Iwata's Broken Promises (NotEnoughShaders article)

Goodlife said:
Where as mine has been my most used system, ever.
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I use mine daily too. Even if it's just for browsing. Yes I have Wii U games still to finish.

RedSwirl said:
I think that on some level Nintendo realizes that the Gamecube wasn't hugely successful because it had nothing to offer developers that the PS2 and Xbox didn't. Issues like the controller, lack of online, and small discs were not insurmountable obstacles and were really, relatively minor issues with the Gamecube. The real problem is that it didn't have a unique selling proposition, and they've been trying to come up with one ever since.
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I think where their reasoning fell apart is that they thought "Our gaming controllers need a USP" as opposed to things like core technology, services and non-gaming aspects. XBox had online as a service, PS2 had the DVD player. I applaud them for the idea of the Wii, but their execution was abysmal. Likewise for Wii U, having a touchscreen controllers is great but they are doing something that a large number of the bigger third parties see more as a headache than anything else.

I would also suggest that Nintendo's general image and past history of iron-fisted rule over third parties meant PS2/XBox were a welcoming breath of fresh air.
 
People are just kicking Iwata while he's down, because the 3DS and WiiU aren't doing so hot.

What Nintendo really needs right now is some diversification. Something that might need some investment sometimes, but maybe can carry the company once in a while when it's feeling down. Something like their handheld line, but different. A "third pillar", if you will. Whatever happened to that idea? Oh right, that was another of Iwata's lies.
 
Mailenstein said:
While we are at it, Miyamoto too. He made great games back in the 90s, but as for now, he better retire, seriously.
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100% agreed.

Miyamoto is too old and has been out of touch for some time. He rely too much on outdated ideas that are no longer relevant for today's market and believes he still is the god developer he was in the 90s, this steal the spotlight for a new generation of gaming developers on the company. Nintendo needs to realise he's no longer the 90's Miyamoto.
 
Shouldn't we wait until the game which Miyamoto has been working on for the past half a decade is released before we start saying he's lost it? He's barely been directly involved in any big releases recently has he? If anything, they need him to get back to doing what he does best: making games/new IPs.
 
The_Lump said:
Shouldn't we wait until the game which Miyamoto has been working on for the past half a decade is released before we start saying he's lost it? He's barely been directly involved in any big releases recently has he? If anything, they need him to get back to doing what he does best: making games/new IPs.
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We should, but they haven't really shown anything particularly great in Pikmin so far. They may be hiding something mind blowing but I'm not holding my breath.
 
AzaK said:
We should, but they haven't really shown anything particularly great in Pikmin so far. They may be hiding something mind blowing but I'm not holding my breath.
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That would hardly mean he should pack it in though.

Imo, Pikmin was and is a niche game. It will never be a commercial success for Nintendo but it will still most likely be great. Even if it's only an average Pikmin game, that's no reason to say one of Nintendo's greatest assets should retire.
 
macuser1of5 said:
If a touch screen monitor is roughly the same size as tablets available on the market and can be held in my lap for the purposes of interacting with content... Well, it's probably gonna be compared to a tablet when consumers are making purchase decisions. Not sure why this is so difficult to understand, or how this is a controversial observation.

Your horse analogy is bizarre and nonsensical.
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It isn't a controversial observation, it's just a lazy one. You're intentionally misinforming yourself and then thinking that somehow everyone else is dumber, thus would be even more misinformed. Nintendo is a globally recognized name (the most recognized) for video games. I think they're actually one of the most recognized brands in the world period. The Wii U is clearly shown playing video games. They are sold in the video game section right alongside their games. How do you think they hear about this console from their friends? You think I tell my friends to check out this cool new tablet and fart noise app? You think anyone will? No, Wii U might struggle with consumers confused between it and the original Wii but I seriously doubt they'll mix it up with a Nexus 7.
 
tnaden said:
https://twitter.com/Emi1yRogers/status/319559753900634112



V4kjTOi.png
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Pachter killing their servers, haha.
 
Reading this stings, as I think Iwata seriously is a nice guy and I love "Iwata Asks", but unfortunately the majority of the article is right. I don't think the DS's success was a mistake and I don't think the 3DS is either, but I do think they struck gold with the Wii coincidentally, and the Wii U I will leave judgement for until the end of the year, but it's not looking good. That said, even though I love the Wii U, I know that they made some stupid choices with it. They should have taken out backwards compatibility, and beefed up the system some. The GamePad I feel is a wonderful idea though. I hope it's in the future Nintendo home console, but much improved...
 
SMD said:
I genuinely don't understand. It's a great 2D platformer, one of the best modern ones. What does it matter if it came out now or later? It's got a fair amount of content and challenge and I'd rather this than a rushed 3D Mario game.
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Because it was the easiest thing that Nintendo could do to get a Mario game as a launch title. Take the work they already did on the Wii version, give it a make over and release it as a WiiU title. Just plain lazy.
 
Darryl said:
NES is getting a taste of those hot topic journalism hits. They deserve it. Pretty informative site.
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What I always found interesting is they don't run any advertisements on this site.

So they don't really benefit financially from hits.
 
The worst part is that he keeps says they are gonna change but it's immediately obvious they won't. I mean, look at the Wii U, 5 months after launch everyone just hopes Nintendo will release some decent and some great first party games but is taking for granted that 3rd party support will remain poor.
 
It's hard to determine blame properly when we're not there. However, since he's the president I guess Iwata is as good a target as any.

But, following the article, what has he done that's so wrong? Apologizing for the droughts and promising change? That might be a problem, but certainly we aren't in an uproar over the droughts themselves. Every console goes through this period. PS3, 360, and Vita all went through it. It sucks, and Iwata shouldn't make false promises, but it's par for the course at this point.
 
I agree with this article. I like Iwata but he has got to stop making promises then under delivers. How hard is it to get your teams pumping out games consistently? Open new studios if you need to. Acquire already established studios to cover your portfolio. When was the last time that happened? Do more collaborations than just with certain studios at certain times. Platinum+Nintendo and Atlus+Nintendo is right step but not enough.

They have to figure this out with or without a Iwata sadly...
 
Darryl said:
It isn't a controversial observation, it's just a lazy one. You're intentionally misinforming yourself and then thinking that somehow everyone else is dumber, thus would be even more misinformed. Nintendo is a globally recognized name (the most recognized) for video games. I think they're actually one of the most recognized brands in the world period. The Wii U is clearly shown playing video games. They are sold in the video game section right alongside their games. How do you think they hear about this console from their friends? You think I tell my friends to check out this cool new tablet and fart noise app? You think anyone will? No, Wii U might struggle with consumers confused between it and the original Wii but I seriously doubt they'll mix it up with a Nexus 7.
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See, this is where you misunderstand the issue. Nobody is confusing the Wii U for a Nexus, they are picking the iPad/Nexus/PS3/XBox/Durango/Orbis over it. Like I said, consumers make choices.
 
macuser1of5 said:
See, this is where you misunderstand the issue. Nobody is confusing the Wii U for a Nexus, they are picking the iPad/Nexus/PS3/XBox/Durango/Orbis over it. Like I said, consumers make choices.
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I didn't misunderstand the issue. The confusing the Nexus comment was not meant to be taken literally. I'm saying that the products are not substitutes. It isn't and mass-market consumers will not see it that way. It makes no sense at all. The only ones who will are people like you who intentionally misinform themselves.
 
Darryl said:
I didn't misunderstand the issue. The confusing the Nexus comment was not meant to be taken literally. I'm saying that the products are not substitutes. It isn't and mass-market consumers will not see it that way. It makes no sense at all. The only ones who will are people like you who intentionally misinform themselves.
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The dull thud of the Wii U release would loudly disagree that these products are not substitutes. Look at the numbers.
 
macuser1of5 said:
The dull thud of the Wii U release would loudly disagree that these products are not substitutes. Look at the numbers.
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Wii U having a troubled launch indicates that it and tablet computers are substitutes? That's something I'm not sure that I've heard yet.
 
cyberheater said:
But as a launch title it did nothing for WiiU. In it's own right it is a good 2D platformer. But from a casual gamers point of view. The same demographic that Nintendo was hoping to sell WiiU too. It looked just like the game that most Wii owners already had.

A lazy and very poor choice for a next gen launch title and not a system seller.
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That game (NSMB) skyrocketed DS (mainly DS Lite), pushed Wii at the end of 2009, what were the clues to say that NSMB wasn't potentially a system-seller? NSMB 2? Too late, they learned this lesson only 4 months before WiiU release. They had the numbers with them, they had the arguments, they learned they were wrong ones too late.

One of the problems is 2010-2012 frame, they didn't give room for Wii in their marketing plan for 3DS and let the hype die...
 
macuser1of5 said:
Tablets + Current Consoles + Future Consoles. Substitute goods, all of them.
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If tablets and current consoles are substitutes for each other, why are the other current consoles not being affected? Is it because they're not actually substitutes and share no similar functionality? Why bother changing the argument we were having to include current consoles and future consoles at all?
 
I think Nintendo's biggest problem has been placing any reliance on 3rd parties to fill software gaps on their home consoles. When the end of the Wii's 3rd year rolled around and 3rd party support was still missing despite the massive success of the system, they really should have invested heavily into 3-4 new studios across US/Canada, Europe and Japan.

When you have 3 platforms (PS4/XB3/PC) that will largely support the same content, the WiiU would need a roughly similar level of marketshare to those 3 platforms combined for companies to seriously consider support (even then I doubt it given how risk-averse 3rd party publishers have become). The writing has been on the wall for some time, they need to provide a broad library of quality games on their own, support whatever indies and 3rd party exclusives they get extensively and essentially create an ecosystem that will survive with or without AAA 3rd party support.

I wouldn't place blame on Iwata when 3rd parties screwed around with the Wii, but it's absolutely his fault that his response was gathering a bunch of 360/PS3 ports as "support" for WiiU (while undermining support from indies with his comments about cheap/f2p and smartphone games - these studios are now showing up everywhere supporting PS4 and Vita, Nintendo's only serious competition in Japan). Also, by focusing on various "innovative" additions to each machine he is essentially painting the company into a corner where there is constant pressure to come out with something new, while his competitors can integrate any of their successes while outspending Nintendo on hardware.

cyberheater said:
Because it was the easiest thing that Nintendo could do to get a Mario game as a launch title. Take the work they already did on the Wii version, give it a make over and release it as a WiiU title. Just plain lazy.
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It's the best NSMB game. I understand that people dislike the reuse of music and bringing some of the SD content into HD but those elements were most likely constrained by time rather than budget or "laziness" on the part of the developers.
 
Darryl said:
If tablets and current consoles are substitutes for each other, why are the other current consoles not being affected? Is it because they're not actually substitutes and share no similar functionality? Why bother changing the argument we were having to include current consoles and future consoles at all?
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Tablets do not offer the depth of gaming options and variety that consoles provide.

Consoles do not offer the multimedia consumption capabilities, hand-held portability and small screen size/weight of tablets.

The Wii U is an attempt to split the difference, so it will naturally be compared to both. See how this works out to the Wii U's detriment? It has double the competition. And of course future console announcements have a detrimental effect on consumer demand for current hardware.
 
Everyone's going to hate me for saying this, but I think part of the problem is that there actually ISN'T a lot of turnover in Japanese companies. They don't expel dead weight or change teams when situations call for it.

It's like when the Virtual Boy was a failure Nintendo essentially took away Gunpei Yokoi's ability to do anything but still gave him a salary and a "window seat" at meetings. Why pay someone to be useless? If you're not willing to let them take any more risks, just fire them so they can go on and make a new company that takes those risks.

Inafune's recent remarks back this up.
 
been trying to fix server issues for the past 30-40 minutes or so, which is why the site was down. ultimately didn't end up fixing anything it seems so NES will probably get connection issues again in a bit once traffic ramps up again -_-;

I'm still looking into it but not sure what to do
I'm bad at this
 
guek said:
been trying to fix server issues for the past 30-40 minutes or so, which is why the site was down. ultimately didn't end up fixing anything it seems so NES will probably get connection issues again in a bit once traffic ramps up again -_-;

I'm still looking into it but not sure what to do
I'm bad at this
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Give up on fixing server issues, rehost article on some other poor sap's expense.
 
What bothers me is that Nintendo always gets so bent up about making new and innovative hardware to sell their software. I would rather they just make innovative and new software to sell their hardware.
 
The points made in the original article do have merit. The big one that gets to me is thinking about the weak 3DS launch and Iwata's claim that they would not repeat that mistake.

Honestly, the U came out in November and the only two internally developed Nintendo games are Nintendoland (a fun series of disguised tech demos) and New Super Mario Bros U (not what I would call a time consuming or expensive project). That isn't just bad, it's weird. And Game & Wario just came out in Japan, but guess what, that's another mini-game / disguised tech demo collection. Where's the actual meat? Seems to be all going to their bread and butter, the portable market.

I think the portable games have become much more time consuming to produce. It isn't like the GBA anymore where quickly porting an SNES game will make the library huge. Games like Kid Icarus Uprising, Fire Emblem, and Luigi's Mansion could very well have been Wii games, if not Wii U games, just in terms of content and the overall experience. Focusing so many resources on 3ds when it was bomba in turn made the U struggle out of the gate. And staff wise I know they're expanding, but not at the rate needed. Add in OS issues and the like, 3rd parties ignoring the platform, and it's frustrating for sure.

Oddly, it's my favorite console in forever.

IMO not everything has to be huge budget to be a success. If they do that iOS conversion thing right, they could get a healthy library of cheap iPad games with great features such as actual buttons and on-TV play.

If they get off their ass with Virtual Console, they could expand on a great market for the nostalgia crowd that can't be experienced elsewhere.

And if they put a little thought into it and start to get the best of PSN/XBox Live games trickling in, that's a lot of cool distractions between the big Mario and Zelda games (and maybe the occasional 3rd party hit). Tony Hawk HD, Fez, Meat Boy, Braid, etc. They wouldn't be huge sellers, but some Wii owners didn't experience them and overall it would be worth the likely minimal investment if hats of money are required. Build a library and get some ports of the best stuff.

Console-wise, not everything has to be forward looking. We get Injustice? Cool I guess. But why not work to get an eShop version of Mortal Kombat for $30-ish since the engine is the same? A version of Street Fighter IV would be nice too. Why not Bayonetta 1?

Oh, and if EA is done, start sucking up to 2K. They need the NBA series to continue and MLB next year, unless they can step up to the plate themselves (which is doubtful, since sports games are so complicated). Just pay for Madden 25th from EA if necessary, not having that or a suitable replacement is terrible tone-wise. Play ball and do whatever's necessary for GTA V.

Rambled far too long.
 
Gartooth said:
What bothers me is that Nintendo always gets so bent up about making new and innovative hardware to sell their software. I would rather they just make innovative and new games to sell their hardware.
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Yep, couldn't say it better myself. Since Iwata has become CEO, Nintendo has been more focused on hardware gimmicks then games.
 
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