Pachter: Nintendo Should "Consider Getting Out of the Wii U Business"

[Lightknight]

No, Pachter. That's not what they need to do.

Six steps to save the Wii U:

• 
  [li]More games - They're making progress on this front, but the I think the turning point will be Mario Kart 8.[/li]
  [li]Better marketing - I recently saw an ad on TV that explained that the Wii U isn't just an add-on. They should've been doing this type of ad all along, and they should've been advertising a lot more.[/li]
  [li]Better bundles - For now New Super Mario Bros. is okay (Nintendo Land was always a bad choice), but before holiday 2014 season, they need to start bundling Super Smash Bros or Mario Kart 8.[/li]
  [li]Stop selling the Wii - This is contributing to consumer confusion. Introducing a new model of Wii (the Wii Mini) after launching the Wii U was a colossal mistake. Continuing to sell either version of the Wii is a bigger one. Both the Wii and the Wii Mini need to be ditched ASAP in order for the Wii U to ever gain any real traction.[/li]
  [li]Stop ignoring franchises - We want a new Star Fox game that builds on the foundation set by the first two (think Assault, but actually make a complete game this time). We want a new F-Zero game at all. A new Puzzle League game would be nice, if it can find a big enough audience (maybe rebranded as a Luigi game?). A new Wars game would be a fantastic fit for the Wii U's gamepad.[/li]
  [li]VIRTUAL CONSOLE - Seriously, they've got a huge backlog of games, a fair few people who would be quite willing to re-purchase them, and very little cost in rereleasing them compared to new games. When the Wii was young, I used to get excited to see what new Virtual Console games would come out every week. It was a fantastic hype builder, and helped keep people's minds where you wanted them. It got regular features on quite a few gaming news sites (read: free advertising).[/li]

The Wii U doesn't have to die. It can be made profitable. But Nintendo really needs to look at why it's failing and fix those problems before that can possibly happen. If something isn't working, the solution isn't do the same thing but more of it. Once Nintendo gets that figured out, I think the Wii U perform do acceptably.

P.S. Thanks

Dropping the gamepad and the price with it could also significantly aid them. It's a $140 peripheral that has proven wildly unused and uneeded for the vast majority of games. Getting rid of it could reduce the price by $100 and make porting to the WiiU even simpler. It could also help return the game to an "elder-friendly" state where the WiiMote is so easy to use for them compared to a small screen tablet.

But now that the other console genies are out of the bottle I don't know how much price will matter. Like when the gamecube was the most powerful system of the generation and still sold for $99 after dismal sales.

 

[bluegate]

So everyone is allowed to have exclusives and hold content hostage except Nintendo? Though I don't like the idea of exclusives, there are far greater evils in this industry. Nintendo IP's being proprietary, to me, insures that Nintendo's style of game-making won't be altered to the whims of Sony and Microsoft. It would be naive to even humor the notion that they would let Nintendo develop without interjecting and neck-craning. I don't want to see a brown and grey, hard-core Pokemon with epic choir tracks. Just no.

I think you are mixing up Publishers and Platforms here. I don't see any reason or way that Sony or Microsoft would meddle with Nintendo, were they to want to release a colorful Mario title on their console. They would only stand to benefit from even more diversity on their platform. By the way, the brown and grey Ni no Kuni rolls by to say hello.

They also made a miscalculation in coming out a year in advance of their competitors. It was a risk, hoping for a large install base, that didn't pay off. I can't really fault them, as hindsight is 20/20. But, in so doing, they failed to adequately court the third party developers and now face a fierce uphill battle if they wish to win a modicum of support. They additionally face the stigma of their machine, though plenty capable, being underpowered.

When would you have had them release their console, if I might ask? Having a full year without any next-gen competition is a smart thing to do, that is, if the product you release has games for it and isn't just a marginal improvement over your competitors last gen products.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

Who the hell would buy a Nintendo console in the future if the drop Wii U support in under 2 years.

Abandoning all those who did get a Wii you would kill a lot of confidence in future products not to mention alienate their most loyal customers all for an uncertain return on a later console at a point where sony and microsoft would already have a firm domination of the market. Yeah kinda silly. Still maybe design an attachment that lets the WiiU play more standard games to make porting easier or something? Just pushing ahead at this point doesn't seem like the best strategy either.

well thats not an option I can see as it looks to me like there are no expansion slots for upgrades.
I'm guessing better development kits and incentives for third parties is going to be the only way

 

[IamLEAM1983]

This!

Nintendo needs to realize that it no longer is the proprietary powerhouse that can afford to sit on in-house development. It no longer is the appealing and vaguely cutesy-poo entertainment provider that's fueled entirely by whimsy and vaguely Osamu Tezuka-like design tenets. Gamers are much, much older than they used to be, and my generation isn't in a hurry to replenish the market with new Mariokateers.

As much as Mario games do ramp up their challenge fairly quickly, the initial impression typically veers closer to mind-numbing ease, and the fact is that constantly iterating on the same lore eventually gets tiresome. I'd love it if Ninty worked on a decent storytelling department and stopped considering its titles as "Mario Formula, Iteration Number 32" and "Zelda Formula, Iteration Number 44".

What they really need is to find a way to make us care again. As-is, we just don't.

 

[FalloutJack]

What, after they opened China? There's a ton of game-happy Chinese citizens to make money off of.

 

[Trishbot]

If Patcher had his way, Nintendo would've gotten out of the hardware business after the failure of the Virtual Boy.

Even if the Wii U is a complete, unmitigated disaster, Nintendo has more swings at bat than just one mishap. Never count them out, especially with the 3DS dominating like it has.

 

[J Tyran]

A few multiplatform Nintendo games could be quite good actually, they would naturally sell well with the fans and introduce new fans to their long standing franchises. Nintendo do make quality software, if more people saw that they might be more willing to get a Nintendo platform. It would be even better if they could rebuild bridges with the third parties and make a console with competitive resources again, doesn't have to be the most powerfull just powerful enough and with no oddball controllers or poor media choices like those rubbish Gamecube disks.

They could keep their core games for their own consoles and just release some spins offs, a Mario platformer etc.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

A few multiplatform Nintendo games could be quite good actually, they would naturally sell well with the fans and introduce new fans to their long standing franchises.

It might introduce people to Nintendo games, but we all know how Gamers act, and let's not kid ourselves, they act almost like spoiled children (And some of them actually do). Here's how the scenario above would play out:

"Wow, this game called 'Mario' is fantastic! When's the next one coming out? In a few years? Awesome! I knew it was a good idea to get the PS4. Wait, what's that? The next Mario's not going to be on the PS4? It's only going to be on a Nintendo System?"

Fallowed by:

a) "Oh well, then screw it. I didn't need it anyways."

or

b) "What the hell? That's an outrage! I demand they put Mario back here right now! Nintendo is a bunch of Greedy Ass hats! How dare they take my beloved Mario away!"

Let's not kid ourselves, this is how most of us would act (This is how a lot of people acted when Bayonetta moved to WiiU exclusivity).

 

[bluegate]

A few multiplatform Nintendo games could be quite good actually, they would naturally sell well with the fans and introduce new fans to their long standing franchises.

It might introduce people to Nintendo games, but we all know how Gamers act, and let's not kid ourselves, they act almost like spoiled children (And some of them actually do). Here's how the scenario above would play out:

"Wow, this game called 'Mario' is fantastic! When's the next one coming out? In a few years? Awesome! I knew it was a good idea to get the PS4. Wait, what's that? The next Mario's not going to be on the PS4? It's only going to be on a Nintendo System?"

Fallowed by:

a) "Oh well, then screw it. I didn't need it anyways."

or

b) "What the hell? That's an outrage! I demand they put Mario back here right now! Nintendo is a bunch of Greedy Ass hats! How dare they take my beloved Mario away!"

Let's not kid ourselves, this is how most of us would act (This is how a lot of people acted when Bayonetta moved to WiiU exclusivity).

Use worst-case assumptions to dismiss an idea with potential, there's a winning strategy.

On a more serious note; if properly executed then something like this could work without much trouble, it's all a matter of treating your consumers with a bit of respect and decency. For example, there is no reason why they couldn't keep releasing games on third party hardware, why assume a a twisted 'bait and switch' ( might not be the proper name for it ) situation where they would release one multi-plat game to hook people and then only release sequels on their own piece of hardware?

 

[J Tyran]

A few multiplatform Nintendo games could be quite good actually, they would naturally sell well with the fans and introduce new fans to their long standing franchises.

It might introduce people to Nintendo games, but we all know how Gamers act, and let's not kid ourselves, they act almost like spoiled children (And some of them actually do). Here's how the scenario above would play out:

"Wow, this game called 'Mario' is fantastic! When's the next one coming out? In a few years? Awesome! I knew it was a good idea to get the PS4. Wait, what's that? The next Mario's not going to be on the PS4? It's only going to be on a Nintendo System?"

Fallowed by:

a) "Oh well, then screw it. I didn't need it anyways."

or

b) "What the hell? That's an outrage! I demand they put Mario back here right now! Nintendo is a bunch of Greedy Ass hats! How dare they take my beloved Mario away!"

Let's not kid ourselves, this is how most of us would act (This is how a lot of people acted when Bayonetta moved to WiiU exclusivity).

True, there is that. That is the reason Nintendo would have to get their shit together with their consoles though, if they could catch all the third party multiplatform games people wouldn't mind choosing a Nintendo console over the others.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

Use worst-case assumptions to dismiss an idea with potential, there's a winning strategy.

That's what Ubisoft, EA, Activision, Warner Bros., and Bethesda all do with Nintendo (And in Ubisofts Case, themselves). Seems to work for them, doesn't it?

 

[vagabondwillsmile]

So everyone is allowed to have exclusives and hold content hostage except Nintendo? Though I don't like the idea of exclusives, there are far greater evils in this industry. Nintendo IP's being proprietary, to me, insures that Nintendo's style of game-making won't be altered to the whims of Sony and Microsoft. It would be naive to even humor the notion that they would let Nintendo develop without interjecting and neck-craning. I don't want to see a brown and grey, hard-core Pokemon with epic choir tracks. Just no.

I think you are mixing up Publishers and Platforms here. I don't see any reason or way that Sony or Microsoft would meddle with Nintendo, were they to want to release a colorful Mario title on their console. They would only stand to benefit from even more diversity on their platform. By the way, the brown and grey Ni no Kuni rolls by to say hello.

They also made a miscalculation in coming out a year in advance of their competitors. It was a risk, hoping for a large install base, that didn't pay off. I can't really fault them, as hindsight is 20/20. But, in so doing, they failed to adequately court the third party developers and now face a fierce uphill battle if they wish to win a modicum of support. They additionally face the stigma of their machine, though plenty capable, being underpowered.

When would you have had them release their console, if I might ask? Having a full year without any next-gen competition is a smart thing to do, that is, if the product you release has games for it and isn't just a marginal improvement over your competitors last gen products.

Fair points all around. Perhaps I was a bit harsh. Platform makers can also develop and publish, true. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, all were all three hats. And Nintendo does currently publish games from its 1st party IP's, so perhaps that practice would continue if they were to go multiplat. But if they were to enter into an agreement where they would have to release self-publishing, I can't help but wonder what all could go wrong. Nintendo is publishing the Bayonetta sequel for example, but they have left Platinum Games pretty much to their own devices, from what I understand. Othertime it doesn't work that way, and the publisher has a lot say. But as you pointed out, if Mario works like it is, why mess with it too much. And yes Ni no Kuni was good stuff - all the platforms have fun colorful games (I liked Enslaved a lot). Perhaps I just see this industry as being very cut-throat (even Nintendo has had its own history of being cut-throat), and with more than enough poor decision-making to go around. So I just cringe at the thought of the possibility of Nintendo going multiplat, not self-publishing, and some-else pulling the strings.

Perhaps I am wrong in this, but I can't help but feel that way.

And I can't say when I would have had them release the console. That's why I said I can't fault them for releasing when they did. As you correctly pointed out "having a full year without any next-gen competition is a smart thing to do". I completely agree. But they didn't advantage of that opportunity in many ways (particularly with marketing and informing the consumer). The risk they took, calculated and intelligent though it may have been, didn't pan out as well as it could have, or even as well as it should have.

I still can't see any good coming from doing as Pachter suggest. I would fear ending up in the same situation as Sega some time ago - releasing so many systems in such a short period of time. By the time the Dreamcast rolled out, customer faith in the brand had been severely damaged (and it's a shame because the Dreamcast was great for the time, and some the games are still fun).

Again, good points - thank you.

 

[bluegate]

Use worst-case assumptions to dismiss an idea with potential, there's a winning strategy.

That's what Ubisoft, EA, Activision, Warner Bros., and Bethesda all do with Nintendo (And in Ubisofts Case, themselves). Seems to work for them, doesn't it?

Their actions do not justify yours .

Mind elaborating a what those companies are doing exactly, just some examples will suffice, as I'm not quite sure how to respond to this at the moment?

 

[Mr.Mattress]

Their actions do not justify yours .

Mind elaborating a what those companies are doing exactly, just some examples will suffice, as I'm not quite sure how to respond to this at the moment?

True, true, they do not justify my Actions XD I was just saying that in this industry, a lot of people use Worst-Case Assumptions.

Let's look at Ubisoft; Low WiiU Sales where the reason why Rayman Legend went Multiplatform and caused the Delay of the WiiU Version [http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2013/06/20/rayman-legends-delay/], which didn't matter because the game didn't sell well anywhere (Although the WiiU Had the best selling Version). Or how about the fact that they Consider Beyond Good and Evil a Mistake [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/129370-Ubisoft-Considers-Beyond-Good-Evil-a-Mistake], and because of it they have no plans on making a Sequel for it?

Both of those use "Worst-Case Assumption": For all they know, a BG&E2 would sell amazingly, and perhaps Rayman Legends, when it was suppose to Launch originally in February, would have sold amazingly well. But no, the Worst-Case was Assumed, and we are where we are now.

Want me to keep going? I can find more examples of "Worst-Case Assumption".

 

[MrHide-Patten]

I think it would be a bad idea to go multiplatform and then go back to being exclusive in a few years.

Worked out for Dead Rising (I think).

Personally I wouldn't complain, having access to their good games whilst not having to invest in a console I'll hardly use. I'm through buying a new game boy to buy the latest Pokemon, money doesn't grow on trees... unless it's paper money?

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

thank you Pachter for reminding me why I should NOT worried about Nintendo. Why? Because their critics are people like you and you, Pachter, are freaking stupid. That's the funny thing; despite what people think, Pachter isn't a "troll" he's just an idiot and idiots say stupid things. That's REALLY why I side with Nintendo: because too many of the people who complain about them are just GOOFY with the stuff they say. You cannot honestly tell me to think NINTENDO is the stupid one when one of their critics says something as weird as this.

I would like to say this behavior is due to Pachter having an deep-seated grudge over Nintendo ruining his predictions and thus he plots their downfall by doing bizarre rituals involving milk and dolls in his basement, but of course the truth is far less interesting: he's just an idiot. And just to add icing to the cake, considering Pachter works for a firm known for losing lawsuits to disgruntled clients, why do news sites keep referencing this guy?

 

[WeepingAngels]

I have every Mario, Zelda and Mario Kart game available but my son, nor his friends have any interest in playing them. They would rather play on their tablets or play Minecraft on the PS3. They don't even bother turning on the PC to play Minecraft anymore since it released on the PS3.

Now that's just my little corner of the world but I wonder if most kids these days just have no interest in what Nintendo is selling? To me, it seems like Mario is more for us adults who grew up playing Mario. If I can't even get kids to play Mario games for free what are the chances they will ask their parents to spend money on Mario? I never see any 3DS's in the wild but it's common to see people playing on mobile devices.

Anyone else have similar experiences.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

The console hasn't sold up to the levels of its competitors, no, but it's pushed under 5 million units in a little over a year. That's roughly par for a previous gen console, as the PS3 was doing roughly as "bad" in roughly the same time frame (so for those of you who insisted that the Wii U was a "last-gen" console, well, it's at least selling like one). That is to say, yes, it's less than PS4 and Xbone, but it's nothing to panic about.

Not to mention this same thing happened to them on the 3DS, and there were people like you insisting they should dump the 3DS only a year after it had "flopped". Yet, after they started pushing out big games, the damn thing sold like hotcakes, and now completely dominates the handheld market.

The Wii U can still easily turn a profit for Nintendo if they get their shit in one sock. Abandoning it would be the most absolutely bone-headed thing they could possibly do to themselves.

What they should do instead is expand their virtual library and push out more of their major titles. The fact that the console still doesn't have the new Smash Bros, or a Zelda, or Metroid, or Star Fox title is a serious drag on its sales figures. And it's missing some of the other titles that were supposed to help it push units. It's all about games, and while Wii U boasts an arguably better library than its competitors (as the PS4/Xbone launch lineups are a bloody joke), it's still not a very impressive one. But with a better library of games, they could still turn things around.

Though unfortunately Nintendo is having to deal with a very impatient generation who has this foaming-from-the-mouth mentality of "we need it nownownownownow!!!!!!!!!!!" despite the fact that it's illogical and unreasonable to ask them to pump out that many titles all by themselves. But even that probably wouldn't be enough. Asking a single company to make a dozen console releases a year (and let's face it, that IS what people are demanding of them) is absurd and childish. Nintendo will do what they can, but they're merely one company and they're having to deal with a generation of assholes.

 

[WeepingAngels]

The console hasn't sold up to the levels of its competitors, no, but it's pushed under 5 million units in a little over a year. That's roughly par for a previous gen console, as the PS3 was doing roughly as "bad" in roughly the same time frame (so for those of you who insisted that the Wii U was a "last-gen" console, well, it's at least selling like one). That is to say, yes, it's less than PS4 and Xbone, but it's nothing to panic about.

Not to mention this same thing happened to them on the 3DS, and there were people like you insisting they should dump the 3DS only a year after it had "flopped". Yet, after they started pushing out big games, the damn thing sold like hotcakes, and now completely dominates the handheld market.

The Wii U can still easily turn a profit for Nintendo if they get their shit in one sock. Abandoning it would be the most absolutely bone-headed thing they could possibly do to themselves.

What they should do instead is expand their virtual library and push out more of their major titles. The fact that the console still doesn't have the new Smash Bros, or a Zelda, or Metroid, or Star Fox title is a serious drag on its sales figures. And it's missing some of the other titles that were supposed to help it push units. It's all about games, and while Wii U boasts an arguably better library than its competitors (as the PS4/Xbone launch lineups are a bloody joke), it's still not a very impressive one. But with a better library of games, they could still turn things around.

Though unfortunately Nintendo is having to deal with a very impatient generation who has this foaming-from-the-mouth mentality of "we need it nownownownownow!!!!!!!!!!!" despite the fact that it's illogical and unreasonable to ask them to pump out that many titles all by themselves. But even that probably wouldn't be enough. Nintendo will do what they can, but they're merely one company and they're having to deal with a generation of assholes.

This must be a joke post?

Consumers wanting the games they like on a console before they buy it is not unreasonable. Nintendo should be used to this, they have been the biggest developers on their consoles since the N64.

 

[Asuka Soryu]

It's brilliant! Burn the consumers who bought a Wii U by ditching it, then put all your games on other consoles, leading to people getting the idea that your next console will only be a waste of money.