Nintendo President Explains Wii U Game Delays

[Andy Chalk]

Nintendo President Explains Wii U Game Delays

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata says the company was forced to pull developers from other projects in order to finish the Wii U launch lineup on time.

The Wii U launch probably hasn't gone quite as smoothly as Nintendo would have liked, to put it gently, and speaking at a recent financial briefing, Iwata acknowledged that the company had misjudged the needs of its launch lineup and had to scramble to have everything ready on time. That had the unfortunate but inevitable side effect of leading to delays elsewhere.

"The reason for the delayed release of our first-party titles was the fact that completing the games released at the same time as the launch of Wii U required more development resources than expected, so some staff members from development teams working on other titles had to help complete them," he said. "In short, the development teams of Pikmin 3 and other future games were understaffed during that period."

Nailing down what exactly a major game release will require in the way of development resources is a tricky business, Iwata explained, complicated by the demands of an increasingly hit-driven industry. Expectations continue to rise, and it's getting tough to make money in the conventional retail games market with anything less than a major international hit. Fortunately, Nintendo has a strategy.

"If we create more hit games, the software development business can still be very profitable," he said. "All games break even if they sell millions of copies worldwide, so we will continue to do our best to develop games which have high sales potential."

Tough to argue with that.

Source: Developer [http://www.develop-online.net/news/44024/Nintendo-miscalculated-dev-resources-for-Wii-U-launch]


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[kajinking]

This lack of games reminds me of my entire expience with the Wii. Bought it for Super Smash and Zelda and never touched it after that, so sad after so many fun hours with the Gamecube.

Just what exactly went wrong with Nintendo and consoles after the Gamecube?

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

There's really very little excuse for the lack of 3rd party games at this point. Nintendo should have waited a year to make sure things were Kosher before releasing the Wii U, just like the 360 could've used an extra year to NOT have the RROD.

There was a lack of help for 3rd party games for the Wii as well. Just seems like a continuation of post-Gamecube Nintendo to me. I'd like to hear the side of 3rd party developers on this.

So far MegaMan Legends 3 is cancelled, Aliens Colonial Marines is cancelled(be thankful), Rayman Origins is no longer an exclusive, and Nintendo publishing Bayonetta 2 won't validate the 3rd party devs by itself.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Nintendo, one of the few companies that actually remembers NOT to only leave things half-finished before they're released

 

[Adon Cabre]

Yes it's coming to the Wii, but everyone's gettin'
it for their xbox and playstation.​

[HEADING=3]There are only 3.5 million Wii U owners![/HEADING]

Nintendo is actually waiting with their big releases until the Wii U expectantly gets an actual following. Right now, there is no point in releasing anything as it would automatically fail, because the first two weeks of a launch are the most important for a game.

They probably don't have a system seller coming out for at least another five months; and by then, they'll be competing with Ubisoft's Splinter Cell and Watchdogs, and which everyone will buy for their Xbox and Playstation; not to mention Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 5.

[HEADING=3]They have absolutely no hope for this year.[/HEADING]

 

[Dr.Awkward]

Oh Satoru, did you forget the fate of the Saturn? Sure, you gave consumers some time to know, but that also means developers suddenly rushing to get certain products done because of the new deadline, be it with the development houses under your wing or not.

Given that you have had MONTHS of time before the release of the PS4 or the new Xbox, you could have broken tradition and aimed for a spring or summer release with a load of games ready to play on it instead of a holiday release and end up with a lackluster listing as you have now. Who knows, you might have actually been able to sell and supply more units on this time frame more than what you could have sold at the traditional holiday time frame!

 

[Atmos Duality]

Well, that pretty much confirms that Nintendo is carrying the whole stable as far as game selection goes (In other words: No Real Third Party Support), which is a very bad sign for them since the WiiU hasn't taken off like the Wii did and nobody is seriously latching onto the token port-efforts that have been provided.

 

[Callate]

That's unfortunate. It doesn't do you any good to be first out of the gate if your saddle isn't buckled on properly. I hope they can catch up before Sony eats them for breakfast. (I'm still hoping people see through Microsoft's anti-consumer so-called "feature list"; time will tell.)

 

[deathbydeath]

"If we create more hit games, the software development business can still be very profitable,"

1. Iwata, you dum. In order for something to be profitable, it has to make more money than you put into it. If your games are cheaper, they require less sales to profit off of. Longer development times = greater cost of development, therefore longer development times = harder to make a profit.
2. You have a massive backlog of guaranteed successes based simply on intellectual properties you haven't used recently except in Smash Bros games. If you just announce a new entry in a series like Star Fox, F-Zero, or Metroid, you've gone and justified purchasing a Wii U. It's not that hard.

Nintendo, one of the few companies that actually remembers NOT to only leave things half-finished before they're released

I seem to remember a similar line of thought behind Duke Nukem Forever and Daikatana.

 

[Sean951]

I'm just waiting until I can get back to work before I buy a Wii-U, which should happen in a few weeks.

Man, medically forced unemployment sucks a big one...

 

[OldNewNewOld]

This lack of games reminds me of my entire expience with the Wii. Bought it for Super Smash and Zelda and never touched it after that, so sad after so many fun hours with the Gamecube.

Just what exactly went wrong with Nintendo and consoles after the Gamecube?

Well, that's just your ignorance.
The Wii has lots of great games besides Zelda ans Super Smash. You just need to not be biased against them because they are on the Wii.

 

[Big_Boss_Mantis]

I'm still hoping people see through Microsoft's anti-consumer so-called "feature list"; time will tell.

Another enlightened one! I keep saying it over and over again.
It is not necessarily fanboyism to compliment playstation while bad-mouthing Microsoft.
Anyone can see all the bad decisions Sony keeps making, over and over again.
Announcing an console that doesn't actually exist. (no specs, no visual identity)
Complete lack of support for the struggling Vita. (still can't understand how Sony could lose Monster Hunter to Nintendo, since it was PSP's golden-egg-producing-chicken)
And their incompetence to offer a couple of seemingly EASILY PROVIDABLE services. (like updating PSN at a consistent time frame, standby charging Dualshock controllers, real PS2 classics on the store and not that garbage they upload... I could go on forever)

But still, MOST of their mentality is pro-consumer. I can't recall if I ever felt nickel and dimed while playing a game published by Sony. No cash grabs. No advertisements on my face. Not paying for services that should be free.
Despite Sony's errors, Playstation is a great ecosystem for games.

On the other hand, Microsoft just seems cash-grabbing, money-sucking evil.
The less market share Microsoft has, better is the gaming community (IMO, anyway).

 

[Splitzi]

I'm not a Nintendo fan, but even I wish they could go back in time and fix the issues they had with the WiiU. I just feel bad for them, like they're floundering around but they can't decide which direction they want to go in. Maybe when they go back in time they can wrangle up all those third party developers the other consoles have and be able to compete with the blockbuster games on the other systems.

 

[rob_simple]

This lack of games reminds me of my entire expience with the Wii. Bought it for Super Smash and Zelda and never touched it after that, so sad after so many fun hours with the Gamecube.

Just what exactly went wrong with Nintendo and consoles after the Gamecube?

Well, that's just your ignorance.
The Wii has lots of great games besides Zelda ans Super Smash. You just need to not be biased against them because they are on the Wii.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...Wait, are you being serious?

Much like the chap you quoted, I bought the reliable stable of first-party Wii games (Mario Galaxy, Twilight Princess, Brawl) and lost interest almost straight after. The last Wii game I bought was House of the Dead: Overkill and I took it back a few days later after realising it was two hours long.

My 'bias' against the Wii came from the fact that I never played a single game on it that worked properly, because the motion controls just aren't very good. At best they were competent, but there wasn't a single game -with the exception of light gun ones- I played that wouldn't have worked better with a normal controller.

The blame falls at Nintendo's feet, here: It was them who failed to keep our interest. I couldn't wait for new games to come out on the Gamecube (which was a shame given that they averaged about one good title a year; same with the N64) but when I got the Wii and realised I was just being sold the same old games for the umpteenth time I decided I'd given Nintendo enough of my money and went to other consoles in search of new IP.

And do you know what? I've never been happier.

 

[Pickapok]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...Wait, are you being serious?

Much like the chap you quoted, I bought the reliable stable of first-party Wii games (Mario Galaxy, Twilight Princess, Brawl) and lost interest almost straight after. The last Wii game I bought was House of the Dead: Overkill and I took it back a few days later after realising it was two hours long.

My 'bias' against the Wii came from the fact that I never played a single game on it that worked properly, because the motion controls just aren't very good. At best they were competent, but there wasn't a single game -with the exception of light gun ones- I played that wouldn't have worked better with a normal controller.

The blame falls at Nintendo's feet, here: It was them who failed to keep our interest. I couldn't wait for new games to come out on the Gamecube (which was a shame given that they averaged about one good title a year; same with the N64) but when I got the Wii and realised I was just being sold the same old games for the umpteenth time I decided I'd given Nintendo enough of my money and went to other consoles in search of new IP.

And do you know what? I've never been happier.

Well then congratulations on missing out on such gems as Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Mad World, Red Steel 2, No More Heroes 1 and 2, Skyward Sword and all of the original bit.trip games before they were ported to other systems.

 

[rob_simple]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...Wait, are you being serious?

Much like the chap you quoted, I bought the reliable stable of first-party Wii games (Mario Galaxy, Twilight Princess, Brawl) and lost interest almost straight after. The last Wii game I bought was House of the Dead: Overkill and I took it back a few days later after realising it was two hours long.

My 'bias' against the Wii came from the fact that I never played a single game on it that worked properly, because the motion controls just aren't very good. At best they were competent, but there wasn't a single game -with the exception of light gun ones- I played that wouldn't have worked better with a normal controller.

The blame falls at Nintendo's feet, here: It was them who failed to keep our interest. I couldn't wait for new games to come out on the Gamecube (which was a shame given that they averaged about one good title a year; same with the N64) but when I got the Wii and realised I was just being sold the same old games for the umpteenth time I decided I'd given Nintendo enough of my money and went to other consoles in search of new IP.

And do you know what? I've never been happier.

Well then congratulations on missing out on such gems as Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Mad World, Red Steel 2, No More Heroes 1 and 2, Skyward Sword and all of the original bit.trip games before they were ported to other systems.

Oh no, I missed another Zelda game? How will I ever go on...Oh right I'll just play one of the several other ones I already own. I can play No More Heroes on the PS3 if I want, Madworld never interested me (plenty of other beat 'em ups out there) and Red Steel 2 sounded like it would be fun for an hour and then a shrine to repetition for the remainder of the game.

Meanwhile I've thoroughly enjoyed Uncharted, Shadow Complex, Outland, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Katamari Forever, Fable, Gears of War, Dead Rising 2, Crackdown, Deus Ex: HR, Borderlands, Infamous, Bioshock, Deadly Premonition, Asura's Wrath, Saints Row 2 and 3, Dead Space, Resistance, Prototype...That's just off the top of my head.

Yep, my life in gaming has been preeeetty shit these last couple of years, I wish I'd stuck with my Wii!

 

[mrm5561]

Wasn't there supposed to be some third person strategy/shooter giant robots and super heroes type of game out for the Wii U that was made by a third party? I'm really struggling to remember it's name but I distinctly remember seeing it during the Wii U E3 coverage last year.

i think you might be thinking of the wonderful 101 but i may be wrong.

as for the wiiu it's kind of strange that its not selling well since it has ports of some really good games, and as far as i remember when the wii launched it really only had sports and no more heroes going for it. might just be because that controller is awkward as hell to hold