Nintendo has two things it ruthlessly controls, and everyone thinks it should give up one of them: software and hardware. Neither of which Nintendo has any desire to release their grip on. Most of the pundits say they should release their software to other systems, specifically ios and android, but that software exclusivity drives sales of their hardware. And it is the absolute control of their hardware that has let them be the historic innovators in gaming. While, the WiiU and the 2DS may not have been the successes Nintendo were hoping for, there is no reason to think the next console or handheld won’t be.
The answer may be Nintendo has one other asset that it could loosen its grip on, one that it has historically been willing to occasionally take advantage of. That asset is its intellectual property.
If the hardware and the software are currently in a slump, rather than watering down their core competencies by weakening their hold on those assets, why not license their IP to Disney, or some other media company? Release a few high-quality movies and/or weekly cartoons starring Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach or Zelda and Link and sales of games and hardware will immediately go up.
Licensing their IP gives them even more leeway to weather this gaming contraction. And that time will most likely lead to the next great innovation from Nintendo. Or at the very least we could get some cool movies out of it.
