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What do you consider Nintendo's most illogical or baffling decision?
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Showing that Zelda tech demo i still want a game like that maybe next Nintendo gen....
I doubt the Switch could handle those graphics.
I still loved BotW but that was my dream Zelda arstyle in that tech demo.
Non Zelda tho Wii U naming sheme and maybe 3DS but that one still sold tens of millions it's nearing 70m now wich still is nothing to sneeze at.
But oh god the fisherprice tablet and bad marketing but honestly you can't market that awful thing.
The Switch is what it should have been but it would have cost like 500-600 probably.
Still like my Wii U a bit but no denying that it is a dreamcast like failure.
I doubt the Switch could handle those graphics.
I still loved BotW but that was my dream Zelda arstyle in that tech demo.
Non Zelda tho Wii U naming sheme and maybe 3DS but that one still sold tens of millions it's nearing 70m now wich still is nothing to sneeze at.
But oh god the fisherprice tablet and bad marketing but honestly you can't market that awful thing.
The Switch is what it should have been but it would have cost like 500-600 probably.
Still like my Wii U a bit but no denying that it is a dreamcast like failure.
Dr. Black Jack
Member
The only one that really irks me to this day was dedicating their entire E3 presence to BotW last year and completely ignoring Pokemon during its anniversary. Like, WTF?
Do not besmirch the good name of the Dreamcast with the Wii U.
The Dreamcast did everything right but it was too late. The Wii U did everything wrong and reaped the results.
Billy_Pilgrim
Member
Making the best online games on the planet and then lumbering them with the shittest online system conceivable
The Hermit
Member
After the Wii being one of Nintendo's biggest success they create the WiiU... A completely different system focused on "veteran players" but with a very similar mame that confused so many people that some still think it's a tablet add-on to the Wii.
At least that pushed them to the Switch.
At least that pushed them to the Switch.
Woo-Fu
Banned
I don't consider any of their decisions illogical. Clearly the logic exists, even if you don't know what it is.
Their survival is predicated on not being like the competition. They clearly made a decision to not compete in the performance arms race with Sony and Microsoft when it comes to home consoles. That's why they're always doing their own thing, things that are often at least initially confusing to some.
Instead of being baffled I dig deeper, at least if it is a decision I'm interested in.
Their survival is predicated on not being like the competition. They clearly made a decision to not compete in the performance arms race with Sony and Microsoft when it comes to home consoles. That's why they're always doing their own thing, things that are often at least initially confusing to some.
Instead of being baffled I dig deeper, at least if it is a decision I'm interested in.
Milly Osworth
Member
Wii U and as a close second how they handle their classic games.
Wii U is just such a piece of shit and it shows they had no clue whatsoever what made Wii so succesful.
Their classic games situation is just ???
Wii U is just such a piece of shit and it shows they had no clue whatsoever what made Wii so succesful.
Their classic games situation is just ???
Yep, on the Wii U's gravestone it says "At least there's the Switch".
D.Lo
Member
This.
Wii U name is just insane, and the did it AFTER already having seen confusion with the 3DS. The console itself is also packed with mistakes, from the gamepad, to the over-engineered ancient architecture, it's just an unpleasant console to use.
Almost everything else in this thread has context and explanations that make sense from at least one perspective. Eg NES Mini discontinuation, it was clearly a stop-gap for Christmas, and cannibalises at least some of the Switch VC appeal. Or Gamecube having no DVD playback - a mistake in hindsight, but it was deliberate to differentiate it as a game only machine, and it was the least pirated console of the gen by far.
You see, it was a mistake in hindsight, mostly because Japanese developers were obsessed with CD and CGI cutscenes at that point. But there were some logical reasons, it lowered piracy, and had instant load times. And they still made more money than Sony or Sega.
An interesting (wrong) perspective when they have consistently made much, much more money than Sony in gaming over 20 years.
1) completely ignoring wii u's potential for unique games and using the gamepad in the most bare minimum way. this doesn't need elaborating because its far too fucking obvious what could have been done
2) the handling of their online services/shop
3) the handling of their virtual console. why do I have to rebuy games on other consoles, why is there even a different library on other consoles? fucking unify this shit. and give a netflix-like option
2) the handling of their online services/shop
3) the handling of their virtual console. why do I have to rebuy games on other consoles, why is there even a different library on other consoles? fucking unify this shit. and give a netflix-like option
elrechazado
Banned
Their online bullshit.
Their repeated total failure to take our money for virtual console games
Their repeated total failure to take our money for virtual console games
Alex_Mexico
Member
It shouldn't have taken so many posts to get to, objectively, Nintendo's worst decision in history.
With the N64 they lost their grip on the videogame industry and hemorrhaged third party developers so bad we're still seeing the repercussions from that decision. A decision from which they've yet to fully recover!
D.Lo
Member
It took zero posts to get to, it's in the first post, which evidently many in the thread did not read.
pretty done
Member
Their handling of VirtualConsole is so bad on multiple fronts. From the drip feed, to non cross buy, to the input lag on Wii U, to the colors being screwed up and right down to it not being available right away on Wii U, 3DS or Switch despite Wii having N64 and more day 1.
Sony existing is the only reason I don't give them more shit. Now that is the worst handling of classic titles EVER.
Sony existing is the only reason I don't give them more shit. Now that is the worst handling of classic titles EVER.
TheDarkKnight774
Member
Sticking with cartridges for N64. It cost them dearly
elrechazado
Banned
I agree, it's so unreasonable to knock the unknown online system for this console that totally isn't for sale yet.
Oh
Jubenhimer
Member
Wii U GamePad - You're comming off the heels of one of the most iconic and revolutionary controllers in gaming. Renowned for its simplicity, versitility, and functionality, for a console that helped to change the definition of "gamer". Why, with that in mind, would you tos all of that out, in favor a controller that's way more expensive, way more convoluted, and no where near as forward-thinking as the Wii Remote? Without​a doubt the Wii U GamePad was by far the most bloated, ill-concieved, and poorly-designed contraptions in gaming. Hell, I'd argue itwas the biggest reason the Wii U failed. Seriously, the Joy-Con should've been the Wii U controller.
Coriolanus
Banned
The GameCube.
Who the fuck thought portability should be a priority on a home console back in 2000? And purple? And god damn minidiscs? Gah.
Stupid, yes, but not illogical or baffling.
Who the fuck thought portability should be a priority on a home console back in 2000? And purple? And god damn minidiscs? Gah.
Stupid, yes, but not illogical or baffling.
Beer Monkey
Member
Not porting amazing games like Mario Galaxy 2 and A Link Between Worlds. Hell, Mario 64 DS and the 3D Ocarina/Majora's should be on more platforms.
SciencePilot
Member
They've made a lot of bad decisions, but I don't usually find them "baffling" -- usually I can see the logic behind their decision, even if I personally disagree with that logic.
For me, the one truly baffling thing they did was letting go of Rare. Just... why? Rare could have been a great foothold in the Western market for them.
For me, the one truly baffling thing they did was letting go of Rare. Just... why? Rare could have been a great foothold in the Western market for them.
Tye The Czar
Member
The N64 was the start of them losing their grasp.
RE: carts on N64
Completely foolish long term decision but it gave Nintendo quite the control over game production and make the system less immune to a repeat of the piracy from the other disk system. Also, I'd doubt nintendo would had gone for CDs anyways, most likely using some form of disk ala 64DD as the medium. However, the whole "control" issue is what most likely ended the fun as everyone bailed for sony's green pastures
Completely foolish long term decision but it gave Nintendo quite the control over game production and make the system less immune to a repeat of the piracy from the other disk system. Also, I'd doubt nintendo would had gone for CDs anyways, most likely using some form of disk ala 64DD as the medium. However, the whole "control" issue is what most likely ended the fun as everyone bailed for sony's green pastures
I think the WiiU controller was an attempt to integrate the "third screen" gameplay thing that was all the craze, but by the time it launched the craze was all but over leaving the system expensive and out of water
Joe T.
Member
That was indeed a costly decision, but the fact that they're still suffering from less than stellar third party support today, to put it nicely, is in no way tied to it. They've made plenty of other decisions since then that continue to make life for third parties less than desirable.
Like the hat?
Banned
Letting whatever actually happened with Sony in the snes days happen. It created their major competition.
D.Lo
Member
Which they regained by embarrassing their competitors in sales (and absolutely crushed them in profits) from 2006-2011?
This bizarre myth about Nintendo being on a constant downhill trajectory makes no sense when the Wii sold the same as the SNES, N64 and Gamecube combined, and the DS+Wii sold more than all consoles by Sony and Microsoft combined in the era.
Neff
Member
It became apparent to me some time ago that install bases trump profits when it comes to perceptions of success regarding gaming hardware manufacturers on NeoGAF.
Prisoner KSC2-303
Member
This.
It still blows my mind that someone signed off on that decision. A portable device with a proprietary adapter that becomes a paperweight without a further purchase.
SirNinja
Member
Pretty much everything that necessitated the formation of Operation Rainfall.
Nintendo apparently somehow thought Skyward Sword could singlehandedly carry the entire year for the Wii, while simultaneously looking at copies of Xenoblade, Pandora, and Last Story and thinking to themselves "hey, you know what? Let's not localize these."
A legion of fans had to plead and campaign for several months before Nintendo relented. And by that I mean they said "ugh, fine" and shipped like 237 total copies of Xenoblade to Gamestops around the U.S., causing the game to skyrocket in price for years before it was finally available digitally.
Then they act all surprised that there was demand for games like that.
Runner up: their digital "sales". All of them. 20-30% off old 3DS games is not exactly enticing.
That is, when they even have sales. Sometimes there are cases where they don't hold a sale at a time when literally any other major publisher would. A recent example: this past March 10 was "Mario Day" (aka "MAR10", har har). There was even a notification on the Wii U to tell people about it, redirecting them to the eshop. You'd naturally expect something like a decent sale to mark the occasion, right? Nope. Went to the eshop; there were no discounts on ANY Mario game. Not even a paltry -10% off some older ones. I don't think I was the only one who closed the eshop right then and there that day.
Maybe I've been spoiled by Steam, but you know what? Steam usually gets my money when it does.
Nintendo apparently somehow thought Skyward Sword could singlehandedly carry the entire year for the Wii, while simultaneously looking at copies of Xenoblade, Pandora, and Last Story and thinking to themselves "hey, you know what? Let's not localize these."
A legion of fans had to plead and campaign for several months before Nintendo relented. And by that I mean they said "ugh, fine" and shipped like 237 total copies of Xenoblade to Gamestops around the U.S., causing the game to skyrocket in price for years before it was finally available digitally.
Then they act all surprised that there was demand for games like that.
Runner up: their digital "sales". All of them. 20-30% off old 3DS games is not exactly enticing.
That is, when they even have sales. Sometimes there are cases where they don't hold a sale at a time when literally any other major publisher would. A recent example: this past March 10 was "Mario Day" (aka "MAR10", har har). There was even a notification on the Wii U to tell people about it, redirecting them to the eshop. You'd naturally expect something like a decent sale to mark the occasion, right? Nope. Went to the eshop; there were no discounts on ANY Mario game. Not even a paltry -10% off some older ones. I don't think I was the only one who closed the eshop right then and there that day.
Maybe I've been spoiled by Steam, but you know what? Steam usually gets my money when it does.
Success in this industry - lasting success - comes from investing. For a console maker that means building studios, forming stable relationships with the major industry players, creating new franchises, creating an online service, and on and on. Sony gained more lasting success from the investments they made during the troubled PS3's life than Nintendo got out of that sugar high that was the Wii era.
In 2006 to 2011 Nintendo did the exact opposite of investing, they aimed their focus on a casual market that had fleeting loyalty. All the money they made was given out as dividends. The company left that era worse off than they went into it.
Mikey Jr.
Member
I remember getting one of the new 3ds because I thought it a great time to jump in.
No ac adapter. Didn't know Nintendo was so fucking cheap. Could only play my 3ds for like half an hour that night. Had to go to the store and spend like 20 extra bucks.
Never bought another Nintendo hardware after that. No plan to.
can't count that high, they've had too many stupid decisions that cost them tons of marketshare over the years.
Sometimes i feel like Nintendo are still in the industry just because they can coast on nostalgia and a different set of standards for their franchises where everyone else cant.
Sometimes i feel like Nintendo are still in the industry just because they can coast on nostalgia and a different set of standards for their franchises where everyone else cant.
Jubenhimer
Member
This myth that "casuals got bored of their Wii's and moved on to tablets" is a big miconception, and a gross over-simplification of why Nintendo actually failed durring the Wii U era. Nintendo failed because they did not evolve. Instead of building on what the Wii did right and taking advantage of the rising mobile boom, they chose to ingore it and thought that consumers wanted a confusing iPad wannabe instead.
My list:
- Wii U not being called anything else. Wii 2. Super Wii. Whatever, anything that would have made it obvious that it was a new better Wii.
- The Wii not playing DVD video. They took the perfect console for a kids room and casuals _that freaking comes with an infrared remote as the primary controller_ and uses DVD for storage and made it not play DVDs. So dumb.
- and finally because it had to be said, royally mismanaging the Metroid franchise after multiple sublime, genre defining games. To follow Other M with Federation Force was just doubling down on stupidity. They took one of the best and first stories of a badass female protagonist and spit on it with Other M, then when fans demanded a return to form shat out Federation Force instead of making anything like Super or Prime.
- Wii U not being called anything else. Wii 2. Super Wii. Whatever, anything that would have made it obvious that it was a new better Wii.
- The Wii not playing DVD video. They took the perfect console for a kids room and casuals _that freaking comes with an infrared remote as the primary controller_ and uses DVD for storage and made it not play DVDs. So dumb.
- and finally because it had to be said, royally mismanaging the Metroid franchise after multiple sublime, genre defining games. To follow Other M with Federation Force was just doubling down on stupidity. They took one of the best and first stories of a badass female protagonist and spit on it with Other M, then when fans demanded a return to form shat out Federation Force instead of making anything like Super or Prime.
Terrible_Majesty
Member
This. Also, the lack of first party games that appeal to North American audiences (games in the style of Uncharted). Nintendo of America are gimped compared to past generations when they had studios like Rareware, Factor 5, and so on.
2Smashed4U
Banned
I don't think there's a chance in hell Kojima would've formed a studio to make exclusive Nintendo games. They just don't have the hardware for him to do the kind of things he likes to do.
Neff
Member
And yet Nintendo made -and continue to have made- more money, while Sony was selling off property at the end of this period just so it could stay afloat.
Let's be honest, established loyalty from one generation to the next is a bit of a myth. With the exception of the transition from PSone to PS2, there's little evidence to suggest otherwise.
SolidSnakex
Member
I'd say the Playstation's status in Europe is proof that loyalty exists in the industry.
Aaron Strife
Banned
Restarting the Virtual Console service on each console is fucking bananas.
I get that there are probably some large factors at play here (licensing, ESRB fees) but like I've bought Super Mario Bros. on the Wii, 3DS and Wii U (yes I realize I'm part of the problem, I also have it via the NES Classic Mini). The inevitable hype campaign behind the Switch version doesn't have me terribly excited.
On a similar note, not having Genesis on Wii U VC was weird. Did Sega just not want to bother?
This is Pokémon Company but close enough, the fact that the English anime dub of Pokémon replaces the background music (which is mostly amazing live orchestral versions of the games' music) is probably my #1 nerd pet peeve. Yo-Kai Watch keeps all of its music including the theme songs, not sure what the problem is.
I get that there are probably some large factors at play here (licensing, ESRB fees) but like I've bought Super Mario Bros. on the Wii, 3DS and Wii U (yes I realize I'm part of the problem, I also have it via the NES Classic Mini). The inevitable hype campaign behind the Switch version doesn't have me terribly excited.
On a similar note, not having Genesis on Wii U VC was weird. Did Sega just not want to bother?
This is Pokémon Company but close enough, the fact that the English anime dub of Pokémon replaces the background music (which is mostly amazing live orchestral versions of the games' music) is probably my #1 nerd pet peeve. Yo-Kai Watch keeps all of its music including the theme songs, not sure what the problem is.
panama chief
Member
Console VC on consoles only
Hand held VC on hand held only
Then hand held VC on COnsoles
But no GBA on handhelds
Then DS games on Wii U. But not on 3DS
What the fuck. Let me play Pokémon pinball on the fucking train.
Hand held VC on hand held only
Then hand held VC on COnsoles
But no GBA on handhelds
Then DS games on Wii U. But not on 3DS
What the fuck. Let me play Pokémon pinball on the fucking train.
yeah the switch saves is pretty bad, in fact friend codes and being so backwards about accounts and online in general is really fucking annoying in 2017.
Edit: oh no, I know, the entire premise of the Wii U. Just a complete about face on the previous gen. I could see even walking back from motion controls, or improving them, or adopting it to work more seamlessly with traditional games... but an expensive but by all accounts kinda crappy tablet controller tied to a console too weak to really take advantage of it? Then half assedly supporting wii controllers with all their infinite add ons? It was an unfocused mess, and they stopped supporting the gamepad pretty damn quickly as did everyone else, cuz there wasn't much you could do with it that was intuitive like motion controls. Seriously the whole premise was being the anti-wii. A controller that looks complicated and isnt easy to use in a meaningful way.
Edit: oh no, I know, the entire premise of the Wii U. Just a complete about face on the previous gen. I could see even walking back from motion controls, or improving them, or adopting it to work more seamlessly with traditional games... but an expensive but by all accounts kinda crappy tablet controller tied to a console too weak to really take advantage of it? Then half assedly supporting wii controllers with all their infinite add ons? It was an unfocused mess, and they stopped supporting the gamepad pretty damn quickly as did everyone else, cuz there wasn't much you could do with it that was intuitive like motion controls. Seriously the whole premise was being the anti-wii. A controller that looks complicated and isnt easy to use in a meaningful way.
Nintendo's paid online service needs to be 1) cheap and 2) great out the gate. The first they can do, the second hmmmmmm
Not using CDs on the N64 had the system go from being the undisputed juggernaut, to a distant second worldwide, and a niche console in Japan. Friend codes on the Wii and DS was a terrible decision that while not have effected sales as much as others think, was still stupid in a post facebook/gmail society. The Wii U was also headscratching. It was a concept console that launched too late to maintain casual interest in Nintendo's hardware, and too early for the concept to be used (it wouldn't be until the Switch that the system's premise would be ready).
Rare:
- Hasn't made a ground breaking and high selling game since
- Nintendo kept the rights to the Donkey Kong Country games
- Rare is shadow of it's former self, even just strictly quality wise, with their best title since the sale not even being developed by them
This would be like if Nintendo owned Team Ninja and sold them right win Itagaki left for half a billion dollars. The only difference is that Team Ninja has actually managed to keep the quality up to one of its main established franchises on its own, when Rare has yet to do that.
Nintendo selling Rare was probably the best studio sale move in gaming history.
I can't for the life of me imagine why people don't see that sale other than a genius move.
Rare:
- Hasn't made a ground breaking and high selling game since
- Nintendo kept the rights to the Donkey Kong Country games
- Rare is shadow of it's former self, even just strictly quality wise, with their best title since the sale not even being developed by them
This would be like if Nintendo owned Team Ninja and sold them right win Itagaki left for half a billion dollars. The only difference is that Team Ninja has actually managed to keep the quality up to one of its main established franchises on its own, when Rare has yet to do that.
Nintendo selling Rare was probably the best studio sale move in gaming history.