They got lucky with the Wii, but continuing to create consoles and portables revolving around gimmicks was going to bite them in the ass sooner or later. Ultimately, the Wii was a big fad when it first came out. That has been proven because it has absolutely no staying power (I'm pretty sure 360 and PS3 has been beating it for months now in sales). I guess they believed that they were going to capture lightning in a bottle twice, and thankfully it's costing them.
Now I hope they learn from this and begin to release consoles and portables that actually matter. If this turn of events make them realize that they can't be that "third wheel" company anymore, then all gamers will be happy. It's time for Nintendo to actually be a gaming company again, and to focus on bringing their consoles back up to standard (equal power to 360/PS3, an online infrastructure that isn't ridiculed, third party support, actual controllers).
The first thing they need to do is trash that WiiU bull**** and come up with a real console. If they don't fix it, they will once again get killed financially.
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"Calling Pokemon RBY a top 10 game was the most insane contest jibba-jabba ever Woe unto he who sig bets with the near-invincible Lord High creativename
There's so much wrong with this post I think this is a legit opportunity to point and laugh at someone. Hmm...to do it, or not to do it.
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Currently playing: League of Legends, Chrono Cross. Current Projects: Fool's Overture, CYOA: http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/59835001
Considering how that utterly failed when they tried it with the Gamecube? You can trash their gimmick consoles all you want, but it won't change the fact if they hadn't made a change Nintendo would have crashed and burned out of the business, and no current setback is worse than the situation they were in those days.
-- Okay, I rolled a 14. What's that mean? Hsu That you're a cheater. This is a 12-sided die. Chan
There is nothing wrong with the post. Nintendo focused on grandmothers and toddlers for the Wii, and gave gamers a Zelda game and a couple of Mario games. That is not a video game console, that's a little toy. Like I said, they are very, very lucky that it became a fad or else this plummet would have happened years ago as opposed to today.
Considering how that utterly failed when they tried it with the Gamecube?
And now the 3DS, and soon to be WiiU. What has changed? A year or two of the Wii selling like crazy, and then it's back to the basement. That's why I said they need to get back to reality and make a console that's up to the video game standard set by 360 and PS3.
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Calling Pokemon RBY a top 10 game was the most insane contest jibba-jabba ever Woe unto he who sig bets with the near-invincible Lord High creativename
Man that DS is going to be the end of them. Man that Wii is going to be the end of them.
This isn't a true crash, this is a "oh, okay our bad, here you go" in time for the holidays. It's a set back but not a crash. Just because you think you know what people want doesn't mean you do. Them getting casuals involved was a huge profit for them, luck had crap to do with it.
-- Sir Chris http://img.imgcake.com/Chris2pngas.png
If I bring up the numbers proving that the attach rate of the Wii was plenty fine will you listen or are you just interested in crying like a little kid and being wrong? Don't want to waste time I could spend doing something fun unless it's actually going to enlighten someone.
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Currently playing: League of Legends, Chrono Cross. Current Projects: Fool's Overture, CYOA: http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/59835001
Biolizard28 posted... 3DS isn't selling because it has no hardware that's worthwhile outside of two ports right now and people have caught on to Nintendo's strategy of selling a leaner version of their portable systems a year down the line.
*Software
But yeah, soon as the 3DS gets its first killer app it's going to smash the DS' best month.
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Currently playing: League of Legends, Chrono Cross. Current Projects: Fool's Overture, CYOA: http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/59835001
3DS isn't selling because it has no software that's worthwhile outside of two ports right now and people have caught on to Nintendo's strategy of selling a leaner version of their portable systems a year down the line.
-- I like how each new topic you make reveals such varied facets of your idiocy. - foolmo Now this is entertainment!
This debacle may force them to reaccess whichever price point they had in mind for Wii U. However, I think the 3DS's problems stem from the fact that it's overpriced and has no games. Nintendo has now addressed the price. This holiday season, they will (start to) address the games library with Super Mario 3D and Mario Kart. I'm expecting a strong holiday season.
Also, I don't think Sony will sell gangbusters with Vita even though it is fancy-shmancy. $250-300 just seems like more than people are willing to pay for a handheld.
-- Yoblazer: http://i44.tinypic.com/5nw45i.jpg Watch and you'll see... someday I'll be... part of your world!
Part of the problem is that Nintendo wouldn't take new storage methods seriously. Cartridges in the mid-late 90s? Mini DVDs? What? Why not go with a CD in the 90s, and DVD in the early-mid 2000s? Developers don't want to struggle with fitting games into a single cartridge or mini DVD, when the competition has formats that offer so much more.
Wii almost had it right, but then they made it underpowered and with small internal memory. Come on Nintendo, seriously? 512 MB of internal storage when the competition has 20-300 GB? Seriously? And to make it underpowered, instead relying on a gimmick for sales? Yeah, it sold very well, but it just wasn't sustainable like that. If you want to rely on a gimmick for sales, do that after you get a console that can stand up to the competition as a typical console without them. Then you should add a gimmick that won't detract from the console itself.
From: XxSoulxX | #007 A year or two of the Wii selling like crazy, and then it's back to the basement.
It's going to end up as the second best selling (and THE most profitable) home console of all time. Trying to downplay the Wii's success at all is just silly.
Personally, I think this is the best thing that could have happened to Nintendo. A humbling embarrassment. They can't overcharge for tech with no game library and expect to hit it big just because the DS and Wii were tremendously successful. At least now we won't see something completely stupid like a $500 Wii U pricetag.
-- Yoblazer: http://i32.tinypic.com/zlf1w7.gif Watch and you'll see... someday I'll be... part of your world!
The WiiU could end up being very bad for them, if they don't play their cards right. Nintendo made out big with the DS and Wii, and those were undeniable successes that are hard to criticize, but they've had numerous missteps since then that have set them back. Their online infrastructure is well behind what's acceptable in 2011, they allowed the Wii to become barren of software, and competitors like Microsoft one-uped them with new tech like Kinect, they've lost third-party support over the long-term.
Copying Microsoft and Sony isn't the solution here, though. That just makes them yet another console that can play the same games like they were with the GCN. They need to make bigger innovations (3D clearly is not it) with more compelling software. Somewhere along the line Nintendo lost sight of games being important, but it's what drives hardware sales, and that's one reason why the 3DS is in the position it's in.
If you mean the 3DS taking such a steep drop from its initial price, remember Sony did it with the PS3 too...and it's doing (mostly) okay now. Really, I think we're going to see more systems having higher starting prices because they've seen how much people are willing to pay for systems at launch on eBay. Rewarding initial buyers while soon dropping the price for everyone else seems like a smart way to ensure people buy systems early in the future and that they get a piece of that eBay-pie, so maybe this could become a trend.
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Yeah, Nintendo should've known with the Wii that every single third party in existence was going to ignore sales figures and potential profits in the name of giving Nintendo a big middle finger.
ZFS posted... Copying Microsoft and Sony isn't the solution here, though. That just makes them yet another console that can play the same games like they were with the GCN. They need to make bigger innovations (3D clearly is not it) with more compelling software. Somewhere along the line Nintendo lost sight of games being important, but it's what drives hardware sales, and that's one reason why the 3DS is in the position it's in.
This is actually a very interesting point. It never really occurred to me that Nintendo is basically all about their hardware. Now that you mention it, I think I could sum up almost every first party title since the DS as "____, with a TOUCH SCREEN/MOTION CONTROLS"
-- I like how each new topic you make reveals such varied facets of your idiocy. - foolmo Now this is entertainment!
LOLContests posted... The problem with the Wii was that multiplatform games took off, and the Wii didn't have the specs to take advantage.
Nintendo has always been on the ass end of third party support and multiplatform titles.
I'll admit though, ever since the FFXIII bomb dropped, it seems most every game these days is a PS3/360 title. If the Wii's lucky, it gets a minigame/side story.
-- I like how each new topic you make reveals such varied facets of your idiocy. - foolmo Now this is entertainment!
Copying Microsoft and Sony isn't the solution here, though. That just makes them yet another console that can play the same games like they were with the GCN. They need to make bigger innovations (3D clearly is not it) with more compelling software. Somewhere along the line Nintendo lost sight of games being important, but it's what drives hardware sales, and that's one reason why the 3DS is in the position it's in.
I do not agree. Nintendo needs third party support to keep fans happy. They had too many consoles now that only relied on 1-2 Nintendo games a year, and the Wii is turning into one of those. In order to get third party support, they need a machine that's equal to the PS3 and 360. If they decide to keep gimping their systems, then why would third parties care about them?
Your idea would be a good one if Nintendo produced a great game every month, but that's not possible. It's extremely sad that the only game worth talking about for the Wii is the next Zelda game, and no one knows when that's coming out.
Part of the problem is that Nintendo wouldn't take new storage methods seriously. Cartridges in the mid-late 90s? Mini DVDs? What? Why not go with a CD in the 90s, and DVD in the early-mid 2000s? Developers don't want to struggle with fitting games into a single cartridge or mini DVD, when the competition has formats that offer so much more.
Wii almost had it right, but then they made it underpowered and with small internal memory. Come on Nintendo, seriously? 512 MB of internal storage when the competition has 20-300 GB? Seriously? And to make it underpowered, instead relying on a gimmick for sales? Yeah, it sold very well, but it just wasn't sustainable like that. If you want to rely on a gimmick for sales, do that after you get a console that can stand up to the competition as a typical console without them. Then you should add a gimmick that won't detract from the console itself.
I completely agree with you, and it is another major misstep in Nintendo's way of thinking. Instead of trying to compete in the video game hardware wars, they just stepped aside and decided to gimp their hardware in the name of "gimmicks". They did win the gimmick crowd, but they realized (or should realize if they haven't already) that that crowd latches on to whatever is new then finds something else to do. Nintendo is lucky that those people decided to stick with Nintendo for a year or two, but now they left and Nintendo is now stuck with gamers, who want nothing to do with that gimmick-machine.
Your solution of making a real video game console and then implementing a gimmick would be perfect for them. They desperately need third party support, and they're not going to get it with a system as powerful as a Gamecube in this day and age.
Yeah, Nintendo should've known with the Wii that every single third party in existence was going to ignore sales figures and potential profits in the name of giving Nintendo a big middle finger.
Third parties want to create the best games possible and get rewarded with high profits for it. They do not want to create crappy games with downgraded graphics/power/sound/etc and hope that the casuals buy into it.
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Calling Pokemon RBY a top 10 game was the most insane contest jibba-jabba ever Woe unto he who sig bets with the near-invincible Lord High creativename
Nintendo needs to start making more Mature games. Compared to 10-20 years ago, there are way more older video gamers (the ones that started in the 1990s and 1980s) and Nintendo needs to focus on this audience more. I don't think Nintendo has a single franchise that is Mature rated.
Nintendo is still free to make games that will be children-friendly, but they still need to focus on making games for older people. I don't mean casual games, but actual story-based games that are Mature rated. Right now, the 20-35 age group seems like the best audience to target.
-- Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~ Popular at school, but not as cool as BlAcK TuRtLe, Guru Champ!
Nintendo needs to start making more Mature games. Compared to 10-20 years ago, there are way more older video gamers (the ones that started in the 1990s and 1980s) and Nintendo needs to focus on this audience more. I don't think Nintendo has a single franchise that is Mature rated.
Nintendo is still free to make games that will be children-friendly, but they still need to focus on making games for older people. I don't mean casual games, but actual story-based games that are Mature rated. Right now, the 20-35 age group seems like the best audience to target right now.
No they don't, because if they had a video game console, the third parties would do that for them. They can continue being the old Nintendo, as long as they've got other people to take care of everything that they do not deal with.
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Calling Pokemon RBY a top 10 game was the most insane contest jibba-jabba ever Woe unto he who sig bets with the near-invincible Lord High creativename
No they don't, because if they had a video game console, the third parties would do that for them. They can continue being the old Nintendo, as long as they've got other people to take care of everything that they do not deal with.
Remember that Sony and Microsoft have their own franchises that are Mature rated (like God of War for Sony and Halo for Microsoft). Nintendo should have at least one franchise that is Mature rated in order to please the older gamers that are into story-based games.
-- Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~ Popular at school, but not as cool as BlAcK TuRtLe, Guru Champ!
XxSoulxX posted... I do not agree. Nintendo needs third party support to keep fans happy. They had too many consoles now that only relied on 1-2 Nintendo games a year, and the Wii is turning into one of those. In order to get third party support, they need a machine that's equal to the PS3 and 360. If they decide to keep gimping their systems, then why would third parties care about them?
That doesn't mean getting into a tech race with Sony and Microsoft. It goes against their business model to do that, and it has proven to be worse for them to compete in that arena than to carve out their own unique path. It's imperative that they get third-party support, but there are ways to go about that. They need to provide incentive for publishers to devote resources to their system, make it more attractive. Nintendo is a hardware-oriented business first and foremost -- all of their systems are sold at a profit -- which is the opposite of Sony and Microsoft, who sell consoles at a loss and make up for it through software and accessories.
The problem with the Wii was that they didn't foster goodwill with third-party publishers, so they had no real reason to develop for the system that wasn't giving them the same revenue as putting one game on the PS3/360/PC. For their part, Nintendo did a good job providing people with games they wanted, and that drove Wii sales through the roof. The solution isn't to make a super high-tech console but continue messing with different ways to interact with games. Offering another standard console that can play Mario won't let them continue to grow; it'll satisfy hardcore players, but it won't drive major growth.
That's not Nintendo's strength though. They create franchises that appeal to all ages (or at least they used to), and they don't need to make one with blood and gore just to limit their audience. Like I said, that niche will be taken care of by third party developers if Nintendo can get things done properly.
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"Calling Pokemon RBY a top 10 game was the most insane contest jibba-jabba ever Woe unto he who sig bets with the near-invincible Lord High creativename
Nintendo's been embarrassed before. See the GCN. See the Virtual Boy (Gunpei Yokoi, possibly the smartest person at Nintendo back then, literally resigned over it).
The worst possible thing at this point would be if they pulled a Sega and dropped out of the hardware market, significantly reducing competition, but that doesn't seem likely--they've proven in the past that they're good at rolling with the punches, and staying profitable in adverse conditions.
The big concern now, though, is from new competitors that have since stepped into the market; iPhone, iPad, Android--these potentially could crowd out dedicated gaming devices.
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Cats land on their feet. Toast lands peanut butter side down. A cat with toast strapped to its back will hover above the ground in a state of quantum indecision
The 3DS may do well but it will have some problems. For one, they are asking people to shell out 250 (and soon 170) for a system that replaces the $130 system they just bought. You're also asking the casual entrants to the handheld gaming market to hop into the world of 3D gaming, and that won't go so well.
It'll sell pretty well and all, but I'd be surprised if it can catch fire like the DS did.
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Donny: Are they gonna hurt us, Walter? Walter: No, Donny. These men are cowards.
That doesn't mean getting into a tech race with Sony and Microsoft. It goes against their business model to do that, and it has proven to be worse for them to compete in that arena than to carve out their own unique path. It's imperative that they get third-party support, but there are ways to go about that. They need to provide incentive for publishers to devote resources to their system, make it more attractive. Nintendo is a hardware-oriented business first and foremost -- all of their systems are sold at a profit -- which is the opposite of Sony and Microsoft, who sell consoles at a loss and make up for it through software and accessories.
The problem with the Wii was that they didn't foster goodwill with third-party publishers, so they had no real reason to develop for the system that wasn't giving them the same revenue as putting one game on the PS3/360/PC. For their part, Nintendo did a good job providing people with games they wanted, and that drove Wii sales through the roof. The solution isn't to make a super high-tech console but continue messing with different ways to interact with games. Offering another standard console that can play Mario won't let them continue to grow; it'll satisfy hardcore players, but it won't drive major growth.
It's the same excuse every single generation since the N64. If Nintendo is so terrible with third party relations, they should drop out of the hardware game altogether. Every single generation Nintendo spews the same garbage that they are going to appease third parties so they will create games for them, and it never happens. Either they are hardcore BSing people with statements like that, or the third parties just do not want to work for Nintendo because of their hardware faults. You can't have it both ways here.
Nintendo doesn't need to get into the tech race, but they do need decent tech! They don't need to be more powerful then the next Sony or Microsoft console, but they need to be close to them or else the developers aren't going to give a **** about Nintendo, like they already are and have been doing for decades now. If they can't port a 360 game to the Wii, then they won't. They will port that game to the PS3, and vice versa.
You're asking a lot for a third party developer to ignore the PS3 and 360 and build a game from the ground up on the Wii and only on the Wii. There's no way they will port that game to the other two, because the 360/PS3 crowds are expecting top of the line video games. And if that video game doesn't sell on the Wii like so many other third party games before it (Madworld, Dead Rising, Castlevania, Red Steel), then you've wasted time and money for nothing. Not going to happen.
That seems to be what they're banking on, that the price cut will be big enough to make people adopt the 3DS en masse so as to replace the DS. Tough to say if it'll work out for them, depends on how much people want their Mario Kart.
this. the 3DS failing is nothing compared to what's going to happen to nintendo's current gen console when it drops next year, they're literally releasing something that's just on par with the PS3 six years later except it has an ipad as its controller. all of the grandparents and housewives that were never gamers before that made the wii wildly successful are not going to buy into this, and nintendo has spent the last six years alienating its long time fans as much as possible...finally culminating in them kicking their collective NA fanbase in the testicles via facebook. nintendo has always had a stranglehold on the handheld market, the 3DS selling badly is a terrible sign for their next console
I don't necessarily disagree. They've had third-party issues for a long time, and there are some that run deeper than just the console tech. I do think they have to prove that headway is being made in that area, that third-party publishers are actually going to support and develop for their systems on a consistent basis. I think the WiiU is a good level of tech for them -- it's not a leap over the PS3/360, but it's enough of a step up to bring them up to standard. They have other issues with the WiiU that are going to become problematic unless they handle them right, but the tech inside the system should be good enough for multiplatform games. They're going to need more than old games that everyone has already played, though.
also I fully agree with this topic. if nintendo goes back to what they were before the DS came along I'd be happy to buy their consoles again, they can still make great games when they aren't being ruined by the terrible control gimmicks of whatever system they happen to be on. hopefully falling on their ass a few times will straighten nintendo out.
To be fair, Nintendo had no reason to believe 3D wasn't a guarantee of financial success. It's made awful movies into box office blowouts. People have seemed so fascinated with it that I figured men would be lining up for colonoscopies if the video feed was in 3D.
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I have nine fairly close friends IRL. Two of them even post on GameFAQs, albeit mainly just on the Xenogears board.
None of them were aware the 3DS was not simply a DS with a 3D gimmick but actually new hardware. Zero out of nine. This is hilarious. This is a big part of what's wrong with Nintendo -- they seemed to be banking on the cash just flowing in without going out of their way in a big, necessary fashion to politely inform consumers that the 3DS is the GBA to the GB, not the GBP.
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