a fanbase to go multiplat. Nintendo is better off NOT going to ios and android. Plus the 3ds is selling fine and Nintendo doesn't really have a reason to go multi plat on mobile devices. Nintendo should merge the console business with Sony however. I can only see good coming out of that.

[PigPen]

I am not sure what the outcome could be, but that just sound awesome.

[raytraceme]

I think that sony will get a bigger console fanbase and nintendo will gain a bigger audience to sell their games. Both fans of nintendo and sony benifit and with sony allowing creative freedom nintendo can do almost anything they want.

[Neko_Mega]

I think this guy is the last person to listen to for idea's, seeing how he had alot of idea's for Fable but none were true.

[CEOSteveBallmer]

That's a bad idea for nintendo mr. molyneux. Its true mario will sell more on iPad BUT, it will give people "less" reason to buy nintendo hardware. handhelds or home consoles

[Half-Mafia]

Molyneux has said alot of stupid things. This is close to the top.

[hesido]

I guess Mr. Molyneux hasn't heard of this incident:
http://www.p4rgaming.com/sa...

[baodeus]

Why not put it on Wii u first, then when it isn't selling anymore (2 or 3 years later), put them on other platforms to get more sale? Why u want to limit your potential customers when u know there are tones out there that u can sell your software to? If u can't sell your hardware, why restrict your software sell too?

[Picnic]

Nintendo's future is probably handhelds. I wouldn't be surprised if their next console is primarily a high definition handheld (whether a new DS or even a resurrection of 'Gameboy') that can also be played on HDTVs.

If they started putting stuff on other people's products it would be the start of the decline in having their own console.

[kevnb]

a mario party type game on the iPad would print money.

[Jek_Porkins]

Ya, sure thing Peter, let Nintendo give people one less reason to buy a 3DS or Wii U....

[CandyFace]

It would probably sell great yes but the controls would without doubt have to be horrible, playing Mario on emulator on a jailbroken Ipad or iPhone is very hard and not worth the trouble... You don't always hit the button which means you die very often, unless you use some kind of controller connected via Bluetooth. Do you really want a one button something platformer mario game? I really don't hope that Nintendo will intend do do this, ever.

[andrewer]

Aaaaaaaaaand......you aren't! :D

[just-joe]

Yeah, let the company cannibalize itself, real smart. Then consumers will enough money to buy that diamond pickaxe, right Molyneux.

[hano]

Then thank goodness he's not Nintendo.

[InTheLab]

Yes...and if he were the head of Nintendo, Nintendo would be out of business.

[Smashbro29]

Bingo.

[DivineAssault]

He better watch it or he'll get punched by iwata lol.. But i agree.. Nintendo should go 3rd party like sega

[brewin]

The guy acts like his opinion matters. i watched him create then ruin the Fable series with empty promises and idiotic design choices. We totally needed a playable pause menu for fable 3 right? They completely and utterly shit on the series' fans with that game. Fuck you peter... I am glad you are NOT in any decisivre position at Nintendo. They totally need to devalue their franchise by putting it on the ipad right? Last I checked, every mario game has sold pretty damn good. Just STFU and try to keep a promise within one of the games YOU are making. Ill never forgive you for not releasing BC and shitting on Fables legacy. Yuo could have had a real alternative to Zelda but you wasted it away because you thought fans wanted a streamlined experience. Take that shit to the fucking ipad with you asshole. Real gamers want complexity and fun in their games, not one OR the other. Opinionated cockbag...

[LightningMokey]

I enjoyed his games and all, but every time he talks... I get a headache from his stupidity.

[BigDuo]

Maybe in terms of some virtual console releases, but Nintendo would never do it for dedicating resources to developing new titles for iOS.

Iwata said years ago that Nintendo wouldn't be Nintendo if it abandoned designing games on its own hardware. To the company, software development is just as important to it as hardware design. After all, that is why Nintendo is a console manufacturer. It contributed the most hardware innovations than any other platform holder to date. Even with Wii U, Nintendo's coming up with new ways to play which has actually been a core strength of Nintendo since the NES.

[ltachiUchiha]

Im not saying nintendo should but if you think about it, it wouldnt hurt nintendo at all because putting it on the ipad or iphone would only make them more money & it doesnt benefit sony or microsoft because apple isnt in the race with the big three. So it would be a win win for nitty & apple.

[erikthegman]

Mario and touch screen would never work. you need that tactile feedback and accuracy of physical controls to play Mario like a boss

[Nodoze]

I think the problem Nintendo has with this is that Apple takes a 30% cut right off the top. 30% is MASSIVE in terms of profit margin. Additionally Apple is in the drivers seat determining what gets published and when.

These are MAJOR downsides!

[MasterD919]

He says his ideas with such confidence...even though they are so terrible.

Kind of like someone who thinks on the fly and makes the worst decisions ever.