What Has Nintendo Done Right Lately?

[GamerFromJump]

I can see Nintendo succeeding as a software-only publisher, as long as their headquarters has an eternal flame in front of it, kept lit by the burning corpses of anyone who suggests joining the Day 1 DLC model.

Nintendo is basically the last place where you get what feels like a complete game for your money, instead of "Hey, here's what you get for your $60, and here's the 2nd disc's worth of stuff we put behind a $15/ea. paywall, instead of making the aforementioned $60 game complete and working.", or "Here's a seven-hour campaign for your $60; we know what you REALLY want is to pay extra per month to go online against 12-year-olds expressing their inner psychopath."

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Really, Ben, you just admitted that Sony and MS are just making "shit PCs" in your review, so why on earth would you encourage Nintendo to drop out of consoles so that we're literally stuck with shit PCs and nothing else?

It's probably because those "shit PCs" come with games worth playing that don't have to be from 30 year old IPs. That's Nintendo's major problem right now. The third party can't sell anything on Nintendo's consoles so they're not wasting money with the Wii U.

Now I don't think Nintendo should drop out, but it needs to find a way to not rely on Mario and Zelda to selll units. The "shit PC"s have the benefit of people getting excited for new IPs every generation. Nintendo consoles sell on old IPs. Problem is, with old IPs comes a shrinking market for Nintendo because people have grown up and no longer play video games. Then there are people who simply don't want to buy a new console to play a game with the same structure as something they played 20-30 years ago.

I think most die hard Nintendo fans these days grew up playing N64. Those who grew up playing NES or SNES for the most part left the pack of the mega fan. The kinds of games that were released on the SNES (i.e. JRPGs such as Chrono Trigger) went over the the PlayStation in the 90s. The N64 had 3D Platformers 3D adventure games and great local multiplayer titles, but if you wanted JRPGs, you have to admit, the PS1 ran that shit. As did the PS2.

Like I said, the "shit PCs" have a bigger variety of games people want. and not just the franchises that you can't count with both hands.

 

[Sir Christopher McFarlane]

I recently sold my Wii U and 3DS, I've reached that point where Nintendo leaves me cold. I guess the countless days of the SNES, N64, Gamecube and Wii have taken their toll on me and I found myself in the curious position of both not looking forward to and then not enjoying the recent first party releases. The recent Mario on Wii U and Zelda on 3DS are great examples, when I was playing it I knew I should be adoring it, singing its praises, but I just couldn't be bothered to play it. I feel nothing for the upcoming release of Mario Kart, I always hated Super Smash Bros. so I was never looking forward to that. And scanning the future release list for the 3DS and Wii U I didn't want a single game. So I sold them on to someone who will hopefully find the joy I once found in Nintendo's games.

It's odd but such is life I guess.

But you still have third party titles, especially on the 3DS.

 

[tstorm823]

My favorite part of this chronic discussion about the wii u sucking is when people claim the future is all about multifunctionality and the wiiu misses that, all of which I'm reading and responding to on the wiiu gamepad while the same machine streams hd anime from the internet directly to my tv.

I only have 3 games for it and already regret nothing because this one machine has totally reshaped my lounging. I use it as my current game console, my internet tablet for the living room, my tv remote control, my video stream machine... hell, I've even looked up recipes and carried the controller with me to make dinner. If they'd just let the thing play media off of dvds and usb drives, I'd never need to plug anything else into the tv.

The games will come and people will buy the console. In the mean time, I'll just keep enjoying my perfect relaxation machine.

P.S. While playing magical card games, my friend and I for a bit just set the wiiu to stream twitchplayspokemon for us. If that's not completing my living room experience, what is?

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

That's utterly ignorant because practically every 3rd Party title I looked up for the PS4 is also being released on PC or PS3. So to hell with that damn "superior performance" if it's going to be wasted on games that I can already get on the previous generation console w/o having to blow $400?

Oh and speaking of that performance. If it's so superior, why am I hearing talk of some people's PS4s breaking down on them?

The same reason why people are still not playing on the original Playstation, new games shifting towards the newer platform and abandoning the old combined the the belief that the PC is too complex and every other excuse that gets screencaped and shown on the PCmasterrace subreddit for others to laugh at.

Apart from those failures there really hasn't been much of a widespread failure of the next generation of consoles. When the PS4s went blue people (and the media) started exclaiming "Oh Noes! Its RROD MK2!" Of course then the rest of the consoles didn't fail like the 360 and the whole thing has seemingly been forgotten. Which is pretty much par for the course for some sensationalist titles.

I again point out that people are buying the PS4 expecting future titles will be released and that PS3/360 versions of games won't be made forever. I for one wouldn't be on having the next CoD on them for starters.

 

[C14N]

That's utterly ignorant because practically every 3rd Party title I looked up for the PS4 is also being released on PC or PS3. So to hell with that damn "superior performance" if it's going to be wasted on games that I can already get on the previous generation console w/o having to blow $400?

Oh and speaking of that performance. If it's so superior, why am I hearing talk of some people's PS4s breaking down on them?

They're currently released on older platforms because most big budget games can't currently afford to release on a console with an install base as small as the PS4 or Xbox One. They generally look far, far better on the newer consoles though. Once the new consoles have larger install bases, they're pretty quickly going to stop bothering with the PS3 and 360. PC will always get them but the PC exists in a different world and there will always be plenty of games that don't make it to PC.

Superior performance has nothing to do with hardware reliability. I've heard nothing about these PS4 breakdowns but assuming it's true, that doesn't mean the actual game performance is any worse. The most powerful computer in the world can still break if it overheats.

I agree with Yahtzee about Nintendo on this point, they do seem to be regressing back into SNES-era 2D games which can be fun but they're a side-order at best and something that indie devs are already throwing at us for much less. It's even worse when you consider that Nintendo are the ones who figured out how to do 3D platforming so well in the first place. It's pretty telling how stagnant Nintendo have become when you look at the tiny number of new character's introduced to Smash Bros in the latest instalment. Even then, most of the old favourites aren't getting much love. We've still got plenty of Mario but other than that there's the infrequent Zelda release and that seems to be about it. No Starfox, Earthbound, F-Zero or Metroid.

From where I see it, Nintendo had an easy time last gen and managed to rake in tons of cash from dirt-cheap, low-quality "Wii [whatever]" games and peripherals and now that the extreme casuals have gotten tired of that, they're going to need to get down and work again. The Wii U is the cheapest of the 3 consoles, even if it doesn't get as many big games I'd still be happy to play it for high-quality Nintendo goodness. Stuff of the quality of Nintendo's Gamecube games could at least help them not flop completely. Get a few Japanese studios to help out too, they've traditionally been the strongest supporters imo.

 

[C14N]

They've only made two so far to my knowledge: Link Between Worlds and the upcoming Yoshi's New Island. What's this nonsense that they're regressing back into SNES-era 2D games when they've only made two so far?

No they haven't. They've also released New Super Mario Bros, New Super Mario Bros Wii, New Super Mario Bros 2, New Super Mario Bros U (as well as a standalone New Super Luigi U expansion), Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and Kirby's Epic Yarn.

You can't assume we've seen every newcomer yet when Smash Bros. doesn't even have a release date. So that argument is unfounded.

Wikipedia had it listed as a 2014 release so in my mind that was probably going to mean November or December.

You lost me at Earthbound. Creator Shigesato Itoi has stated that the Earthbound franchise is DONE! Completed! Even Mother 3's story made it clear that there was no way you continue the story at that point.

Okay, so what about the other franchises?

You want Nintendo to do something other than Mario and Zelda? I'll say the same thing I always say: Next time Nintendo releases a game that's not part of another IP, BUY IT! People complain that Nintendo doesn't make any new IPs but when they actually do, they don't bother to buy them because of other stupid reasons. Or do you want to tell me why Wonderful 101 bombed?

I don't have a Wii U yet but if they start doing that I will buy one straight away. Wonderful 101 wasn't made by Nintendo though, it was made by Platinum. It also didn't exactly kill it in the critical acclaim department which is never good for sales in this industry. Coupled with the fact that the Wii U as a console isn't doing so hot right now and it's not that surprising that it bombed.