Nintendo Admits Xbox Live and PSN Are Too Far Ahead

[GeorgW]

Just cuz you can't be the best doesn't mean you shouldn't try! The other guys being first just gives you a chance to learn from their mistakes, it's a good thing, not a bad thing! This sounds like a poor excuse meant to appeal to investors. Since we don't know anything about the online component of the Wii U, I'll keep hoping, but if they're not even going to bother competing I won't buy it, and I think a lot of people would agree with me.

 

[McMullen]

I have a very difficult time understanding Nintendo's approach to online gaming. I've been unable to understand it since all the way back in 2001 or 2002 when a Nintendo exec said that gamers aren't ready for online multiplayer. A poster in that forum commented something along the lines of "Right, Nintendo. Gamers aren't ready for something they've been asking for for years."

What is wrong with them?

 

[Beautiful End]

Well, I admire your bravery, Mr. Nintendo.

Having said that, WHAT'S NOT TO GET?! You probably have the technology, you have the example, why not embrace it fully? Look, I was against online gaming when it first came out. but I've come to accept it (Not love it, but whatever) and I must admit it's...well, a must-have for consoles now. We're just too used to it and too into it right now to turn back.

Nintendo would be smart to just plain copy Sony's and MS's idea at this point. Get a username, connect, chat with buddies, invite them to your games. Then try and refine that already-working idea for the next console. Don't make me have to talk to everyone in the universe if I only wanna play with ONE friend, don't make me uses codes or...whatever the hell is that they plan on doing now, don't make me GUESS if my friend's online.
You know of Chat Messengers? Yeah, basically take that old-as-time feature and shove it into your system. It would be a thousand times better than whatever you're gonna release, trust me.

It's not that hard, Nintendo. No one is expecting you to put Sony and MS to shame. Just...plain do it right and maybe you'll attract more people.

(Yes, you can keep your rules about cuss words and safety and all. That's actually...not that bad, I guess)

 

[Signa]

Here's an idea, copy Steam. There's reason why it's so popular, so do what neither MS or Sony is doing.

 

[Evil Smurf]

*Looks at PSN with its constant maintanence and never ending firmware updates, and XBL's subscription model*
Really? It wouldn't be that hard...

so how would you fix it?

 

[A Raging Emo]

Too far ahead? Really? I'm sorry, but that's a load of crock. All you need to do is make a basic version of XBL. Create an overseeable dashboard, a la the 3DS dashboard for example, then make a simple yet effective friendslist and then sprinkle some of that Nintendo magic over it.

Captcha agrees with me. It said "That's It"

"Nintendo Magic" often equates to "More Mario! More Zelda!" though. I don't really think your average CoD, Battlefield, or Gears of War fan would want to shell out for a new console (even one that is relatively cheap) to play games they don't even like. And these are the people they'd be trying to target; the core audience of Online Games are more competitive players.

I know if I had the choice, I'd much rather play Halo or Team Fortress or Empire: Total War online than the same Mario game over and over.

That's just what I think, though. :3

Here's an idea, copy Steam. There's reason why it's so popular, so do what neither MS or Sony is doing.

Also, this.

 

[Signa]

Here's an idea, copy Steam. There's reason why it's so popular, so do what neither MS or Sony is doing.

Also, this.

To be fair, that was a bit of a throwaway comment. Steam is more than just a social service, and running a console network online is going to depend on more than the features of its UI. That said, aiming for Steam-without-the-online-store is a good start, because the chat/friends/stat tracking/achievements features are the most basic things we should be aiming for in a next-gen online service.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

I don't understand this logic. Since they can't compete with he Xbox and PS3 in terms of online gaming they want to compete with the computer in terms of social networking? Not only is it going to be much more difficult to compete with, but it also has a lot less to do with why people buy game consoles. TO PLAY GAMES!

 

[Danceofmasks]

Damnit, Nintendo.
Your Miiverse requires real live people to filter it.

Good luck getting anything to work in realtime.

 

[Strazdas]

Of course you cant compete with Eggsbox Live and PSN if you sell the games online for same or even higher price than boxed, duh!

 

[Clearing the Eye]

Nintendo just realized it isn't 1990 any more? What progress.

 

[Tipsy Giant]

Here you go Nintendo you want to know how to beat XBL, arguably the best console live experience......

Simply invest loads of cash in servers to Guarantee that your game won't fuck up, then when the next COD comes out advertise the hell out of that. The one gripe i've heard loads of people have with XBL is while playing COD your game randomly ends or you get kicked from the server for no reason, if you can make the service reliable, that would be a great route to take in undermining Xbox's fanbase and getting some converts

 

[Tipsy Giant]

Here's an idea, copy Steam. There's reason why it's so popular, so do what neither MS or Sony is doing.

Also, this.

To be fair, that was a bit of a throwaway comment. Steam is more than just a social service, and running a console network online is going to depend on more than the features of its UI. That said, aiming for Steam-without-the-online-store is a good start, because the chat/friends/stat tracking/achievements features are the most basic things we should be aiming for in a next-gen online service.

Steam WITHOUT the online store :S

Why wouldn't you want Big N to copy their store? good prices, discounted sales to drum up interest in old games...... don't see why you'd want to exclude that!

Plus can you imagine a Retro bundle....... mmmm

 

[Rect Pola]

I just hope that their focus on local multiplayer and Miiverse interaction doesn't sacrifice the single player experience. I don't even know if you CAN play Rayman Legends alone. It's supposed to be called Wii U, not Wii U&some buddies

 

[Woodsey]

I have never owned a Nintendo system, but can their online really be worse than PSN?

Really??

It is nice to see giants humbled tho.

From what I remember of owning a Wii (otherwise known as the period of my life where I had a little white box that transported me back to the mid-90s), adding a person as a friend required them finding their 'unique online code' or something, then having you type it in - and it was something like 16 random digits. Like a serial code you'd get on the back of manuals to unlock PC games.

 

[Woodsey]

I have never owned a Nintendo system, but can their online really be worse than PSN?

Really??

It is nice to see giants humbled tho.

From what I remember of owning a Wii (otherwise known as the period of my life where I had a little white box that transported me back to the mid-90s), adding a person as a friend required them finding their 'unique online code' or something, then having you type it in - and it was something like 16 random digits. Like a serial code you'd get on the back of manuals to unlock PC games.

That kinda sucks, really inconvenient, but takes only a little time... does the service say they will release games on a certain day, then make you wait till almost midnight to release it?

That's probably my biggest gripe with PSN.

I dunno, I sold it like 5 years ago. From what I remember, all it was at the time was a retro-store, which rarely got updated anyway.

 

[ThePenguinKnight]

One of the big draws Wii had for me was it's LACK of online capabilities. It was comforting knowing that when I bought a game I bought the whole package and could expect to play it's multi-player with a friend without him/her having to buy a copy and be forced to play from their house. Being OCD means that whenever I see DLC I get stressed out by feeling like I don't have a perfected complete copy of something.