Why do you think Nintendo is so successful?

They make good games regularly and keep them exclusive to their console.

I can't say duh hard enough.

Nintendo haters were very scary when Switch 2 came out but my men ended up being tempests in a teacup.
James Franco Flirt GIF
 
I agree with you OP. There are many different reasons, but to narrow it down..they make good games. Everything else spirals out of that..
 
They are a 100% interactive entertainment company

They actually do care about their products long term also

Not like Sony wanting to jump on trends

Or ms that just wants users and $$$
 
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Nintendo was successful with the Switch 1 because they gave real gamers what they wanted. It became popular and the casuals caught on. The WiiU was a miss, The Wii was a hit, The Gamecube was ok, the N64 lagged far behind the psx, etc. Nintendo fails when they go anti consumer. I love my switch oled but the Switch 2 and everything it stands for can kiss my ass. Mario Kart World is already dying off because people don't find it fun, and there is little to play on the Switch 2 if you have been playing modern games the last decade.
 
Nintendo was successful with the Switch 1 because they gave real gamers what they wanted. It became popular and the casuals caught on. The WiiU was a miss, The Wii was a hit, The Gamecube was ok, the N64 lagged far behind the psx, etc. Nintendo fails when they go anti consumer. I love my switch oled but the Switch 2 and everything it stands for can kiss my ass. Mario Kart World is already dying off because people don't find it fun, and there is little to play on the Switch 2 if you have been playing modern games the last decade.
Mario Kart World does seem like a miss.

But I am sure Nintendo plans to sell it for the next 5 years and as such can fix it.
 
It's the games people. And their games don't come to PC....unlike everything else unless your name is Vanillaware.

Mario Kart is only worth $50. It can be fun but it's a very weak entry. I cared more about the music then the game itself.
 
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Nintendo is successful because they become stronger drinking the tears of virgins that cry about low power, bad graphics and kiddy games.
 
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I think Nintendo cares about their ips more and that is why they are successful. I feel Sony and Microsoft ruined most of their franchise if not all of them, they try to go away from what made those franchise great in the first place. Nintendo manages to keep those franchises soul intact and even when they try new things for the most part it doesn't ruin the franchise.
 
I think there are a lot of aspects to this, but first things first, Nintendo has had its share of flops - perhaps more than it's share, and yet they kept going.

Anyway there are 2 sides to this, for gamers and for the corp.

1. They have invested and maintained brand identity for decades now. They've stuck with Mario, Zelda, Metroid and others, and managed to spin-off Pokémon too. Other companies let IPs go dormant or die rather t he an find ways to keep them going.

2.To achieve (1) above Nintendo have been careful to maintain a quality standard for these brands. People know if they buy a Mario game it will be good quality - maybe not their style of game - but the quality is there. Sony and MS haven't managed to maintain the quality across the first parties - and they've been quick to ditch ideas which didn't hit sales first time out.

3. They've avoided over saturation in game mechanics. They produce a lot of Mario branded games, but there's diverse gameplay - platform, kart, RPG, Sports whatever. This has allowed Nintendo to riff on the underlying brand tropes without just putting out the same platformer every year and that avoids fatigue. Again, other companies - specifically Sony and MS didn't do this. halo is an FPS, TLOU 3rd person zombie etc. Their characters are silo'd in their gameplay genres.

4. From Nintendo corporate I think they made an active decision to focus on being a little bit unsung and "quiet" in the gaming space. They haven't let studios and personalities become bigger than the brand itself. Compare to Sony and MS where studio names and even individuals seem to be bigger than the overall corporate identity.

5. Finally, from a games perspective Nintendo make games which have "dense" gameplay. By that I mean that you boot the game and within a few moments you're playing the game with real gameplay. Not watching a lot of CG and voice acted scenes or getting beaten over the head with exposition. Perhaps this is by virtue of weaker hardware, but either way, Nintendo games are about playing the game moment to moment - not long story sequences and slow walking talking. There's a place for that stuff - but too much of it is just boredom inducing.

6. Oh and of course Nintendo make games everyone can understand. Primary colours, simple gameplay mechanics and stories. Yeah that can all seem shallow, but so can the mass of drab, bleak games with obtuse mechanics and stories trying to be edgy at every turn but doing it badly.


I think the danger is that if Sony don't keep going with their first party and exclusives, a world in which Nintendo is the only console gaming company left would swing too far the other way. We need the slow steady mature games to give the brash primary color joyful Nintendo games a counterpoint.

So in a sense Nintendo have been successful because they were the alternative to Sony and whoever else.
Awesome read, thanks
 
Most of their sucess is from nostalgia and people thinking the crap they get for the cost is amazing. Nintendo fans bought a Switch 1 and some games, just so they can buy a Switch 2 to play those same games at a quality closer to the cost, without accepting the reality that they bought 2 systems to play 1 game.

Then there are people who only have access to a Switch or it is more appealing to children with all the mascots and toys.

Nintendo can exploit them nonstop. Then the usual argument that because something is popular, doesn't make it good.
 
They couldn't released at launch because they were cooking.

You don't rush good games.
I am hopeful them gatekeeping Metroid from me means it's a Donkey Kong experience rather then a Mario Kart one.

Although I have a feeling that Borderlands 4 mysteriously launching on Switch 2 in October while releasing everywhere else in September might signify a September release for Metroid.

Both Metroid and Zelda Age of Imprisonment will probably be the big meaty content filled games to look out for.
 
Most of their sucess is from nostalgia and people thinking the crap they get for the cost is amazing. Nintendo fans bought a Switch 1 and some games, just so they can buy a Switch 2 to play those same games at a quality closer to the cost, without accepting the reality that they bought 2 systems to play 1 game.

Then there are people who only have access to a Switch or it is more appealing to children with all the mascots and toys.

Nintendo can exploit them nonstop. Then the usual argument that because something is popular, doesn't make it good.

How can you possibly reconcile this post with anyone who bought a Pro after already owning a PS5? It, by definition, only has PS5 games. I don't even have to use selective amnesia to forget it has its own exclusive games like in your example.

This is some strong ass copium you guys are on.
 
the quality of the games

the differentiation from competitors

valuing long term profit not just doing things that harm their brand for short term profit, like releasing a broken game and gradually fixing it (a delayed game is eventually good)

the leading instead of following without too much trend chasing...they take risks, you gotta take risks, but their risks don't tend to be their trend chasing, it tends to be innovation...they're never like "these type of games are hot right now for some reason, lets put billions into copying this idea
 
This thread was destined to get colorful but I've noticed a tendency (emphasis on tendency) of Nintendo haters to walk in with this mindset that the most important aspect is performance.

Games run so good now compared to how they used to, we need to compare smaller performance gaps to find a weakness to exploit. Switch 1 is like DVD and Switch 2 is like BluRay. Yeah technically the bitrate can get higher but mass market says "good enough dude you can stop". The number of people out there willing to buy NS2 at its current price instead of $6-700 to eliminate a few dropped frames in DK is astronomical. And that's the thing, you're still getting the same game. On Switch 1, the perf really hurt Zelda. On 2, it doesn't affect the experience of playing DK at all, yet that's what makes this a poor game? I kinda hate this phrase, but touch grass...
 
  • Create, maintain and experiment with a wide variety of IP.
  • Make games that push style instead of unsustainable pushes for realistic graphical fidelity
  • Design a hybrid system that can be played on the go or on the TV
  • Fixed their mistakes on the WiiU by actually making it easier for indies to exist on their platform using multi-plat game engines
  • Never chased the west or left Japanese consumers behind
  • Foster and retain talent instead of brain-drain like the rest of the AAA industry.

That said, they still make annoying business decisions, and Nintendo of America sucks.
 
This thread was destined to get colorful but I've noticed a tendency (emphasis on tendency) of Nintendo haters to walk in with this mindset that the most important aspect is performance.

Games run so good now compared to how they used to, we need to compare smaller performance gaps to find a weakness to exploit. Switch 1 is like DVD and Switch 2 is like BluRay. Yeah technically the bitrate can get higher but mass market says "good enough dude you can stop". The number of people out there willing to buy NS2 at its current price instead of $6-700 to eliminate a few dropped frames in DK is astronomical. And that's the thing, you're still getting the same game. On Switch 1, the perf really hurt Zelda. On 2, it doesn't affect the experience of playing DK at all, yet that's what makes this a poor game? I kinda hate this phrase, but touch grass...
The silliest part is zooming in on a freeze-frame to count the number of pixels like.. come on lmao
 
There are many contributing reasons. But the crux is because Nintendo has strong, exclusive first party IP they guard with legal ferocity.
 
You know something is wrong when they try to make you believe that a game that originally ran at 17fps is the best game of all time.
 
You know something is wrong when they try to make you believe that a game that originally ran at 17fps is the best game of all time.

I know that we are supposed to welcome all opinions here, but there has to be some sort of special clause for insulting Ocarina of Time. Or the Jedi Council can make one up on the spot, this is outrageous
 
Constant push of innovative gameplay.

Taking risk with new hardware (dual screen, wii remote, 3ds, Virtual Boy, Switch).

Maintaining major IP as exclusive.

Making games for to all ages.

Priorities Japan market.
 
And they are not dumb to fall to MS trap. Exclusives stay as exclusives.
MS gone to that route because their exclusive lost its quality.

Halo used to be huge deal, the was THE game you stay in line to get a Xbox but now no one gives a crap about Halo.

Its not just about having exclusive but also keeping your exclusives at high quality.
 
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