Wouldn't say Nintendo is remotely at risk of free-fall. I think they are slightly at risk of losing the viability of running their own games platform, a self reliant strategy which suits their conservative, long-term philosophy (Nintendo is a much older company than almost everything in the tech sector).
But if they have to pack-in their hardware business, they still have their IP, their human capital, their connections, their marketing abilities. Mario on the AppStore would be a licence to print money. They just wouldn't be in control of their own destiny as much as before.
I can imagine them signing an exclusivity deal with Apple, who unlike the other players in the game space don't have an internal development division.
Good points and yeah, heck you're right Nintendo is over a century old. But I think more likely than a Nintendo/Apple partnership - is a Sony/Nintendo partnership. A deal that would leverage both companies' strengths to more effectively compete against Apple.
Apple is now Nintendo's biggest competitor, a deal with them is a last resort and would certainly be a white flag end of their hardware division.
Losing control of the platform would also mean many of their publishing deals would disappear, however. I believe that's quite a large source of revenue, the Nintendo royalty on every single Wii and DS game sold.
But if they have to pack-in their hardware business, they still have their IP, their human capital, their connections, their marketing abilities. Mario on the AppStore would be a licence to print money. They just wouldn't be in control of their own destiny as much as before.
I can imagine them signing an exclusivity deal with Apple, who unlike the other players in the game space don't have an internal development division.