Sony has recently finalised its plans to purchase a new semiconductors factory, reports Japanese national TV channel NHK. What makes this acquisition slightly more interesting, however, is that the plant in question is most notable for producing the DRAM chip for the Nintendo Wii U. Our beloved Japanese giant plans to plonk ¥7 billion ($67 million) on the manufacturing facility, as well as another ¥20 million ($193,000) to spruce up its gear.
It's no secret that the other Japanese giant's flagship home console has been having a tough time in the past year. A lengthy software drought combined with a seemingly disinterested market means that the system just isn't selling as fast as it should be. In truth, the Wii U is facing many of the same issues plaguing the PlayStation Vita, so we can't help but feel a twinge of solidarity for the historic company.
Unfortunately, this new facility will predominantly be used for the production of CMOS sensors for Sony's needlessly complicated line of smartphones – but that's not going to stop us from dreaming of playing Nintendo's lauded first party properties on our PlayStation 4. What do you make of this fascinating business move? Do you expect to see Mario making his auspicious debut on a PlayStation platform in the coming months? Stomp on a Goomba in the comments section below.
[source dualshockers.com]
Comments 19
Not a fan of them doing that to Nintendo but thats business.
If Mario steps one foot on the PS4, I'll hunt down and destroy every single one.
@Subie98 The company was going to shut down before Sony came around, the Wii U was killing them.
I don't think it's a big deal I'm sure Nintendo will have a back up plan.
As for playing Nintendo first party games on PS4 or any other platform other than a Nintendo platform it's not going to happen ever.
It feels like a lot of people are suggesting Nintendo should ditch the hardware business and make games for Sony/M$ and mobile phones. Why would they make a stupid move like that?
Gugugughhh.... The Last of Us on the Wii U..... The thought of dual screen support, ala ZombiU, would be insanely gorgeous. PS4 GOTY with Vita features?...
OT: Even if Sony stops making these chipsets, I'm sure Nintendo has enough surplus Wii U stock to last awhile, until they find a new supplier. Nothing to worry about, folks.
A tablet for Playstation?
As long as they actually do something with it unlike the Playstation Move :S
@BornOfEvil
I never seen so much concentrated hate in one post :<
@XavandSo After the cross-control patch for LBP2, I always thought about how cool it'd be if TLOU had cross-control support, but Naughty Dog doesn't seem to care about the Vita or handhelds in general.
@Tsuzura I'm sorry, I just can't stand Mario, just hearing his name makes my blood boil.
@BornOfEvil
May I ask why the name Mario makes your blood boil? I know a good Italian restaurant down the road owned by a Mario, does his delicious foodstuffs make your blood boil? I'm just joking by the way, I have similar beefs with names too.
@XavandSo I'm okay with people named Mario, I just can't stand the character.
It's just a simple factory purchase, sheesh. Samsung makes parts for Apple's iPhones and the 2 companies spend every single day in court suing each other.
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/samsung-makes-a-quarter-of-the-parts-in-the-iphone-4/
http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/09/20/samsung-confirmed-to-be-manufacturer-of-apples-new-a7-chip-in-iphone-5s
I wish they would put some of that effort, and money, into making the Vita hot commodity, but I guess they have to supplement your other products, to make money, to save, or axe, another.
"but that's not going to stop us from dreaming of playing Nintendo's lauded first party properties on our PlayStation 4"
Well, there was a day that you couldn't imagine Sega games on a Nintendo console so you never know!
@BornOfEvil
You're as full of teen angst as your name would imply. ;P
@brownleaves I was a teenager once... there were no survivors.
@brownleaves I was a teenager once... there were no survivors.
@BornOfEvil
We need some more Captian Falcon anyways.
@Savino
I wish they would produce more of their first party titles. :S
Well, at least Nintendo have plenty of Wii U stock sitting around, so won't have to worry about shortages during the period of finding a new factory.
@Peach64
This purchase was in the works for over a year. Nintendo knew this was happening, and I guarantee you two things- 1) Nintendo has already ensured continued supply of said chip, whether through this same company (just because Sony bought it doesn't mean Nintendo will necessarily go elsewhere- these companies do business together all the time) or through a new supplier who is already manufacturing for them now 2) there is no grand, excess supply of Wii U consoles sitting in a warehouse- the console sold 2 million units over the holidays, and no warehouse in the world housed that. They manufacture as they go, when sales slow down they slow down their manufacturing, as to avoid excess inventory, which costs them money to store.
I like my PS4, and I like the games on it, but I wouldn't want to play Nintendo games on PS4. I like Nintendo's hardware because it's unique and different. It brings a different perspective of gaming to the table. PS4 is great for games that use graphics as their crutch, and use latest tech innovations as their crutch, but Nintendo games don't do that- they use artstyle and unique hardware as their crutch.
PS4 is great, for the kinds of games it will get, but Nintendo games on straight, powerful hardware without 3D, motion, or a second screen at their disposal to use in development would be a disservice to what Nintendo stands for, and the games would, as a result, be fairly straightforward. No, it's better to have Nintendo games on a separate console. Yeah, it means buying two consoles but hey, if that's what it takes to have both realistic, AAA games and unique gameplay via 3D, motion and dual-screen mechanics, then I'm all for it. Variety is good.
Didn't Nintendo already abandon this factory?
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