Ooh, I'll have to try that PS1 reconfiguration, thanks! It was cut from the show but I hope to finally play Vagrant Story in early 2014 and will try to get James to play it at the same time on his new PS3, since he is a fan of the game's director.
The challenge mode in general, or the new DLC missions? I didn't have much time to devote to them, and I've seen since some people go into more depth about the qualities and problems of each new map. What do you think we missed?
@Riskington - I remember you! The Spider-Man avatar guy! I was Pandareus over there, sporting a Manny Calavera avatar.
The challenge mode in general, or the new DLC missions? I didn't have much time to devote to them, and I've seen since some people go into more depth about the qualities and problems of each new map. What do you think we missed?
I haven't played the newest so I can't comment, but I was speaking towards the general apathy about the previous ones because they're not new areas. If I were to make an analogy to a racing game, the point isn't to make one lap around each track and then decide that the content has been exhausted. The challenge mode is all about improving your line and becoming more efficient, maximizing a certain strategy, then trying something radically different to see if you can improve further. For me it's been almost infinitely replayable, and my enjoyment only increases. It's also one of the rare instances of nintendo actually implementing leaderboards.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the episode. I appreciate that you guys represent a variety of opinions and actually back them up ( as on The Last of Us and Link Between worlds in this episode.)
James needed to upgrade his items. The upgraded items dual served as weapons, and had great special effects to boot.
Its true that the game needed a progression system with harder bosses, and harder puzzles. But it was a refreshing change of pace compared to the hand holding of Skyward Sword and Spirit Tracks.
James needed to upgrade his items. The upgraded items dual served as weapons, and had great special effects to boot.
Its true that the game needed a progression system with harder bosses, and harder puzzles. But it was a refreshing change of pace compared to the hand holding of Skyward Sword and Spirit Tracks.
Upgrading items just makes the trivial combat even easier. I don't really care about that, though. Bad combat isn't even the biggest issue with the game, considering only two Zelda games have good combat.
And I'd rather have hand holding if it meant that they could make the game more complex. ALBW is absurdly easy; it probably has the simplest puzzles/dungeons in the series post-LttP. James' TP spinner comparison is incredibly accurate.
James needed to upgrade his items. The upgraded items dual served as weapons, and had great special effects to boot.
Its true that the game needed a progression system with harder bosses, and harder puzzles. But it was a refreshing change of pace compared to the hand holding of Skyward Sword and Spirit Tracks.
Maybe Zelda should have a post-game as well. Remixed dungeons with really hard puzzles, new boss attacks and phases, upgraded items necessary for dungeons and maybe a shuffled overworld as well. Only problem is I can't think of a story conceit.
I haven't played the newest so I can't comment, but I was speaking towards the general apathy about the previous ones because they're not new areas. If I were to make an analogy to a racing game, the point isn't to make one lap around each track and then decide that the content has been exhausted. The challenge mode is all about improving your line and becoming more efficient, maximizing a certain strategy, then trying something radically different to see if you can improve further. For me it's been almost infinitely replayable, and my enjoyment only increases. It's also one of the rare instances of nintendo actually implementing leaderboards.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the episode. I appreciate that you guys represent a variety of opinions and actually back them up ( as on The Last of Us and Link Between worlds in this episode.)
That's fair. As I tried to make clear on the episode, I didn't spend a ton of time on the new content, which had just come out days prior, and I did mention the difficulty of getting Platinum medals. To go into more depth, I would have had to have more time with the levels.
I still think that if Nintendo is going to charge more for a set of levels because it contains new assets, then it's fair to lament that the look of the levels doesn't rock my socks off. It's superficial, true, but the new assets are what led to a price increase.
That's fair. As I tried to make clear on the episode, I didn't spend a ton of time on the new content, which had just come out days prior, and I did mention the difficulty of getting Platinum medals. To go into more depth, I would have had to have more time with the levels.
I still think that if Nintendo is going to charge more for a set of levels because it contains new assets, then it's fair to lament that the look of the levels doesn't rock my socks off. It's superficial, true, but the new assets are what led to a price increase.
Maybe Zelda should have a post-game as well. Remixed dungeons with really hard puzzles, new boss attacks and phases, upgraded items necessary for dungeons and maybe a shuffled overworld as well. Only problem is I can't think of a story conceit.
Just add it into the Hero mode or something and done.
Listening to the podcast now, hearing James bitch about how all the bosses are just recycled from past bosses and I really want to scream at him, serioulsy only 2 bosses are recycled from the past, Moldorm and Arrghus, all the others are completely new and never seen before (granted the Gemesaur King looks kinda like the Helmasaur King but they play nothing alike, same goes for Grinexx and Trinexx).
THe game was a good mix of new and old, I did have issues with the game, Hyrule being too samey and the layout for Lorule not being different enough. But the dungeons and the bosses were amazing. That fight against Stalblind was a standout, using the Wall Merge to go into the shield was amazing.
I'm not sure you guys are ready for the episode that drops today. It's a special one for sure, and I'm interested to see how people respond. I will say that the opening discussion is raw, honest, and entirely off-the-cuff. It's also less than half the show, so skip ahead if you hate it.
I'm not sure you guys are ready for the episode that drops today. It's a special one for sure, and I'm interested to see how people respond. I will say that the opening discussion is raw, honest, and entirely off-the-cuff. It's also less than half the show, so skip ahead if you hate it.
I'm not sure you guys are ready for the episode that drops today. It's a special one for sure, and I'm interested to see how people respond. I will say that the opening discussion is raw, honest, and entirely off-the-cuff. It's also less than half the show, so skip ahead if you hate it.
I'm not sure you guys are ready for the episode that drops today. It's a special one for sure, and I'm interested to see how people respond. I will say that the opening discussion is raw, honest, and entirely off-the-cuff. It's also less than half the show, so skip ahead if you hate it.
Thinking that as well. Any negative reaction is well deserved I think be it against Nintendo or those still acting like they've done no wrong here and still praising them. I'm a Nintendo fan and I have a launch Wii U but I do not see how anyone can think things are going well or that Nintendo is doing anywhere remotely enough to turn things around. I'm personally at the point where I'm about to write the Wii U off. I'll pick up X and Bayonetta 2 while focusing on my PC, 3DS, PS3 (lot of games I've missed) and potentially the PS4 once I see Sony's plans for 2014. I have no faith when it comes to Nintendo and the Wii U. None.
So if the episode is about that. I welcome it in all it's rawness.
I'm personally at the point where I'm about to write the Wii U off. I'll pick up X and Bayonetta 2 while focusing on my PC, 3DS, PS3 (lot of games I've missed) and potentially the PS4 once I see Sony's plans for 2014. I have no faith when it comes to Nintendo and the Wii U. None.
I have been ready for this since January. I won't even be disappointed if Nintendo doesn't ever announce another game for the system. In fact, if all the remaining games they've announced (eg: DKC:TF, Yarn Yoshi, Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros., Bayonetta 2, X, Zelda, SMTxFE) come out, and nothing else, I'll consider that a net win.
We started recording this show immediately after learning about Nintendo's U.S. sales numbers for November. So, rather than jump into what we've been playing, the episode launches directly into our writhing reactions to this dire news. Wii U is already a market failure of historical proportions, and in the month where we hoped and were told all year that the console should finally turn around... it didn't. Even with December likely to top these dismal numbers, the trend is pointing nowhere good. Sorry to start with such a bummer discussion, but it's current, it's critically important to the future of this platform and company, and it's emotional for us. We care about Wii U. So, we have to tell you when the system is on emergency life support.
After that segment-long commiseration, we take a break and come back for New Business and just a tiny bit of Listener Mail. Fortunately, we've all been happy with what we're playing, so this half of the show shifts to a much happier tone. James thinks Rayman Legends is the best Sonic game ever, while Jonny finds Wii Fit U to be curiously motivating despite the closet full of accessories required to play all of its contents. Jon gets old-school with 3D Space Harrier, but Gui trumps that showing with a hot combo of 3D Super Hang-On and 3D Galaxy Force 2. We swing back around to Jonny for a supportive review of PS4's Knack before a solitary email brings thematic closure with memories of the Super Mario Super Show and the late Danny Wells, a.k.a. the original Luigi.
There's at least one more episode before 2013 closes, and with so much to discuss, we're sure you have thoughts and questions on the state of Nintendo and its wonderful games. Hit up that email link to feed the beast!
Lbw is like skyward sword, wind waker etc - the game is a great mixup of the "traditional" Zelda formula, and great for what it is, but you don't necessarily want all future Zeldas to head that way.
I say "traditional", because really, how many entries in the franchise have strictly followed the same format? For the 3d games, ocarina set the pace, but only twilight princess really adhered to it. Other entries added its own twist.
I think I'll skip this episode. Already had my fair share of Nintendo related negativity here on GAF this past week. Of course it's perfectly fine that the crew is alarmed and wants to discuss both the Wii U's abysmal performance in the US last month and the console's uncertain future. I'm just not in the mood for this kind of stuff right now.
I think I'll skip this episode. Already had my fair share of Nintendo related negativity here on GAF this past week. Of course it's perfectly fine that the crew is alarmed and wants to discuss both the Wii U's abysmal performance in the US last month and the console's uncertain future. I'm just not in the mood for this kind of stuff right now.
I'm ready to make my wii u my nintendo box, and my ps4 is my multiplat box. I'm not a graphics whore, but Nintendo simply hasn't convinced me that multiplats can work out on the wii u. Maybe next time.
I'm ready to make my wii u my nintendo box, and my ps4 is my multiplat box. I'm not a graphics whore, but Nintendo simply hasn't convinced me that multiplats can work out on the wii u. Maybe next time.
Won't happen, time to accept that. If Nintendo were to meld their home console and hand-held businesses you'd see great Japanese third party support. Not much in the way of western multiplats, beyond token support.
I have been ready for this since January. I won't even be disappointed if Nintendo doesn't ever announce another game for the system. In fact, if all the remaining games they've announced (eg: DKC:TF, Yarn Yoshi, Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros., Bayonetta 2, X, Zelda, SMTxFE) come out, and nothing else, I'll consider that a net win.
There is this as well. I'll be on the look out for the announced games but I no longer have any serious expectations going forward. If Nintendo supports it and releases even more games going forward that I'm interested in then great. I'll accept it being the Nintendo box. However my expectations will be extremely low as to avoid any type of disappointment. So when the next time comes around I won't foolishly fall for their sales pitch again and will wait a year or so before buying as the first party titles pile up. That's if I buy at all. That's where things sit with me now.
I like the games I've played but the Wii U's failure, and it shouldn't, does at times makes it hard for me to enjoy the system at times. I feel like I've wasted money on it and I hate wasting so much money.
I just got done listening to the first half of the show and I have a lot of thoughts, but one thing really jumps out at me (maybe because it's the last thing I heard). Right at the end of the segment James says that maybe the problem with the Wii U is that Nintendo rushed it out to the market to appease the investors, who were getting vocal as the sales for Wii fell off a cliff.
At first blush I can see why someone might say Wii U was rushed, looking at the software Nintendo had lined up along with things like how slow the UI was. But the reality is that Nintendo had more than enough time to be ready for their next console and they just fucked it up on every level. There were five years between Gamecube and Wii vs six between Wii and Wii U. It also looks to me that the majority of the software development from Nintendo for Wii was done by the end of 2010. What they were doing from 2010 until 2012-13 I'm not really sure. But on paper Nintendo should have been more than ready to kick some ass with the Wii U right from the get-go.
I think in hindsight maybe Nintendo should have listened more to their investors and people like Patcher who said they should have had a Wii HD ready for the end of 2010. Essentially, it could have been a Wii with a 360 under the hood and motion plus controller as standard. That could have reinvigorated the Wii brand just as it started to falter. Instead they let the Wii die slowly on the vine and followed up with the Wii U. Wii HD in 2010 could have flopped, but I don't think Nintendo would have been any worse off than they are now. At least they would have known 2 years ago that the Wii brand wasn't worth carrying on.
Won't happen, time to accept that. If Nintendo were to meld their home console and hand-held businesses you'd see great Japanese third party support. Not much in the way of western multiplats, beyond token support.
Well, they've never really tried. Their mentality has been "fuck third parties, we could handle it ourselves" since the beginning, and ESPECIALLY since N64.
With new management, they might be a little more accepting of third parties for the first time in their history. Their next console needs to have third parties in mind before anything else if they want to succeed.
At first blush I can see why someone might say Wii U was rushed, looking at the software Nintendo had lined up along with things like how slow the UI was. But the reality is that Nintendo had more than enough time to be ready for their next console and they just fucked it up on every level. There were five years between Gamecube and Wii vs six between Wii and Wii U. It also looks to me that the majority of the software development from Nintendo for Wii was done by the end of 2010. What they were doing from 2010 until 2012-13 I'm not really sure. But on paper Nintendo should have been more than ready to kick some ass with the Wii U right from the get-go.
Just like they said, when you know Nintendo die hards are saying it's bad. it's REALLY, REALLY bad.
Wii U is just flat out bad value. It is lacking basic functionality that we had last gen, and part of the problem they're in the state that they are is not adapting to their competition. It's too expensive compared to what PS4/Xbone offer.
And what about the Wii U? They thought thought the Software Fairy would show up on launch day and drop off finished games for their brand new console? With all the cash they were pulling in from the Wii and DS there's no excuse for them to have not spent money getting multiple development teams up and running.
And what about the Wii U? They thought thought the Software Fairy would show up on launch day and drop off finished games for their brand new console? With all the cash they were pulling in from the Wii and DS there's no excuse for them to have not spent money getting multiple development teams up and running.
How would I know? I assume they thought NSMB U and Nintendo Land would be much bigger hits than they were. By the way, everyone, that's not repeating the 3DS launch mistake, which was relying on built in software and third party games at launch. That's a different mistake!
Well, they've never really tried. Their mentality has been "fuck third parties, we could handle it ourselves" since the beginning, and ESPECIALLY since N64.
With new management, they might be a little more accepting of third parties for the first time in their history. Their next console needs to have third parties in mind before anything else if they want to succeed.
Just like they said, when you know Nintendo die hards are saying it's bad. it's REALLY, REALLY bad.
Wii U is just flat out bad value. It is lacking basic functionality that we had last gen, and part of the problem they're in the state that they are is not adapting to their competition. It's too expensive compared to what PS4/Xbone offer.
indeed. I dont regret buying it at launch. however the first 6 month were really really really bad. it has become a lot better the last few month but that doesnt mean that the first 6 month can be forgiven.
nintendo has the tendency to become very arrogant once they are succesful. they were arrogant with N64 when it first launched due to the SNES success and the same seems to apply here (and to some extent to the 3DS launch). The main difference that N64 had a really revolutionary game (mario 64) while WiiU only has great, yet not revolutionary games.
I like the games I've played but the Wii U's failure, and it shouldn't, does at times makes it hard for me to enjoy the system at times. I feel like I've wasted money on it and I hate wasting so much money.
i dont get this. if you like the games you are playing thats not wasted money. if you are playing a system that is not as popular as other platforms but has games that other platforms dont have thats even a plus imho (thats why i have a vita for example. gravity daze for example is amazing and is not on any other platform. vita is probably also a platform that will be considered a failure)
indeed. I dont regret buying it at launch. however the first 6 month were really really really bad. it has become a lot better the last few month but that doesnt mean that the first 6 month can be forgiven.
nintendo has the tendency to become very arrogant once they are succesful. they were arrogant with N64 when it first launched due to the SNES success and the same seems to apply here (and to some extent to the 3DS launch). The main difference that N64 had a really revolutionary game (mario 64) while WiiU only has great, yet not revolutionary games.
It's not just Nintendo though. It's a cycle that happened to everyone.
PS2 was an immense success. Sony went and fucked up the PS3 HARD.
Xbox 360 was a huge success. While it's too early to say, Microsoft has potentially fucked up with how they revealed the Xbone, allowing the PS4 to steal its thunder.
These companies need to lose their hubris if they expect to be successful, and need to operate as if they are in panic mode ALL the time.
It's not just Nintendo though. It's a cycle that happened to everyone.
PS2 was an immense success. Sony went and fucked up the PS3 HARD.
Xbox 360 was a huge success. While it's too early to say, Microsoft has potentially fucked up with how they revealed the Xbone, allowing the PS4 to steal its thunder.
These companies need to lose their hubris if they expect to be successful, and need to operate as if they are in panic mode ALL the time.
Nintendo seems to be the one that is really really lazy once they smell some success though. the later years of wii (2010-2012) were abysmal and yet they couldnt manage to bring a solid first year lineup for wiiu. i dont even know how much they misjudged the situation about their internal development capacity. they should have invested a lot in 2008-2009 for 3DS and WiiU launch (the launch lineups were bad for both platforms) and should have launched at 100 $ less for both platforms.
It's not like designing hardware with third parties in mind is going to get any easier for Nintendo. As the last hardware company dedicated exclusively to video games, they always try to minimize losses on their systems, and making them as beefy as possible and stuffing it with RAM isn't very realistic. If it failed, they would probably bankrupt themselves, with no other sources of income flowing in.
N64 was their biggest misstep, because they actually could have done what third parties wanted AND saved money in the process. But they walked a different path. GameCube was them trying to correct their mistake, but it was too late and it failed anyway. It was probably obvious to both Yamauchi and Iwata at that point that they needed to do things a different way if they were going to succeed in the future.
Wii U is the result of being unable to come up with a new hardware idea which was compelling enough for enough people (especially in this difficult industry climate where a large part of Nintendo's traditional family audience is busy with their smartphones and tablets). Wii U is like what the GameCube would have been if a big chunk of their customers weren't even interesting in consoles anymore.
I'm usually optimistic about Nintendo, and while the Wii U situation is bad and I can clearly see it, I thinks it's fine. I say it's fine because of their current situation. They already faced a pretty big failure with Virtual Boy and GameCube was in a "meh" situation, so they have experienced things like this before. And with the Wii/DS money, they can afford this failure.
The think is what happens next, and I feel people are going to be really disappointed next gen. Nintendo is NEVER going to compete with hardware, because they always aim for the cheap route. Third parties never again; they're out of the picture since N64, and when they should have came back, a.k.a. Wii, the console who sold like water, they didn't. They're only coming back when Nintendo does a console for them, and Nintendo usually does their consoles for themselves. And I don't think people are going to be okay with that again. Nintendo does have a problem with mindshare; people think they're incompetent, they're draconian, they're stuck on the past, but that's not the true. They are making a great effort to bring indies to Wii U, maybe as much as Sony is doing. Most Kickstarters have a Wii U stretch goal because Nintendo made it easy to bring those games. But no one pays attention to that. They clamor for a account system, they have, the thing is that you only don't have the option to move your account freely between consoles; besides that, the NNID is exactly like the account system they clamor for (Friend codes aside). People think Nintendo is for kids. People don't want to buy their hardware for their games. And that's not going to change overnight.
And overall, I'm fine with this. I've come to terms that everything I like about gaming is on the road to death. Nintendo? They're in a dire situation. Japanese games? Started dying because of the HD generation and the rise of budgets. To cope with that they've been shifting to mobile, while destroying beloved franchises (I'm looking at you Capcom). B-tier games? Long gone. Now it's either AAA or indies, and they don't fill my needs (Indies are often pretty good, but they're shorter experiences. e.g. I got Steamworld Dig and, while I loved it, I beat it in 3 days. And I've got everything, so there's not much reason to replay the game right now.). Handheld gaming? While it's fine for know, it's going to be less and less important. Western developers don't care, and it's the last resort of Japanese developers. Vita is a colossal failure much like the Wii U and I don't think Sony will try that again. While I don't think mobile is going to destroy it, it will definitively lower the user base. All that's left for me is the western focused consoles, with a strong dedication to shiny new hardware and raw power, where graphics matter a lot, and everyone is trying to push the boundaries of storytelling in games. Where AAA dominates and DLC, micro-transactions and focus on multiplayer and always online are the norm. I don't give a fuck to any of this, And thus I've come to terms with this. The day Nintendo dies, and/or the day Japanese games are "lost" (few in numbers, often Japan only, these things), that's the day I will stop gaming. And by that I mean follow new releases. I will play older games I haven't the chance to play, replay some games I like, and that stuff.
Well they need to wake up and realize you can't sell a system based on first party support alone, unless you catch lightning in a bottle like they did with the Wii.
Mario and Zelda isn't enough. You NEED the best version of Call of Duty. You NEED Madden. You NEED Grand Theft Auto. You need those multiplatform games that Xbox and Playstation are getting. All of them. If not, you're doing something wrong.
We'll see if this changes when Iwata is gone in April.
Well they need to wake up and realize you can't sell a system based on first party support alone, unless you catch lightning in a bottle like they did with the Wii.
Mario and Zelda isn't enough. You NEED the best version of Call of Duty. You NEED Madden. You NEED Grand Theft Auto. You need those multiplatform games that Xbox and Playstation are getting. All of them. If not, you're doing something wrong.
We'll see if this changes when Iwata is gone in April.
If the WiiU was more powerful, and sold more units, it would probably have fine 3rd party support. I dont know if Iwata is going anywhere, but I would love to only have to buy a Wii 3 for my gaming needs. I dont know if Nintendo will do it tho.
I'm not sure you guys are ready for the episode that drops today. It's a special one for sure, and I'm interested to see how people respond. I will say that the opening discussion is raw, honest, and entirely off-the-cuff. It's also less than half the show, so skip ahead if you hate it.
You sneaky bastard. I've never listened to this podcast (didn't know of it), but if this little blurb was designed to force me to give it a try then you have succeeded completely. So mysterious! Downloading now.
Well they need to wake up and realize you can't sell a system based on first party support alone, unless you catch lightning in a bottle like they did with the Wii.
Mario and Zelda isn't enough. You NEED the best version of Call of Duty. You NEED Madden. You NEED Grand Theft Auto. You need those multiplatform games that Xbox and Playstation are getting. All of them. If not, you're doing something wrong.
We'll see if this changes when Iwata is gone in April.
Completely agree to some extent. Though if the console had had a new Zelda, and a (gulp...will get hate for this I'm sure) a proper new Mario game, then I'd have been tempted and I know a handful of friends who would have been as well.
Isn't the latest Mario essentially the third Mario game in 12 months though? Perhaps that explains its relatively poor sales. To my mind, I've also played those three Mario games on the Wii or 3DS not that long ago. They don't look different enough other than being a bit prettier.
They also need to suck it up with pricing and internals when making a new console as well. While they still insist on either breaking even or making a profit on the hardware from day one, they will never release a machine on par with MS and Sony, and therefore guarantee good third party support.
I'd actually love to see what they would do if they lost guaranteed earners like Pokemon as well. Perhaps not having titles like that to fall back on for easy profit, would shake them into getting their finger out.
Its time. Take out the Gamepad, rename the console Wii 2, sell it for $200 and fuck everyone who's still confused. Just let everyone call it the new Wii, that's what everyone calls the new iPad, the new XBox, or the Playstation.
Find a way to get update the original wii to use the gamepad, and when somebody says that's a new controller for the Wii, you can say FUCK YES IT IS. ARE YOU RETARDED.
Just do whatever you can to sell this console because you need to drive the install base as much as you can until you can do something better.
As it is, you're fucked. Time to make your situation less fucked.
Should Iwata decide to resign (which is very unlikely and he can't be "fired" that easily either), he will be replaced by someone that came up under him and shares similar views. Nintendo will not let an outsider into the company. Apart from that, it's not like a new CEO can magically turn things around and change the fate of Wii U or repair third party relationships. There is no secret thing that anyone at NCL could do for an immediate turnaround. Getting rid of Iwata would make investors happy for a short time, but it wouldn't change anything drastic for the foreseeable future.
I wonder if part of the reason of low Mario 3D World game sales is because people pretty much know what to expect from the game before they play it. This stops a lot of "omg i need to play this new exciting thing" purchases and knocks it back to "cool more mario" purchases
Hoo boy the beginning of this episode. Great stuff - needed to be talked about. It pains me that Nintendo has become so utterly irrelevant. It's true - no one is talking about Nintendo and the point about SM3DW being forgotten as quickly as it was given 10s is horrific and true. :'(
If the WiiU was more powerful, and sold more units, it would probably have fine 3rd party support. I dont know if Iwata is going anywhere, but I would love to only have to buy a Wii 3 for my gaming needs. I dont know if Nintendo will do it tho.
I don't think so. Gamecube sold about the same as Xbox, yet Xbox had MGS2 and the Grand Theft Autos. It's something that's going on behind the scenes. Nintendo is hard to work with. We've heard it countless times from various devs over the years.
They develop the console in complete isolation over in Kyoto. THEN they present the console to third parties, and cook up those bullshit logo slides at E3 and videos of devs praising the new technology that "presents some really unique opportunities. We are very excited to work with Nintendo on their new console and take advantage of the new controller! blah blah blah" and then they never make a game for them.
Sony, on the other hand, goes to the third parties WHILE they build the console and create the concept. That is why it has 8GB of GDDR5 RAM, that's why it had the video card it has. No one asked for the Gamepad, and it's clear that no one wants to dedicate resources to it... not to mention having to work within the constraints of 8 year old technology.
I don't doubt they'll go in a different, more third party friendly direction with next gen. At this rate, the Wii U will sell 10-15 million units worldwide by the end of it's life. That's the slap in the face they need to wake up and realize that their archaic methods of dealing with third parties aren't going to cut it in this day and age.
Completely agree to some extent. Though if the console had had a new Zelda, and a (gulp...will get hate for this I'm sure) a proper new Mario game, then I'd have been tempted and I know a handful of friends who would have been as well.
Isn't the latest Mario essentially the third Mario game in 12 months though? Perhaps that explains its relatively poor sales. To my mind, I've also played those three Mario games on the Wii or 3DS not that long ago. They don't look different enough other than being a bit prettier.
They also need to suck it up with pricing and internals when making a new console as well. While they still insist on either breaking even or making a profit on the hardware from day one, they will never release a machine on par with MS and Sony, and therefore guarantee good third party support.
I'd actually love to see what they would do if they lost guaranteed earners like Pokemon as well. Perhaps not having titles like that to fall back on for easy profit, would shake them into getting their finger out.
Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)
New Super Mario Bros 2 (3DS)
New Super Mario Bros U (Wii U)
All of the 3DS versions came out before the Wii U version. Why is Jane Walmart buying a $300 Wii U over a $99 2DS for little Jimmy?
Sad thing is they haven't been making a profit on every console sold with the Wii U. If they were, things wouldn't be anywhere near as dire. It would be much closer to a Gamecube situation.
For $350 and at a loss, they could have sold something on par with Xbone (without the gamepad, of course). Infinitely better situation than they're in right now.
Should Iwata decide to resign (which is very unlikely and he can't be "fired" that easily either), he will be replaced by someone that came up under him and shares similar views. Nintendo will not let an outsider into the company. Apart from that, it's not like a new CEO can magically turn things around and change the fate of Wii U or repair third party relationships. There is no secret thing that anyone at NCL could do for an immediate turnaround. Getting rid of Iwata would make investors happy for a short time, but it wouldn't change anything drastic for the foreseeable future.
I wonder if part of the reason of low Mario 3D World game sales is because people pretty much know what to expect from the game before they play it. This stops a lot of "omg i need to play this new exciting thing" purchases and knocks it back to "cool more mario" purchases
