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Iwata implies he may resign over poor business performance
- Thread starter Cheesemeister
- Start date
Bel_Air_Jeff
Banned
I guess we should just wait until Pokemon X and Y are released and Nintendo conquers the world yet again.
Really? I thought that Nintendo published Project x Zone in Japan, so, I was mistaken.
The thing is, this report conviced me to believe in NoA? We will see a new Noa and finally forget the dark times of Wii?
ShockingAlberto
Member
Apparently rather smartly got 8-4 on Fire Emblem Awakening.
Why does being technologically competent automatically means getting into an arms race for some people? All we're asking for is an efficient design that stays within arms reach of its competitors, much like the PS2 did in its heyday.
Lord_Byron28
Member
According to the poster i was responding to 3rd parties want to port their games to any and every available option to try and earn their money back on the multimillion dollar projects. By what he stated it being 6 years late shouldnt matter and that 3rd parties would port to it.
You're aware that iwata dramatically improved 3rd party relations over the previous president?
On the top of my head, I can't remember ANY CEO putting his job at stake in the last years. That's a huge respectable move showing commitment and responsibility. Reggie's far from being in the same league IMHO.
JordanN
Banned
They wont get slaughtered. Because blu-ray is a good enough storage format and third partys are going multiplat instead of developing for one system.
Where's my Grand Theft Auto?
Third parties would then magically put effort into down porting games?
Why is this even a question? The WiiU is still a new console and this implies 2 things:
1) Even if it's essentially a ps360 developers still have to learn how to use the console and this requires money that obviously don't want to spend because...
2)...the wiiu being a new console has a little to 0 installed base so even if they make a port for it they will likely see no money for it.
This is something that has to be made over a generation transition because (if devs want it or not) this is when a lot of money will be invested and you will agree with me that is not smart for third parties nowadays to invest on a single console that can be seen as the same as soon-to-be-dead platforms instead of 2 (<- this is important... 2 console will likely sell more than one) machines that are pretty much alike
even smarter would be to invest on 3 machines that looks alike but since nintendo has missed the train this probably won't happen for at least 6 years.
Kung Fu Grip
Banned
They had many more than the Wii and more than the Wii U will ever see. Developers didn't worry about their games not selling because the N64 or Gamecube is in a different world than Playstation and Xbox. Or not powerful enough. If Nintendo goes back making powerful hardware, and focus more on the core gamer, they can slowly bring back the gamers who stopped buying Nintendo consoles (me) and in turn 3rd parties will have a market to sell their games to.
I didn't know what you meant by "8-4," so I googled "8-4 gaming," and the results included a podcast, but also a localization company headed up by an EGM editor, albeit I don't see Fire Emblem in its credits (probably outdated, though). So Treehouse didn't handle FE:A's localization, but these guys did?
The Horror the horror
Banned
The legendary Hiroshi Yamauchi-san didn't survive to see the Gamecube's failure in its totality after having "retired" shortly after its launch. A mere mortal like Iwata won't survive to see 2014 unless a big turnaround happens.
The Horror the horror
Banned
Ever heard of Chinatown Wars?
Shikamaru Ninja
任天å ã® å¿è
Nintendo's top three best selling franchises at this point are Wii Sports, Mario Kart, and New Super Mario Bros. Pokemon RPGs rank about fourth and have shown some decline. Which is weird when people say "Ohh Nintendo should make Pokemon MMO for Wii U" it would sell billions. No it wouldn't. You would spend more money making a game that sells less than the hand held iterations.
Doc Holliday
SPOILER: Columbus finds America
But the ps2 was the tech leader when it launched and it was a huge success. 3rd parties would have been insane not to makes games for the ps2. Sony did then what Nintendo should have done a year ago. Nintendo was in a perfect position to start next gen with a bang. They chose the same path as the wii so 3rd parties figured is the same shit different console.
The argument that the Wii U would not be getting much support if it were on par with Orbis/Durango doesn't really work. You can't make a direct comparison to the N64 or Gamecube because Nintendo's relationship with third parties was much different. With the former console, you still had Yamauchi, an undoubtedly fiery figure who didn't particularly care to foster long-term third party relations. With the Gamecube, there were multiple issues unrelated to hardware power: disk capacity, marketing failure (a 'purple lunchbox', as it was commonly referred to in the media), and successive releases of dark horse games in popular franchises ('Celda', a 'kiddy' Mario game, etc).
All it takes is a different marketing approach and a more transparent relationship with third parties. I know that this is obviously easier said than done, but you can't just say "oh, Nintendo can't get back into the 'power wars', that's what caused their problems in the first place!".
All it takes is a different marketing approach and a more transparent relationship with third parties. I know that this is obviously easier said than done, but you can't just say "oh, Nintendo can't get back into the 'power wars', that's what caused their problems in the first place!".
See, many of us would love for this to happen but than we look at the GameCube and see it only had 22 million sold units world wide.
JordanN
Banned
Handhelds are nice but what about console ones?
Other than the lackluster presentation and grab of the Wii U, I think the 3DS is a huge hit... Iwata should tough it out, and bring on help if he needs it. He as tons of experience and could come out knowing even more on how Nintendo should continue and shape it's legacy. I don't see the internal politics at hand, but being a customer I feel it would be a huge loss for him to back up his office and resign.
Synth_floyd
Banned
The failure of the Wii U and the Vita are signs that the traditional video game industry is shrinking. I don't think that next gen will be able to support 3 consoles. One of the three (Orbis, Durango or Wii U) will probably end up being a Vita style failure.
I applaud Iwata and whoever else at Nintendo made the decision not to compete with Sony and MS after Gamecube. That showed forethought and a move to more long term goals. They would have been murdered if they had just tried to brute force into a three way multiplatform race. People can admit it or not but Nintendo first party does scare off third parties. I don't agree with the casual focus of the Wii, and thats why i've been saying thats whats really hurting them with Wii U in different ways, especially with the shareholders and execs at Nintendo who were expecting a repeat.
I don't assume to have the answer but I really feel Iwata is helping them on the right track even if they haven't got there yet. I think ultimately their answer may just be combining their home console and handheld into one device. The concentrated power of such a device on the market might be too much for the world.
I know this is becoming a bandwagon meme here but i feel its BS. There are way too many other factors in play to make this assumption.
John Harker
Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
Iwata has been great for the industry. Him stepping down would be such a shame.
People who are calling for his resignation hvae nothing but biased agenda's and must be living in a cave, the man has done so much to further his medium and lead his company. He should be applauded, not lynched. It's a real tough market right now, the whole industry is in flux. There are many more people I'd rather see step down than Iwata.
People who are calling for his resignation hvae nothing but biased agenda's and must be living in a cave, the man has done so much to further his medium and lead his company. He should be applauded, not lynched. It's a real tough market right now, the whole industry is in flux. There are many more people I'd rather see step down than Iwata.
to play third fiddle? nah.. i agree that he needs to get the boot asap but the successor should not try to emulate sony and ms.
airmangataosenai
Member
Gamecube wasn't some sort of monstrosity either, it was weaker than Xbox but technologically competitive without breaking the bank. As has been mentioned many times, making a $300 box in this day and age that would blow the PS3 and Xbox away should've been feasible. Even with the excuse of the controller, $350 and still not being profitable with what they put inside doesn't make a lick of sense.
And to the people claiming that 3DS is doing as well as DS in Japan: It isn't, not even all that close either.
After the DS Lite launched the DS consistently never sold less than 100k units per week according to Media Create for a span that lasted over 1 year. For the 3DS, the time that it sold at that level after it's new iteration launched was slightly under 1 year.
And to the people claiming that 3DS is doing as well as DS in Japan: It isn't, not even all that close either.
After the DS Lite launched the DS consistently never sold less than 100k units per week according to Media Create for a span that lasted over 1 year. For the 3DS, the time that it sold at that level after it's new iteration launched was slightly under 1 year.
DragonSworne
Banned
Iwata's major mistake during the last 10 years has been not investing in western game development. The western market is by far the largest when it comes to consoles, yet this is the area where Nintendo has invested the least effort. When they have worked with a western developer, it has almost always been on a remake/sequel for a Japanese IP. Meanwhile both MS and Sony have been developing/acquiring their own US based development studios. Where would Sony right now if they were 100% reliant on Japanese developers? This is to say nothing of their online service and third party relationships, which are also major issues facing 3DS and Wii U in the west.
Iwata has done a great job in Japan, and I can't imagine anyone else doing a better job in that market. Rather than step down, he should replace Reggie with someone who can develop the kinds of games, services, and developer relationships necessary for long term success in the US market (and then he needs to empower them to accomplish those goals).
Iwata has done a great job in Japan, and I can't imagine anyone else doing a better job in that market. Rather than step down, he should replace Reggie with someone who can develop the kinds of games, services, and developer relationships necessary for long term success in the US market (and then he needs to empower them to accomplish those goals).
JordanN
Banned
The Wii U is already third fiddle. It's just really weak. Bumping up the processing power would only make the console more desirable, not worse.
Nintendo games get a boost in graphics, third partys are on board. How are people opposing this?!?!?!?!?!?
It's like you guys hate games...
how? third party relations? no there is too much bad blood between nintendo and thrdparties. power? nintendo sells to kids and casual. they cant afford a high price tag.
i think their basic strategy is fine. they just need to buy some existing studios and need to grow a lot more.
Because some people on GAF are completely blinded and almost obsessed by graphics. That the biggest gaming hits in the last years had simple visuals goes past them.
DragonSworne
Banned
For forget about western developers, Nintendo failed to invest in themselves in the last 10 years.
All their Wii money went to investors.
They aren't ready for HD development, they had a huge drop in production the last 3 years it's preplexing. What did they do with all that time when they decided not to release anymore games on Wii? Seems like they just sat on their hands.
Getting involved with western developers would have helped them tremendously in the transition to HD though :/
All their Wii money went to investors.
They aren't ready for HD development, they had a huge drop in production the last 3 years it's preplexing. What did they do with all that time when they decided not to release anymore games on Wii? Seems like they just sat on their hands.
Getting involved with western developers would have helped them tremendously in the transition to HD though :/
The problem is they only have 1. They need an Iwata in the west too. They also need to start letting their developers grow as a brand, instead of making Miyamoto the face of everything that comes out of their different studios. Retro is the only one who has any brand identity, and that's only because people on GAF and other boards have built them up themselves.
Sony?WTF, horrible.
He's actually the progressive head of the company. I don't want to imagine how Nintendo would look like with your typical shortsighted CEO.
Doc Holliday
SPOILER: Columbus finds America
Just because the GameCube failed it doesn't mean that you can never try compete with Sony/ms on equal terms. Hell Microsoft technically failed with the Xbox but they managed to build a brand that is a huge success with their next console. Btw gc and n64 still made Nintendo money in the end if i remember correctly.
Honestly, I'm not sure that even that would be supported in the market... because if all three systems round out to being the same, what reason would any consumer have to buy any system if you can get the same thing from all of them.
At that point, it becomes an issue of costs to the consumer and cost to develop (with the way that the market works currently, that would round down to Steam and their crazy deals). As I said, it's not a matter that it's a race on whom can push the most polygons, or whom spends the most on technology... it's a issue that simply getting into that race would be a path to no where, the only way that one would win would be to push the cost of the device and games so low that it's simple unsustainable in the long term. A zero sum game.
If that is what you want out of a company, any company... they would laugh at you. That is the one place no company wants to go, it KILL's a market.
Kung Fu Grip
Banned
MS is focusing on casuals more now yes, but they didn't abandoned us core gamers while doing it did they? No. The 360 is flooded with 3rd party games all while making Kinect a huge success. Like i said, Nintendo can do both. The 720 will be no different.
Nintendo probably wishes they were in MS's position right now. They have both the casual and core gamers now. My 11 year old niece wanted a 360 with kinect for christmas. Not a Wii U.
Sohter.Nura
Member
Because it's not a true statement. The GC was graphically more advanced than the PS2, even though there were issues with storage media. It did not get more ports, and it was Nintendo's most unsuccessful home console.
The problem goes deeper than that, and it takes a lot more than a powerful hardware to make third parties jump over. There's timing, pricing, stragtegy, and lots of other things. Nintendo could have released a very strong hardware this last November and it would not have made a difference because third-parties would just wait until Sony and Microsoft fired their consoles to start developing for next-gen.
Nintendo is/was between a rock and a hard place. If Iwata released a Wii U as a cutting edge console they would have to sell it at more of a loss and still have all their work ahead of them competing with Sony and MS. At least with Wii U, they had some chance of repeating Wii's success. That's not going to happen, but I don't think Iwata had to many options.
Personally, I don't think the console makin' business is very lucrative anymore. If Nintendo became third party, or focused on making PC games (i.e. Pokemon MMO) they would be making gobs of cash without risking so much.
Where do you get that third parties would magically jump on board?
"we don't want to develop for the Wii U because the controller is different."
Honestly I'd rather have a whole new set of management at Nintendo of America. Nintendo has been doing pretty well in Japan (apart from the shitty post-launch Wii U sales that will pick up in Q3 when games come out), but it's been a fucking disaster in America. Tons of games not coming over to NA or being incredibly late, atrocious marketing (sometimes zero marketing for some games), really late VC games, bad image, and occasional bad/awkward PR.
The only real problem Nintendo as a whole has is its timing of game releases to avoid droughts, it's segregation between branches (tons of restrictions on NoE and NoA from what I've heard), and it's absolutely disgusting anti-consumer practices. If NCL can sort that out they'll be fucking incredible.
The only real problem Nintendo as a whole has is its timing of game releases to avoid droughts, it's segregation between branches (tons of restrictions on NoE and NoA from what I've heard), and it's absolutely disgusting anti-consumer practices. If NCL can sort that out they'll be fucking incredible.
the wiiu is the first to come to the market. durango and orbis is not out yet.that said higher power doesnt mean third parties on board. we saw it with every platform on the planet except the wii. you need a high userbase to get support not great graphics
speaking of wii, no matter how you spin the HD twin is one market theory the wii was market leader last gen. they did fizzle out in 2010 to 2011 and that was a big mistake (which could have been prevented by buying some companies like eidos or midway) but they have sold 100 million units which is nothing to be regarded as third fiddle. i think thats what they try to achieve not another gamecube.
In what world does the Wii have less 3rd party support than the Cube and the N64?
I won't say it was getting the highest quality games, but it was getting a lot more.
Moving the goalposts, I see?
I still say that even if Wii U was the most powerful console ever made, 3rd party developers would make excuse that people bought a Nintendo console to only buy Nintendo games and they would not put anything on it. It's the lack and bad relations with the 3rd party that drained the support not the power. If the power was important, the N64 and the GameCube would have a better faith.
Fourth Storm
Member
Informative post, Alberto.
I am still not 100% positive that this Nintendo Software Paradox is a reality. In the case of 3DS, there was no big Nintendo game to sell the system in the early days, and in fact, there was no big game at all! Capcom led the way with a port of Super Street Fighter! That's supposed to sell systems?
I can appreciate that developers feel this way, but from Nintendo's perspective, they gave 3rd parties a shot to get in early on 3DS, and 3rd parties did not deliver. Nintendo could not sit around idly as their system flopped, so they resorted to drastic measures. Mind you, I think both Mario Kart and 3D Mario in one season was massive overkill. Look at this past holiday season, however. NSMB2 was released early on and the time would have been ripe for a company like Konami to drop their Castlevania game, but apparently it's not ready. Granted, there are still a bunch of people likely waiting to buy a 3DS only to scoop up the handful of AAA Nintendo games now waiting for them. However, I'd be very surprised if there wasn't a decent sized group of 3DS owners clamoring for a quality non-Mario game. Mario is great, but variety is the spice of life.
The other common example is the much discussed Wii situation. It had a massive install base, many members of which, were actually "hardcore" gamers. Many of these users felt neglected, despite Nintendo pumping out a decent amount of software, because certain markets were not being appealed to. First person shooters blew up and Nintendo didn't have anything to compete in that area. The efforts Wii owners did receive, such as The Conduit, were simply not good enough to compete with what was getting done on the other systems. In today's Western market, realism is emphasized and Wii plainly did not have the hardware beef to get in on the trend.
MisterHero
Super Member
Kinect being successful doesn't stop it from being a cynical me-too cashgrab compared to Wii. Nintendo isn't trying to have seperate audiences, they want to get them all interested in the same games.
If Nintendo didn't find success with Wii, MS would have zero ideas on what to do.
boiled goose
good with gravy
Iwata did great things for Nintendo during DS and the early portion Wii gens.
The problem is that this success was hinged on disruption, and Nintendo failed to disrupt again with 3DS and WiiU.
Both 3DS and WiiU are the two systems most similar to their predecessors in Nintendo's history.
Nintendo had a crazy series of home runs with nintendogs, brain age, the return of 2D mario with NSMB, wii sports, wii fit, etc. What have we seen this gen? Only sequels to these franchises.
IWATA GOT TOO COMFORTABLE.
Nintendo has been sitting on piles of money yet they failed to expand and invest in new concepts.
Nintendo should be leading the industry in new directions such as online. Miiverse does do some things right like social networking, but it should almost be the main focus and there are plenty of things nintendo is not doing right. Miiverse should be everywhere including 3DS, phones, and your computer. The nintendo network should be a proper online system with accounts to promote loyalty like steam and itunes do.
Nintendo instead developed a WiiU that will get neither current gen nor next gen ports. And it's launch flagship title was the 4th iteration of NSMB.
I do think the WiiU situation will improve, but Nintendo failed to capitalize on its lead. And that is Iwata's fault.
The problem is that this success was hinged on disruption, and Nintendo failed to disrupt again with 3DS and WiiU.
Both 3DS and WiiU are the two systems most similar to their predecessors in Nintendo's history.
Nintendo had a crazy series of home runs with nintendogs, brain age, the return of 2D mario with NSMB, wii sports, wii fit, etc. What have we seen this gen? Only sequels to these franchises.
IWATA GOT TOO COMFORTABLE.
Nintendo has been sitting on piles of money yet they failed to expand and invest in new concepts.
Nintendo should be leading the industry in new directions such as online. Miiverse does do some things right like social networking, but it should almost be the main focus and there are plenty of things nintendo is not doing right. Miiverse should be everywhere including 3DS, phones, and your computer. The nintendo network should be a proper online system with accounts to promote loyalty like steam and itunes do.
Nintendo instead developed a WiiU that will get neither current gen nor next gen ports. And it's launch flagship title was the 4th iteration of NSMB.
I do think the WiiU situation will improve, but Nintendo failed to capitalize on its lead. And that is Iwata's fault.
Doc Holliday
SPOILER: Columbus finds America
Well then Nintendo should have done a better job at not giving 3rd parties an excuse. Everyone here knew that 3rd parties would say that, but Nintendo didn't? Of course this only matters if Nintendo wanted 3rd parties in the first place. I'm assuming they did but they half assed it.
If Nintendo didn't want count on 3rd parties they should have brought their A game at launch.
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