If you think every aspect of that presentation was bad, then I don't know what to say to you. They announced some good stuff like..
I made what you said into a list.
- unifying the software architecture on handhelds and consoles
- an account system
- DS virtual console
- a scheme to discount software for avid consumers
- increased licensing out of IP (including to game makers)
- reassertion that Nintendo will continue to make video games instead of collapsing into a blackhole.
Well first of all the unified software architecture for 3DS and Wii U is a good thing for developing games for both platforms. However it's going to solve a very niche problem since most companies aren't exactly running away from Wii U development due it it being so hard. It's because the console isn't selling and therefore there isn't the kind of market for games on it. A back-end solution like that ain't gonna move any Wii U's.
A unified account system is a pleasant addition but it's an after-the-fact duct tape solution that's bound to mean nothing when Nintendo's account system is so fucking abysmal to begin with in regards to download rights to purchased software and the lack of cloud saves or unified settings. They are basically saing "we'll unify the Wii U's nothing with the 3DS's nothing to make... uhm... we'll get back to you on that."
DS virtual console is something that definitely sounds like a good addition by itself but so was GBA virtual console when it got announced over a year ago. Yeah where's that? How many units has that sold by now? Oh yeah it isn't even fucking out yet. Announcing shit on top of previous announcements that haven't been fulfilled is called bullshitting. Yeah, there, I said it. They are buying time. For what? I don't know.
Nintendo discounts for avid consumers? Yeah that sounds much like the original Wii U Premium discount plan that was unreasonably out-of-reach for the general Wii U user. Nintendo doesn't need to suck up to "avid" consumers now, they need to suck up to the possible-consumer instead. Nintendo will never make enough games by themselves to sell to a limited amount of die-hard fans, even with boosting those sales with discount plans, to offset the development and manufacturing costs of the Wii U. They need to sell more units to more people and do it asap.
It's funny how Nintendo selling its games on someone else's platform is a horrible thing that would ruin their brand value (according to most of NeoGAF's staunch Luigi-hats) yet Nintendo licensing its IP's to other developers is not?
And for the final bit it's worth mentioning that Nintendo can say what ever they want but it ain't gonna make it come true. Their share value dropped after the investor meeting and Nintendo promised to buy back a billion's worth of stock. Neither of these things are good, you realize that?
Nintendo's gonna do what Nintendo's gonna do. You're either interested in the content they're going to put out on their own hardware or you're not. I am. And I'm really not bothered by some of the things others are so up in arms about because I don't expect Nintendo to ever change those things. I can't get upset every Nintendo Direct or investor meeting that passes where they don't announce unified accounts or massive online play infrastructures or virtual console expansions or whatever is thought would save them from whatever technological peril they're currently suffering from.
The 3DS and Wii U had quite a few of my favorite games from the past year. That's all I happen to care about. Games. I don't expect their market position to mean those systems won't still continue to have great content to play. And if they don't - I have a PS4 and XBO.
Iwata pretty much explains their philosophy again in the investor meeting notes. To expect them to turn into Sony and Microsoft is not understanding Nintendo's company goals or history.
Ask Greg how his childhood favorite with its blue mammal mascot is doing these days? Sega fucked up way faster and from a worse position than Nintendo is currently in but the sure fucked up. And now they are practically gone aside from having the same name as before.
This is exactly what I was talking about in terms of the reality distortion bunker. You put it into words so perfectly it almost completely fits a definition of someone with their head in a hole. Except for the fact that you keep shouting up from your damp hideout making commentary on how well Nintendo is doing and how you got both of your thumbs up.
The way they're going to stay in business is, as Iwata described, doing different things and creating a market where there isn't one using existing current technology. This is their company history, and this is unlikely to change.
So you are seriously happy that Nintendo is venturing outside the gaming space to make money? That doesn't worry you at all? It's worth mentioning, my friend, that the specific wording was that this life quality and health approach is something completely outside the Wii U and 3DS. As in, they are turning into a completely different field.
How long do you expect Nintendo to be able to keep doing what you love so much if...
a) They are making tons of more money elsewhere. Can Nintendo justify to shareholders that all that fine ass profit is served well going into pleasing the hard-core Nintendo fans with a new system and games every few years?
b) They end up losing even more money.
I sincerely can't believe how Nintendo manufacturing health products is ever actually going to make their console and gaming business better. I sincerely doubt Nintendo will just keep finding more ways to effectively make money to support something that effectively loses it. It' just a fantasy. A fantasy for people with their head in a hole too afraid to look up and smell the smoke.