Has Nintendo lost its mojo?

Didn't you guys make this same trolling thread about Pokemon z-a as well?

Lets see what happened there?
" Pokémon Legends: Z-A
sold 5.8 million units worldwide in its first week "


hmm and also Mario Kart World is horrible right?
" As of September 30, 2025, Mario Kart World has sold over 9.57 million units worldwide "



so what 5 million for Metroid in the first month then? :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 
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Because Metroid Prime 4 isn't scoring 95/100 it suddenly means Nintendo has lost it's mojo?

Christ, some of you are impossible to please.

Game reviewing is such trash nowadays and I am amazed that some people here still take reviews as some sort of gospel on a game.

Play the game, find out for yourself.

I haven't paid attention to game reviews in 25-30 years and I'm glad I don't because if I used them as my demarcation line, I'd never enjoy any games.
 
Nah, while Metroid Prime 4 is definitely lower than I expected, the rest are totally expected.

I mean, come on, Hyrule Warriors is a KOEI developed Dynasty Warriors game. In that context, the score is pretty good. Low 80s/high 70s is super common for Pokémon, too. Kirby Air Riders is super niche.

Also, modern "professional" reviews are retarded. Dragon Age: The Veilguard has an 82, and both Star Wars Outlaws and Assassin's Creed Shadows are at 81. No way I would want to play any of those slop titles over anything you listed in the OP.
 
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RoboFu said:
Didn't you guys make this same trolling thread about Pokemon z-a as well?

Lets see what happened there?
" Pokémon Legends: Z-A
sold 5.8 million units worldwide in its first week "


hmm and also MariKart World is horrible right?
" As of September 30, 2025, Mario Kart World has sold over 9.57 million units worldwide "



so what 5 million for Metroid in the first month then? :messenger_tears_of_joy:
Click to expand...
Yeah those sales are so much fun to play. Dented take.
 
AJUMP23 said:
Did Capcom make a console for MH Wilds?

By your logic the WiiU should have been a sales monster, it was not, it was the worst selling Nintendo console ever. The Wii was a sales monster.
Click to expand...


Watch this trailer. I double dog dare you. It is incredibly unclear what this device is for someone not really familiar with game consoles. No one knew wtf the Wii U even was. The console itself is in the background under the TV, but it looks shockingly similar to a Wii, and even when the person going to use it goes to pick up the gamepad, they put down a fucking Wii Remote. In this whole presentation they never say it's a brand new console, never show off the console itself. A huge number of people thought it was some sort of attachment or add-on for the Wii itself, including Jimmy Fallon who famously went on interview with Reggie asking just that.

The Wii U failed because of a spectacular lack of vision, a solution looking for a problem, and being much too late to the HD era. Let's not forget, the Wii U was also sold out during its launch. The people that did realize it was a new console, snapped it right up, because yes, it too stood on the shoulders of giants.

Those people quickly realized their mistake. That's the crux of this argument.
 
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Nintendo back then:
HStudoZ3VZ315Mmr.jpg

Nintendo now:
r7sECmG2r565txh5.jpg
 
Nintendo games just don't hit anymore. In the past, Nintendo games had average graphics, good art style and great gameplay. Now Nintendo games have below average graphics, dated art style and expired gameplay.

They're not innovating in game design anymore. They are however innovating in the way they can squeeze money out of the fanbase. In that aspect, they're now S tier and well ahead of the industry barring Activision.
 
JPSLotus97T said:
Because Metroid Prime 4 isn't scoring 95/100 it suddenly means Nintendo has lost it's mojo?
Click to expand...
Like I said before the expectations GAF has for games is byond twisted.

Either games has to be "masterpiece" if it's not then its "trash", there is no room in between.

This is why most people in GAF always feel disappoint in games.
 
Im kind of surprised that people dont talk about the Switch 2 that often.Yeah the hype about the release has insane, but then the price dropped, and the line up.

If it werent for post here I would have never remembered that Kirby Air Raiders was out. People just dont talk about Nintendo games that much.

But I think Nintendo will be fine, they got slaves defending and buying everything they make. The worse? They will ask for more
 
Why should I give a fuck about a fucking score, I mean, we constantly shit on gaming journos.

I'll play the game and post about my opinion of it in a few days (or weeks) when I finish it.
 
Comandr said:


Watch this trailer. I double dog dare you. It is incredibly unclear what this device is for someone not really familiar with game consoles. No one knew wtf the Wii U even was. The console itself is in the background under the TV, but it looks shockingly similar to a Wii, and even when the person going to use it goes to pick up the gamepad, they put down a fucking Wii Remote. In this whole presentation they never say it's a brand new console, never show off the console itself. A huge number of people thought it was some sort of attachment or add-on for the Wii itself, including Jimmy Fallon who famously went on interview with Reggie asking just that.

The Wii U failed because of a spectacular lack of vision, a solution looking for a problem, and being much too late to the HD era. Let's not forget, the Wii U was also sold out during its launch. The people that did realize it was a new console, snapped it right up, because yes, it too stood on the shoulders of giants.

Those people quickly realized their mistake. That's the crux of this argument.
Click to expand...


just admit i used your own failed logic to defeat your spectacularly weak argument and we can move on. The Saturn should have been a monster following the Genesis. Genesis should have failed following the Master System. Dreamcast should have been a failure following the Saturn. (I guess the dreamcast failed).
 
Now that all is said and done, Switch 2's 2025 lineup is certainly weaker than the original Switch's insane 2017 lineup, but it's a pretty strong year relative to most console launches (especially recent ones) and compares favorably to Nintendo's average annual software output.

The thing is that, of all the games listed in the OP, the only one that underperformed critically is Metroid Prime 4.

Those are exactly the sort of review scores you would expect for a Warriors game and a modern Pokemon title, and the current metacritic score for Kirby Air Riders (80, not 78) is almost a full 20 points above the score for the original Kirby Air Ride (61), so it definitely did not underperform.

Mario Kart World's score (86) is likewise right in the range you would expect for a Mario Kart title. The 91 that 8 Deluxe got was an outlier and was definitely aided by the fact that there was a large amount of extra content added on top of a base game that was already one of the best reviewed in the series.

I think the real problem here is that Nintendo has yet to produce *that game* for the system, the one that feels revolutionary and becomes a major event, the way that Mario 64 or Breath of the Wild did. Donkey Kong Bananza is a wonderful game, but it's not Peak Nintendo.

Add to that all of the drama and discourse around the system, and I think you have a negative narrative that has congealed, even as the console itself continues to sell at an insane pace.
 
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I think the core issue here is that Nintendo is still trying to be experimental in an era where budgets and development cycles really don't allow that.

Mario Kart World, an open world kart racer originally developed for the previous gen console - many players don't think the open world aspect brings enough to the table to justify the whole game built around that. The overwhelming response from players is that MK8 was better.

Pokemon ZA has stripped out all form of strategy, and now you just have to mash buttons as fast as the timers will allow you to coast through the game. There are no more abilities, no more items taking a valuable turn; just hit the button that's not on cooldown. And you can run around now. This game has no competitive legs whatsoever.

As far as public consciousness goes, Mario Kart and Pokemon are pretty big tent pole titles for Nintendo, and yet the response to them has been underwhelming to resentful. People are big mad about having to buy a new console to play these $80 games, and then they are less fun and engaging than the very old games they already own.

What's the solution here? More paint by numbers games that appeal to test audiences? More trend chasing? Unfortunately, it takes so long to develop a game, some of those trends have already come and gone. Lower the price of games to reduce the sting of dissatisfaction? That could help.

I think what Nintendo really needs to do is tap into that war chest and hire more developers. We have these massive, huge IP, the deserve higher development budgets and larger teams to be able to produce higher quality, even experimental games, out faster.

We were promised with the consolidation of Nintendo's consoles, from the Wii U and the 3DS to the Switch, we would get more games. But it feels like the number of games hasn't really increased, in fact, it feels like we have less games overall. Not only is it a huge wait between entries, the quality doesn't seem to be there to make up for it. It's been eleven (11) years between Mario Kart 8's original release and World. If we go 11 years back from 2014, we got Mario Kart Double Dash, Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Wii, and Mario Kart 7 in the same time we've gotten one new game today.

Maybe this is an HD towns are hard problem. But it sounds like the billion dollar company that sells video games as a business model should figure that out, and it sounds like maybe putting more money into developing these games will go a long way.
 
No, but it seems like Retro has. 😢
 
blacktout said:
Now that all is said and done, Switch 2's 2025 lineup is certainly weaker than the original Switch's insane 2017 lineup, but it's a pretty strong year relative to most console launches (especially recent ones) and compares favorably to Nintendo's average annual software output.

The thing is that, of all the games listed in the OP, the only one that underperformed critically is Metroid Prime 4.

Those are exactly the sort of review scores you would expect for a Warriors game and a modern Pokemon title, and the current metacritic score for Kirby Air Riders (80, not 78) is almost a full 20 points above the score for the original Kirby Air Ride (61), so it definitely did not underperform.

Mario Kart World's score (86) is likewise right in the range you would expect for a Mario Kart title. The 91 that 8 Deluxe got was an outlier and was definitely aided by the fact that there was a large amount of extra content added on top of a base game that was already one of the best reviewed in the series.

I think the real problem here is that Nintendo has yet to produce *that game* for the system, the one that feels revolutionary and becomes a major event, the way that Mario 64 or Breath of the Wild did. Donkey Kong Bananza is a wonderful game, but it's not Peak Nintendo.

Add to that all of the drama and discourse around the system, and I think you have a negative narrative that has congealed, even as the console itself continues to sell at an insane pace.
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The Switch 1 launch was arguably the greatest video game launch in history. Launching with BotW, and having Mario Odyssey come out in the same year was INSANE.

Switch 2 didn't need to try as hard in order to be successful, and so they didn't. I'm sure we have some Nintendo bangers on the horizon, but the Switch 1 launch was really a "shit or get off the pot" moment for Nintendo. They had to show up, and they did.
 
blacktout said:
Mario Kart World's score (86) is likewise right in the range you would expect for a Mario Kart title. The 91 that 8 Deluxe got was an outlier and was definitely aided by the fact that there was a large amount of extra content added on top of a base game that was already one of the best reviewed in the series.
Click to expand...
6RExbduxIzXlt1jO.jpg

I would argue that the issue here is less of what paid critics think, and more of what paying customers are feeling. Which is why we have this thread, actually. It's the players that are being let down the most. You can't throw a stone without hitting a very long youtube video about someone ripping these games to shreds. The disappointment with this new console is palpable so far. Nintendo really needs to bring out the big guns, and soon.
 
Comandr said:
As far as public consciousness goes, Mario Kart and Pokemon are pretty big tent pole titles for Nintendo, and yet the response to them has been underwhelming to resentful. People are big mad about having to buy a new console to play these $80 games, and then they are less fun and engaging than the very old games they already own.
Click to expand...
Is that true, or is your sample mostly people on the internet/GAF? Everyone I know loves Mario Kart World, and I'm pretty sure the casual audiences it's meant for are very happy with it.

No idea about Pokémon, though. But I'd assume it's probably similar.
 
Comandr said:
I think the core issue here is that Nintendo is still trying to be experimental in an era where budgets and development cycles really don't allow that.

Mario Kart World, an open world kart racer originally developed for the previous gen console - many players don't think the open world aspect brings enough to the table to justify the whole game built around that. The overwhelming response from players is that MK8 was better.

Pokemon ZA has stripped out all form of strategy, and now you just have to mash buttons as fast as the timers will allow you to coast through the game. There are no more abilities, no more items taking a valuable turn; just hit the button that's not on cooldown. And you can run around now. This game has no competitive legs whatsoever.

As far as public consciousness goes, Mario Kart and Pokemon are pretty big tent pole titles for Nintendo, and yet the response to them has been underwhelming to resentful. People are big mad about having to buy a new console to play these $80 games, and then they are less fun and engaging than the very old games they already own.

What's the solution here? More paint by numbers games that appeal to test audiences? More trend chasing? Unfortunately, it takes so long to develop a game, some of those trends have already come and gone. Lower the price of games to reduce the sting of dissatisfaction? That could help.

I think what Nintendo really needs to do is tap into that war chest and hire more developers. We have these massive, huge IP, the deserve higher development budgets and larger teams to be able to produce higher quality, even experimental games, out faster.

We were promised with the consolidation of Nintendo's consoles, from the Wii U and the 3DS to the Switch, we would get more games. But it feels like the number of games hasn't really increased, in fact, it feels like we have less games overall. Not only is it a huge wait between entries, the quality doesn't seem to be there to make up for it. It's been eleven (11) years between Mario Kart 8's original release and World. If we go 11 years back from 2014, we got Mario Kart Double Dash, Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Wii, and Mario Kart 7 in the same time we've gotten one new game today.

Maybe this is an HD towns are hard problem. But it sounds like the billion dollar company that sells video games as a business model should figure that out, and it sounds like maybe putting more money into developing these games will go a long way.
Click to expand...
I think your take is spot on, and honestly Nintendo's current situation shows how badly they need to adapt to the modern realities of console development. They're still operating with a production mindset that made sense in the DS/3DS/Wii era—small studios, lean teams, conservative design bets, and an almost custodial approach to IP. That model simply doesn't scale when you move into HD development cycles, ever-growing asset demands, and player expectations shaped by studios with thousands of employees across multiple continents.

A good portion of Nintendo's internal teams, until the Switch era, had only ever worked on handheld hardware. The leap to HD—and now "near-parity" HD with Switch 2 approaching the performance of current competitors—hit them hard. It's visible in the long gaps between flagship releases, in how cautious many projects feel, and in the uneven execution of entries that should be industry-defining.

And you're right: they were supposed to solve this by consolidating development into one unified hardware line. Instead, it feels like the output has actually shrunk. Not only do we get fewer games, but the ones we do get often don't reflect the decade-plus of waiting. When it takes eleven years to go from MK8 to World, and the result is viewed as a step down, that's a sign the pipeline itself is under-resourced.

At this point, Nintendo's "small, tightly focused teams" philosophy just doesn't match the scale of what top-tier modern game development requires. They can't keep relying only on internal restructurings and occasional collaborations. They need to expand—through hiring, through partnerships, and yes, through acquisitions. They're a billion-dollar company sitting on one of the strongest IP portfolios in entertainment. There's no excuse for not having the workforce needed to match the development timelines that today's industry demands.
 
Comandr said:
6RExbduxIzXlt1jO.jpg

I would argue that the issue here is less of what paid critics think, and more of what paying customers are feeling. Which is why we have this thread, actually. It's the players that are being let down the most. You can't throw a stone without hitting a very long youtube video about someone ripping these games to shreds. The disappointment with this new console is palpable so far. Nintendo really needs to bring out the big guns, and soon.
Click to expand...
The issue with this is it's just not enough people to make any judgement with only 2899 ratings. People on the whole are far more inclined to shout the loudest when they are upset by something.
 
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Impotaku said:
Another pony tears thread, nintendo broke them hard with the switch and they never recovered.
giphy.gif
Click to expand...
How is OP LakeOf9 LakeOf9 a Playstation fan?
LakeOf9 said:
Fuck yes. I am so excited in this.

I think if Valve pulls this off well, I can see these Steam Machines becoming my living room console instead. It's been PlayStation for decades, but Sony is putting all its games on PC now, and third party PS exclusives are all guaranteed at least a PC version, so I don't miss anything at all by doing this.

I am really looking forward to the price reveal. Hope it is priced as well as Steam Deck was.
Click to expand...
Looks more like a salty Steam fan.
 
LakeOf9 said:
The thing that Nintendo is supposed to consistently deliver on, which makes all the rest of their bullshit worth putting up with, is their games. But we're seeing a concerning trend emerge on that front this year
  • Pokemon Legends ZA: 78 Metacritic
  • Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment: 78 Metacritic
  • Kirby Air Riders: 78 Metacritic
  • Metroid Prime 4 Beyond: 80 Metacritic
This is in addition to releases like Drag X Drive (Metacritic 60) and Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour (Metacritic 54). Mario Kart World was also viewed as somewhat underwhelming. The only win on the games front Nintendo has had this year with no caveats is DK Bananza. In fact, that's the only win with no caveats they've had since 2023.

Has Nintendo lost its mojo?
Click to expand...
They do seem a bit tired lately. Not bringing their A game. Perhaps Switch 1 was too big of a success that went to their heads.
 
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Werewolf Jones said:
Not really creative anymore, it's all corporate. The Gamecube days are long gone.
Click to expand...
Ah yes, Kirby Air Ride is such a corporate game with all it's gatcha mechanics, loot boxes, multi-million dollar cinematics, season passes, dailies, purchasable in-game currencies, stamina, microtransations...

Oh wait, it doesn't have any of that.
 
Midway-AGNC- said:
I think your take is spot on, and honestly Nintendo's current situation shows how badly they need to adapt to the modern realities of console development. They're still operating with a production mindset that made sense in the DS/3DS/Wii era—small studios, lean teams, conservative design bets, and an almost custodial approach to IP. That model simply doesn't scale when you move into HD development cycles, ever-growing asset demands, and player expectations shaped by studios with thousands of employees across multiple continents.

A good portion of Nintendo's internal teams, until the Switch era, had only ever worked on handheld hardware. The leap to HD—and now "near-parity" HD with Switch 2 approaching the performance of current competitors—hit them hard. It's visible in the long gaps between flagship releases, in how cautious many projects feel, and in the uneven execution of entries that should be industry-defining.

And you're right: they were supposed to solve this by consolidating development into one unified hardware line. Instead, it feels like the output has actually shrunk. Not only do we get fewer games, but the ones we do get often don't reflect the decade-plus of waiting. When it takes eleven years to go from MK8 to World, and the result is viewed as a step down, that's a sign the pipeline itself is under-resourced.

At this point, Nintendo's "small, tightly focused teams" philosophy just doesn't match the scale of what top-tier modern game development requires. They can't keep relying only on internal restructurings and occasional collaborations. They need to expand—through hiring, through partnerships, and yes, through acquisitions. They're a billion-dollar company sitting on one of the strongest IP portfolios in entertainment. There's no excuse for not having the workforce needed to match the development timelines that today's industry demands.
Click to expand...
Playing devil's advocate, I kinda think they should do the exact opposite. I'd like them to have a few gigantic, high-budget teams, but then I'd rather see smaller teams release games that are more of the DS era, where a small budget and a good idea can go a long way.

I think ever since Nintendo dropped dedicated handhelds, they've lost some of their low-risk experimentation games.
 
OP, you do bring up a good point that for Nintendo 1st party games these are a lot of B- sort of games releasing close together. I do think there is some important context to the situation though. Pokemon games have been burning good will since XY and this has come to a head with Scarlet/Violet and Legends Z-A scoring rougher than the main games generally scored. The first Kirby Air Ride game didn't review well so I'm not shocked this one isn't getting amazing reviews. They seemed to stay true to the spirit of the first game and that game had a niche audience. Musou games seem to generally score in the high 7 low 8 range. Prime 4's reception is admittedly a step down from how the Prime series normally performs critically.
 
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Mozza said:
The issue with this is it's just not enough people to make any judgement with only 2899 ratings. People on the whole are far more inclined to shout the loudest when they are upset by something.
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You are correct. In reality MK World is more hated than the user score reflects.
 
JPSLotus97T said:
Because Metroid Prime 4 isn't scoring 95/100 it suddenly means Nintendo has lost it's mojo?

Christ, some of you are impossible to please.

Game reviewing is such trash nowadays and I am amazed that some people here still take reviews as some sort of gospel on a game.

Play the game, find out for yourself.

I haven't paid attention to game reviews in 25-30 years and I'm glad I don't because if I used them as my demarcation line, I'd never enjoy any games.
Click to expand...
I said the same thing on the cosmic Invasion thread
 
rkofan87 said:
so Metroid in Pokémon are not good series???
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The mainline Pokemon games are (generally, or at least historically) a "good series" but the spin-off Pokemon games typically are not as good as the mainline games. I would say the Pokemon Legends sub-series has become more important than your average Pokemon spin-off game but the Legends games aren't mainline titles. I'm not necessarily trying to excuse the game, but this is a spin-off title that is part of a sub-series known for trying to experiment with the formula of what an RPG Pokemon game can be like. It's a rough, spin-off game and scores reflect that. Leaks show the next Legends game continues the trend of experimenting with how real-time 3D combat can be approached in a 3D Pokemon RPG. Just like Legends Z-A doesn't completely build off of what Legends: Arceus built, the new Legends game seems like it will discard a lot of what Z-A did. It's supposed to be set in old Galar, not be focused on a city, and you develop the first Pokeball used for catching the giant Pokemon the Galar regions is known for.
 
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