Satoru Iwata: No "Dark Future" for Nintendo

[ShogunGino]

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It's not about tes, it's about the scale of what games can be... Would you rather me say planet side 2? Infamous? Prototype? Gta? Far cry? My point is games are able to be huge world's with shit loads in them and loads to do.

The only games I see that have that ability in Nintendo's house are pokemon and zelda but they keep pumping out hand held versions of pokemon and zelda. Imagine a pokemon game like far cry 3... Long grass and caves all over a huge open island, little settlements dotted around for poke-centre's and shops. How cool would that be on a console like the ps4 or even better pc? I think that would be a wicked game! Instead they release a game with content cut out of it so they can make two versions of the same game and they do it on a handheld.

They stick to this jrpg style of turn based combat taking place in instances... A trainer spots you, waddles over, the screen fades to an mmo style instance, spouts some trash talk, a duel takes place, more chatting, pop out of the instance and off you go. BORING!

I can't really comment on zelda as I have never really played it but I think if was a little more like diablo or torchlight it could be an awesome game as well.

Nice declaration though, all 2D side scrollers are better than tes! FACT! Keep telling yourself that....

If a big, open world game for a Nintendo console that is different sounds interesting to you, Nintendo recently got Monolith Soft to make Xenoblade Chronicles for Wii after they left Square for not doing anything more with the Xenosaga brand. It is a MASSIVE game that takes quite a long to time to explore the overworld with an immense number of sidequests to do (the only other Wii game that I think could be compared was Monster Hunter Tri). And the sequel they are planning for Wii U currently called 'X', which has a pretty excellent gameplay trailer, IMO, that expands Xenoblade's world with a more powerful console:

But I get it, there just haven't been enough things Nintendo to make you interested. Mario games are hit or miss for me, I'm kinda sucky at Metroid games, even the better ones, Pokemon hasn't interested me for quite a while, I am horrible at strategy games so Fire Emblem is out of my league, I never got too into Kirby though I have not problems against it, and while Zelda is my all time favorite series, I understand why people may not be interested. I just really enjoy the formula of the overworld and dungeons thing that Zelda does.

True, there aren't many Western RPGs (which you seem to enjoy a lot) for Nintendo consoles, but I kinda think that had something to with the Wii not having the same technical specifications as PS3/360. Those kinds of games are like FPSs in that they rely heavily on a certain sense of spectacle. Different kinds of spectacle, of course (detailed destructive shootouts for FPSs and serene, polished landscapes of Western RPGs), and Wii didn't have the power to make spectacles comparable to PS3/360. I hope that since Xenoblade is now a sought-after cult classic (Gamestop has price gouged it for about $65 used) that it'll spawn a larger interest in those kinds of games on Nintendo systems.

 

[Lightknight]

I'm not sure how Nintendo keep going to be honest, I've only ever wanted 2 Nintendo products. A Gameboy and a version of pokemon red/blue. They keep dragging out the same dead ponies, pokemon, Mario, metriod, zelda etc but the 80's and 90's kids go fucking wild for them every time... Will be a sad time for Nintendo when that generation dies off.

I just can't see them pulling in new audiences with games from there grandparents generation, today's kids aren't going mad for the modern version of pong aka tennis games. Infants might play Mario as babies first game but I doubt it will last, why play a 2D side scroller when the elder scrolls 10 is out?

The assumption that Nintendo's only fanbase are 30 year olds on nostalgia googles are baffling.

Especially when a large number of critics against Nintendo are in that very age group.

There is also a pretty good chance that a good chunk of children do not know what the Elder Scrolls is. The most they probably know about it is Skyrim.

I agree with Dragonbums here. Their problem is maintaining the 30+ year olds for whom Mario is older than they are. Kids are experiencing Mario new and still love him.

Therein lies Nintendo's problem. The majority of console gamers are 30+ years old. Without new IPs and 3rd party support, it's hard to maintain clients who are being offered a lot of other things elsewhere.

Nintendo appears to be aware of this and is working on it now. We'll see what they do.

 

[Lunar Templar]

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It's not about tes, it's about the scale of what games can be... Would you rather me say planet side 2? Infamous? Prototype? Gta? Far cry? My point is games are able to be huge world's with shit loads in them and loads to do.

The only games I see that have that ability in Nintendo's house are pokemon and zelda but they keep pumping out hand held versions of pokemon and zelda. Imagine a pokemon game like far cry 3... Long grass and caves all over a huge open island, little settlements dotted around for poke-centre's and shops. How cool would that be on a console like the ps4 or even better pc? I think that would be a wicked game! Instead they release a game with content cut out of it so they can make two versions of the same game and they do it on a handheld.

They stick to this jrpg style of turn based combat taking place in instances... A trainer spots you, waddles over, the screen fades to an mmo style instance, spouts some trash talk, a duel takes place, more chatting, pop out of the instance and off you go. BORING!

I can't really comment on zelda as I have never really played it but I think if was a little more like diablo or torchlight it could be an awesome game as well.

Nice declaration though, all 2D side scrollers are better than tes! FACT! Keep telling yourself that....

They are. I couldn't GIVE me a TES game, but I've bought a crap ton of side scrollers What I deem worth my money = better. go ahead, argue that, I dare you >

As to the 'size and scale' of a game, that's kinda of part of the fail state of AAA gaming. Every thing needs to be big and open and big and flashy and did I mention big? Which is bull shit, ever game on the god damned planet does not NEED to be this big huge open world 'thing', your Pokemon suggest? Yeah. You'd ruin the franchise with that,it works perfectly fine as it is now and doesn't NEED fixing just cause you don't like it. Also, it uses a 'JRPG combat system' cause, ya know, IT IS a JRPG , just sayin, and it'll NEVER come out on a non Nintendo system, ever, you should really know that by now. So you and every one else on about that should really just give it up now.

A 'Torchlight' style Zalda game >.> hmm ... nope, can't see that 'working' they way you do. Zelda games are about the dungeons, which are just big ass puzzles, boss fights might not take much thinking, but the dungeons can, and turning it into a 'Torchlight' would rob it of what is really 'its thing', and ruin it by making it ANOTHER mindless hack and slash. Honestly, I have Warframe for that, not a 'dioblo clone' clearly, but more fun, and better use of my time far as loot gathering goes. Plus, Nova, just Nova, for its ability to let you wipe entire mods, buy picking off the weakest one it it >

You say 'they bring out the same dead pony's' every time but really that so bad? Considering your suggestions would rob them of their Identity and make them just another open world game or diablo clone. Sure each game is like the last, but how many 'Zelda clones' are there? Two, maybe Three depending how you look at LoK, spring to mind (all being better then LoZ but not the point)

The fundamental problem here isn't what Nintendo is doing, but that you don't understand what their doing. They don't NEED to make those kinds of games to make money, they never have, they are the masters of excellence through simplicity and deceptive depth, see: The Pokemon meta game, that's a deep damned rabbit hole there. So why should they change? Also, incase you've some how NOT noticed. No they do not take risks with their IPs, they know what works for them, but they DO take absolutely MONSTERIOUS risks with the hardware. last time the gamble paid off, this time, not looking like it will, but they ARE the only ones with the stones to actually TRY something new, really because they can, can't say the same for Sony/MS/ or the PC

 

[omega 616]

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Argue that? Okay! 2D games are technically inferior to 3d games, so are worse. Enjoyment wise, it's subjective. What you deem is better value is subjective but as for technical engineering, 2D games are from the 80's 'cos 3D wasn't able to be done

People complain that cod is the same game every year and then claim Nintendo is great but they have been doing the same thing for my whole life, Activision looked at Nintendo and thought "we need to get in on that action".

What was the last big thing for cod? A dog, for Mario its a cat suit... Huge leaps in innovation.

Again you miss my point, it's about scale! Mario is stuck in a by gone era indie devs pump 2D side scrollers out at a pace of knots. With what Mario is, each game should be over a thousand hours... Cloud berry Kingdom has random levels and gimmicks, it's more innovative than Mario.

As for my idea of pokemon failing, it wouldn't. People have been begging for a pokemon mmo for years, someone has even made screen shots of it. My idea is a half way house. I know pokemon won't come out on anything else, never said it would.... I said on other consoles it would be great, it would just never happen.

The only thing impressive about Nintendo are its fanboys 'cos it's games haven't kept up with the rest of the market.

Might want to check your keyboard, seems to caps random words.

(just to clarify, 3D games probably did exist in the 80's but they don't compare with today's games)

 

[Lunar Templar]

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Argue that? Okay! 2D games are technically inferior to 3d games, so are worse. Enjoyment wise, it's subjective. What you deem is better value is subjective but as for technical engineering, 2D games are from the 80's 'cos 3D wasn't able to be done.

The PC is 'technically superior' to a console, yet, it's still an after though for a lot of devs best tech =/= best games.

People complain that cod is the same game every year and then claim Nintendo is great but they have been doing the same thing for my whole life, Activision looked at Nintendo and thought "we need to get in on that action".

What was the last big thing for cod? A dog, for Mario its a cat suit... Huge leaps in innovation.

*shrugs* as mentioned in my list earlier, don't play Mario games anymore, even the 2D ones. Pretty much just Pokemon and Metroid anymore. ya know >.> when they getta around to making another Metroid game that doesn't suck. They still owe us a good one for Other M ...

Again you miss my point, it's about scale! Mario is stuck in a by gone era indie devs pump 2D side scrollers out at a pace of knots. With what Mario is, each game should be over a thousand hours... Cloud berry Kingdom has random levels and gimmicks, it's more innovative than Mario.

As for my idea of pokemon failing, it wouldn't. People have been begging for a pokemon mmo for years, someone has even made screen shots of it. My idea is a half way house. I know pokemon won't come out on anything else, never said it would.... I said on other consoles it would be great, it would just never happen.

given that all the Pokemon games now have online capability, in fact with the improvements to the GTS, and the fact that you can now battle pretty much any random passer by (there's a window in X and Y that fills with random people when you connect) what would the point of an MMO be, exactly? only thing X/Y are missing to that end is other peoples player character wandering around in your game world, and that's hardly a loss imo.

The only thing impressive about Nintendo are its fanboys 'cos it's games haven't kept up with the rest of the market.

and that's different for other fanboys ... how? No really, point out how Nintendo's fanboys are worse then other fanboys, cause I see no difference in how they act, over say, PC fanboys.

and you can drop the '3D is better then 2D' crap any time now. There is now and always will be room for 2D games, some style of game are just better in 2D, Platformers to be sure, and fighters, you can not convince me or anyone else that actually knows about fighters that a 3D fighter is better then a 2D fighter. Hell RPGs don't really lose anything by being in 2D, and haven't gain much by going 3D.(No, I don't like WRPGs much, most the ones I've played have been boring as fuck)

 

[Sean951]

The newest thing for Mario was actually a whole-sale revolution in 3D platforming with Galaxy 1. Since then, he's taken a break with Galaxy 2 and NSMB and the like. The next console based 3D Mario game will be the next major step forward for his franchise, as it has been.

Zelda as a hack n' slash would be one of the dumbest things Nintendo could do. Worse than the CD-i. "Oh, I realize Zelda has always been about action-adeventure with a focus on puzzle solving with some combat. But who needs that? COMBAT EVERYTHING! Puzzles? Psh. Boring. HAVE MORE WAVES OF ENEMIES!" Sounds like crap.

The Pokemon game you mention functionally would not work. You play as the trainer, but you also have to control the Pokemon in the battles, so it cuts to a battle map? How would that make sense? You might not like JRPGs, but the fact that it sells like hotcakes should tell you that quite a few people do. The idea for a map sounds cool, but Nintendo has already started working in the direction with 3D being added in X and Y.

 

[omega 616]

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People want a pokemon mmo 'cos they want to be in the pokemon world? Not some stripped down, shitty version of pokemon world. Instead of tiny little sprites and awful graphics, you play the anime version of the it... Better graphics, smooth animations, better battling system etc as it is run on something with some power. Think of stadium but expanded to have a world and even better graphics.

I didn't say Nintendo fanboys are worse, I'm saying Nintendo are such a bad company that it's only impressive thing are its fanboys. I think it's impressive that they can keep adding tiny little things to ancient games or give them an HD coat of paint and still sell them to fanboys.

I said 2D games are technically inferior, I didn't say they didn't have there place in gaming or are bad games.

 

[Lunar Templar]

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People want a pokemon mmo 'cos they want to be in the pokemon world? Not some stripped down, shitty version of pokemon world. Instead of tiny little sprites and awful graphics, you play the anime version of the it... Better graphics, smooth animations, better battling system etc as it is run on something with some power. Think of stadium but expanded to have a world and even better graphics.

so .. like X/Y, but with a chance of getting flattened by a wild encounter and more people around to get in the way of getting shit done? oh joy ... Sorry, but with X/Y existance I simply don't a real need for a Pokemon MMO anymore, since it's functional there save a few minor, inconsequential details.

I didn't say Nintendo fanboys are worse, I'm saying Nintendo are such a bad company that it's only impressive thing are its fanboys. I think it's impressive that they can keep adding tiny little things to ancient games or give them an HD coat of paint and still sell them to fanboys.

I said 2D games are technically inferior, I didn't say they didn't have there place in gaming or are bad games.

yup, they're SO terrible >.> you do know that, even with the WiiUs 'failure to launch' they're still in better shape then MS or Sony right? The Wiis sale did leave them ridiculously well off so they can afford to screw up like they have with the WiiU. Again, just cause you don't like what their doing, it does not mean they are 'a terrible company' or 'their games suck' at the end of the day, all it really means it you no longer consider them worthy of your money, and really, that's all it means.

 

[omega 616]

all it really means it you no longer consider them worthy of your money, and really, that's all it means.

Is that all it means?

They have never been worthy of my money, any Nintendo games I've played was second hand or at a friends (with the exception of pokemon blue).

Speaking of pokemon that's your opinion but I've read many opinions that say the opposite, including the guy who made mock up screen shots.

To be honest, you sound like a fanboy. You would rather have a 3ds version of pokemon rather than a fully realized world, "Yeah, I prefer inferior games. I like devs that squander potential". It does just sound like a child saying "Yeah, well I didn't want it anyway! I like it this way!"

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

all it really means it you no longer consider them worthy of your money, and really, that's all it means.

Is that all it means?

They have never been worthy of my money, any Nintendo games I've played was second hand or at a friends (with the exception of pokemon blue).

Speaking of pokemon that's your opinion but I've read many opinions that say the opposite, including the guy who made mock up screen shots.

To be honest, you sound like a fanboy. You would rather have a 3ds version of pokemon rather than a fully realized world, "Yeah, I prefer inferior games. I like devs that squander potential". It does just sound like a child saying "Yeah, well I didn't want it anyway! I like it this way!"

Just pointing out that you are being a bit of a hypocrite in calling Lunar Temple a fanboy, since all you are acting like is a Nintendo anti-fanboy. You are basically attacking Lunar for not agreeing with you on what makes a good game.

 

[KazeAizen]

I must hand it to Mr Iwata, he seems to be a smart guy that understands that every company has it's ups and downs and the best thing to do is learn from it and improve back into profit, not to just fire people which then destroys the employees trust and moral making the situation worse. I tip my hat to you good sir *tips hat*

I think a similar set of questions earlier in the year had him basically respond the same. He actually said that firing people would lower their moral and would essentially just be a short term game. In plane English this guy is like Jesus to the business world. At least the Western business world since I'm reasonably certain that someone like Donald Trump wouldn't have much problems firing thousands of employees if his profits started to fall. Everyone goes through expansions and contractions in business. That is how the world works. The Wii and 3DS were a major expansion for Nintendo and the lackluster numbers of the Wii U are essentially balancing the scales. Nintendo doesn't expand and absorb the way most companies do (I'm looking at you EA). They seem to have a business model that makes sure they don't go out of business which, while not as profitable I'm sure, is not a bad model to have in my opinion.

I'm sure more units will push soon. Bayonetta 2 drops next year which people are considering buying a Wii U for alone. Zelda I'm sure will be making a return. Smash Bros. gets its fourth game so there's another reason. Hell if Platinum keeps on pumping out games like Wonderful 101 and Bayonetta exclusively for Nintendo then there's more future units.

Nintendo has been in this console business longer then anyone else and they've always adapted. Sure they trip and stumble sometimes but when they figure it out and get it right they get it very right. Like for instance reaching out to the indie community. Reaching out to those guys is a long term investment which can yield big profits.

 

[MrBaskerville]

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Skyrim bored you so all elder scrolls will now bore you?

Anyway, that wasn't my point, my point was that Mario (3D or not) is still just a platformer with very basic game play. Elder scrolls games are huge living world's with shed loads going on, loads to immerse yourself in and be who you want... From looks to skills to personality. My point is elder scrolls offers such an open world, Mario hasn't really moved on since 64... You're still saving an Italian plumber saving an ungrateful Peach from a spiky tortoise by jumping on or over stuff.

Elder scrolls still has you saving the world constantly but the big bad is different, the main story is different, side quests are different... They all boil down to go here, kill and maybe bring back a trinket but the story drives it. Mario has save the princess that's in another castle, not this castle either.... Not this one either.

The scope of games has massively increased but Nintendo is making 64 bit games.

Eh, you should probably take a closet look at the Mario games, their brilliance lies in the level design. Nintendo is very good at making simple game mechanics that can heavily altered by the level design. They often get a lot out of very little, i think a lot of designers could learn a lot from those games, i know i have.

But aside from that, sometimes people want to play something different, sometimes a simple yet challenging platformer is what you need. I don't just want to immerse myself in a 3D world, i want to play all kinds of different types of games...

 

[Lunar Templar]

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You really need to get over your self, and this rather irrational hate for Nintendo just because they aren't making games you want to play, Nintendo has its player base, you are clearly not in it, and here you are pretty much demanding they throw away all they're proven formals, to appease you. Entitled much? Cause that's how you sound, like a spoiled child not getting their way.


Cause in case you haven't noticed, they don't need you or your money.

Now, are we done here, or would you like to waste MORE of my time with your non-sense as you seem less interested in any actual discussion and more in hurling unfounded insults cause I don't agree with you, which means, much like Nintendo is for you, you are no longer worthy of my time.

 

[Dragonbums]

Speaking of pokemon that's your opinion but I've read many opinions that say the opposite,

And there are plenty of people online who will say the literal opposite of that. So that neither soldifies your claim as fact, nor disqualifies Templars opinion either.

You would rather have a 3ds version of pokemon rather than a fully realized world,

How judgemental. And if not, a tad bit elitist. "Oh, you like this simple game, but care not for this higher tech game? What a pleeb"
Pretty high and mighty of you.

What does that make of those who enjoy the hell out of indie games?
Pokemon is inferior in every sense be default because they don't blow the big bucks like Bethesda does on Skyrim?

"Yeah, I prefer inferior games. I like devs that squander potential". It does just sound like a child saying "Yeah, well I didn't want it anyway! I like it this way!"

Who are you to judge what's an inferior game? Who are you to tell if some dev is squandering their talent?

Satoshi is living his dream. Since he was a kid he always wanted to make a game that captured the spirit of bug catching as a kid.

I'm pretty sure the folks at Gamefreak can do an open world. Of course that doesn't matter if it's complete shit.
You have companies that do open world, and companies that like to do turn based strategies. No, one is better than the other.
Please. It's your subjective point of view. Don't try to put this out as fact.

 

[Kittyhawk]

I'm with Omega on this one. I don't rate Iwata's leadership at all. In fact, I think that Nintendo certainly needs younger blood at the helm (certainly younger than 50), but because of japanese business culture, that's just not going to happen. The tripping of the 3DS early on was avoidable and the Wii U was poorly conceived, so much so that Nintendo won't hit their 9 million mark.

Besides the 3DS getting healthier, I get the impression that Nintendo aren't sure what to do next. The next gen looms and all they can do is look on in some kind of static horror, clinging to the past. They are still pushing that Wii Mini mess too.

Slowly losing hope that Nintendo will ever grow with the rest of us.

 

[omega 616]

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If that is how you perceive it then ok but I'm just saying games have moved on from the days of the N64 in more ways than graphics.

I just don't see Nintendo taking advantage of that fact, they just pump and out the same stuff that just looks better and put another tiny feature on, like there game is a Mr potato head. His defence of which is "The games are great as they are" and my argument is "the games were great about 20 years ago"

 

[omega 616]

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Let's get it clear, I'm not anti-Nintendo, I'm anti-Nintendo business practices. I think if Nintendo got with the times they would great again. I don't hate them, I just know they aren't hitting there potential and it makes me a little angry.

Now on to your many facts, of which there only seems to be one. I have already said why those numbers are bull shit. Millions of people bought them from pensioners to little kids and after 6 months the novelty wore off and they collected dust, they were a flash in the pan. The wii isn't a great console, it was a fad, a great console is something like the ps2. The ps2 had a host of great games that sold the system and is the reason it has only just stopped getting made. The wii was a hardware gimmick which is why you couldn't get one and now those who do have it can't get rid of it.

 

[Dragonbums]

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Let's get it clear, I'm not anti-Nintendo, I'm anti-Nintendo business practices. I think if Nintendo got with the times they would great again. I don't hate them, I just know they aren't hitting there potential and it makes me a little angry.

Now on to your many facts, of which there only seems to be one. I have already said why those numbers are bull shit. Millions of people bought them from pensioners to little kids and after 6 months the novelty wore off and they collected dust, they were a flash in the pan. The wii isn't a great console, it was a fad, a great console is something like the ps2. The ps2 had a host of great games that sold the system and is the reason it has only just stopped getting made. The wii was a hardware gimmick which is why you couldn't get one and now those who do have it can't get rid of it.

Which again, all of that is purely subjective to you.

Which means it is just an opinion.

I still have family members that use their Wii's on a regular basis.


You cannot say something like "no kid wanted the Wii parents just bought it for them" and claim that is a hard book fact. Which is exactly what CriticKitten was talking about.

 

[omega 616]

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I didn't say no kids wanted it, I said something along the lines of "everyone wanted one, then everyone was sick of them". Now, that is obviously just a generalization but it's true enough.

CriticKitten was basically saying "wii sold more than snes, so wii is obviously better than snes", I was saying that's wrong.