Why is it exactly that Sony can go entire generations bathed in red ink and you wont see the sheer number of alarmist threads like this that Nintendo typically gets in a month on GAF? You know, chalkboard meme and Amirox meltdown not withstanding.
There was plenty of PS3 angst during it's struggles, lets not play revisionist here. Also, the PS3 at it's worst is a water mark the Wii U isn't even within sight of. To cap off those problems, the Wii U is not a contemporary to the PS4 and XB1, where all 3rd party content will be focused, so it isn't even going to build a library by proxy like the PS3 did.
Not that Nintendo is beyond cold hard analysis, but these threads always seem to gravitate towards the same hackneyed talking points about how the only way for Nintendo to move forward is to fire Iwata and scrap a console that's been out for one year, blah blah, blah, blah, blah. It's hard to take anything the OP says seriously after that.
I think GAF is generally pretty dumb when it comes to console lifespans. Consider the Vita and constant claims that it is "dead". You could have said the same for the PSP early in it's life but after a long grind Sony made a niche for it. The Wii U has a place in the industry as Nintendo's games will always have relevance, but to act like Iwata didn't make a massive error with the Wii U is being far too kind to the single biggest fuck up in Nintendo history, including the Virtual Boy.
Once upon a time a failure this bad got you ran over on a Japanese freeway. Getting fired is comparatively kind.
Another question that begs to be asked is why Wii and DS are considered anomalous luck, but when a system doesn't burst out of the gate on fire all the sudden Iwata is completely incompetent and out of touch?
Don't lump the DS, which had a near decade long segment dominance, with the Wii's few year flash in the pan. The DS was right in the Nintendo sweet spot of handheld titles with a family friendly and gameplay first focus. Synergy at it's finest with an extremely competitive MSRP. The Wii caught a blue ocean of casuals who've now all moved on to tablets and smartphones. Hence why the DS' successor is doing well even after a sluggish start and why the Wii's successor is finishing one of the worst first years in industry history.
Imagine if shareholders were gaffers, particularly after the middling launch of the 3DS. I have my own questions about Nintendo's trajectory, but it's preposterous to write off Iwata's business acumen, which had led to some of the most profitable systems in Nintendo's history. Guess that doesn't matter in an industry with a memory the size of a goldfish. What have you done for me lately, right?
Iwata shouldn't be written off, but after breaking the primary directive of Nintendo hardware design (never lose money on the hardware) not once but twice in quick succession, with one of those a sales nightmare, he should be taken to task. This isn't Yamauchi, the man who built the company from the ground up. He doesn't get that kind of slack.
Lucking into the Wii and hanging on to handheld supremacy is nice, but it shows very little ability to fix what ailed Nintendo during the N64 and GC eras. Just caught a break thanks to a new controller that became a fad and absurdly expensive new competition.
I'm starting to wonder when this topic will get its own community thread, because it seems to pop up 10 times a week in various thinly veiled ways. I keep thinking one day I'll click and be welcomed to some brilliant new break down of the state of Nintendo, but the crux of the conversation always seems to revolve around parroting the same wildly reductive arguments.
I'd argue that this largely stems from hardcore Nintendo fans denying that there is a problem and/or getting extremely defensive by responding to all the half assed/troll posts instead of fostering legitimate discussion as the supposedly most knowledgeable parties in the thread.
Instead of saying "why you guys always having this same shitty discussion?" why not do something about it and bring a legitimately new viewpoint to the equation, or find someone else's view you like and trumpet that instead of feeling like you need to defend a company and CEO against criticism.
Here's a reminder- Nintendo is already restructuring. It's also apparent that Wii U software took a hit while resources were dedicated to bolstering the 3DS, which is now stabilized. As insular as Nintendo's decisions are in some regards I don't personally believe that they operate in a complete vacuum like a lot of people seem to. Wii U has plenty of untapped potential, and not just in an abstract pie in the sky way, but you can't just right a ship overnight. Development takes time. It remains to be seen what seeds Nintendo has planted, but already there's a few signs of things to come.
And those seeds where planted far too late, with far too little knowledge about how to adequately cultivate them. Nintendo didn't know what they were stepping into with HD development. They can restructure all they want, it isn't going to suddenly make them one of the only Japanese software companies that knows what the hell to do with eight figure budgets and HD art assets. This is why Sony shipped the head of Sony Santa Monica over to Japan, to overhaul the culture. How much change can Nintendo orchestrate with the same guard running the ship unquestioned?
For the most part I think it's accepted that 3rd party support is never going to blossom outside of a handful of cool niche games every now and then. If the insane growth of the Wii userbase couldn't get companies to pull their heads out of their asses and produce something better than shit ports and C quality spin-offs there's no reason to suspect they'll leap from their seats to do Wii U exclusives that matter.
3rd parties didn't flock to the insane growth on the Wii because no one knew how to get that audience to by anything more than Just Dance, Guitar Hero, and Wii Sports/Fit/etc..
Why deliver a new core title to an audience that all metrics show is comprised mostly of casual gamers? That isn't a good way to sell software. This is the same reason why kid friendly products and party games were focused on the Wii and not the PS3/360, or why kid friendly products always have a home on Nintendo handhelds. Don't blame 3rd parties for the fact that kids have crap taste and therefore will guy licensed junk regardless of quality over far better less recognizable brands.
Imo Nintendo should start money hatting promising young indies. Tell the old guard to fuck off unless they bring the goods, and get fresh talent locked by providing them with an opportunity to grow and flourish on the platform.
That ship has sailed. Steam is an open market for indies. Sony is throwing deals around left and right that don't require exclusivity. How exactly is Nintendo going to attract meaningful exclusive content from indie channels when those same indies could go to PC and/or PS4 and get to 1. own their IP and 2. publish on other platforms at their leisure? Nintendo missed that boat, now they'll have to submit to the market standards (namely conditions 1 and 2 above) and have shown no real willingness to do so.
I also think Nintendo should make sweetheart deals with companies like Capcom and Konami to do comparatively modest retro revivals, retail, not digital. Let the other companies chase after the crowd that's more wowed by ornate presentation than the fundamental joy of interaction. Put the focus on well paced pick up and play experiences and tickle that nostalgia bone with cool franchises that have sat dormant. Differentiate yourself from your competitors arms race. That's what I'd do with the Wii U if it were my choice.
Except both Capcom and Konami have shown very little ability to still make those games. Consider the digital download Mega Man games from Capcom last generation. They were punishingly hard to make up for a lack of gameplay innovation. The talent at those studios is either now tied up with big budget PS4/XB1/PC titles (Kojima) or has left to do their own thing (Kamiya/Mikami/Inafune). Igarashi is probably still kicking around Konami but they've found a multi-million formula for Castlevania on the ornate presentation boxes so I doubt they'll pass that up for more Igavanias with their six figure sales.
Then there's the obvious. Mario Kart, Smash Bros., and to a lesser extent Tropical Freeze. Nintendo knows what its money makers are, and it's leaning on them heavily during the Wii U's second year. Alone I don't think they'll have all the pull in the world, but as games like that accumulate in the library in concert with more niche stuff like Wonderful 101, Bayonetta, Pikmin, etc. I think more hitherto ambivalent enthusiasts will start seeing Wii U as a viable secondary platform. Sometimes it only takes a few "must-haves", but a library of unique supporting software definitely helps.
MK and Smash were both on the N64 and GC. They didn't stop the downward trend then. They both sell very well to core Nintendo fans, but no one else gives a damn and the core Nintendo fan base is shrinking all the time.
Nintendo just isn't living room relevant anymore. That's the real problem. Their core fans will propel home consoles to the 20-30M range eventually and if they don't lose money on hardware they can make a profit on that thanks to crazy high first party tie ratios, but they've already failed at that with the Wii U (losing money on hardware) and the transition to HD is stalling all the high tie ratio first party software, furthering their losses.
They simply need to change the game and get out of the dedicated home console market entirely. A hybrid system with elite tech relative to handheld devices would provide all the horsepower they'd need to deliver impressive games and it would let them unite fans on a single platform for maximum software sales,where the real profits are to be had.
