Nintendo Showing That It Can't Do Everything?

With the small and quiet E3 Nintendo just had I think it's fair to say that they can't support the Wii U and the 3DS at the same time.

The Wii U needs games and it needs them badly and really the only company that wants to work on the Wii U is Nintendo (although from some news reports Nintendo's not all that eager to work on it)

Everyone is like "Nintendo just needs to make more games" but I don't think they can.

As we saw Nintendo showed almost nothing at E3 and worse yet most of it was for 2015, so we have most of this year with no big titles. Worse yet most of the games shown for 2015 have been said to be titles that will fall in the latter half of the year which means that for over the next year there's not going to be a lot for the console.

It does look like they're hitting up their core demographic in a big way though...

CHILDREN:

Yoshi

Splatoon

These games are mainly hitting the 4-12 age group. They're instantly going to be the games that grandmas and grandpas get their grandkids for birthday and holidays.

Amiibo: Nuff said

Casuals:

Mario Party

Smash Bros with Pac-Man

The other thing that I find funny is here comes Nintendo with a big push for their core again and they release the Zelda knock off. It looks like they're anticipating their core to be like "I remember Pac-Man when I was little so I'll grab Smash Bros, oh and I remember Zelda, this Hyrule Warriors must be his latest game".

The rest of the show for this year were things like Toad's game which should have been DLC for Mario 3D and Pokemon remakes for the 3DS. Not strong efforts in respect to the company.

I think what we're seeing a start of is that Nintendo having trouble running a console and a handheld all by itself. They used to have third party support but that's faded almost completely. What's left is that if a title's going to be made for the Wii U it's going to have to be from them and they just don't have that kind of power.

I'm sure you all remember when Nintendo pulled it's support for the Wii in 2008 thinking they could concentrate in other areas. Not even Mario and Metroid and Zelda could stop the Wii from it's tailspin into obscurity. You have to wonder if Nintendo is sacrificing 2014 in order to have a more robust lineup come 2015 and does it speed up the demise of the Wii U?

Na.

It's pretty sad you're one top posters on the Nintendo forum, yet you're EXTREMELY negative. It makes zero sense. Everyone knows, even the System Wars forum, agreed Nintendo won E3. Nintendo isn't in any trouble.

Four games are coming this year. Three of which are not for just kids or casuals.

Bayonetta 1&2,(M)

Hyrule Warriors (T-M)

Super Smash Bros.(E-T)

Captain Toad (E).

SSB and MK8 are system sellers, and with games like Donkey Kong ,Windwaker, SM3DL, Pikimin 3, Rayman Legends, MH3 and a few multi-plats. Wii U will keep most new adopters lots to play till 2015. Till 2015, Wii U is the only system worth picking up. At least the Wii U has that going for it.

Don't give Jason attention folks.

Four games in one year, what are people going to play the other 9 months?

None of the other games you listen even registered as a blip on the gaming landscape as far as sales, no one wants them. Mario Kart 8 is such a big seller because it's at the very least 2 games and 5 dollars credit for the price of one.

I like how you state this as a fact constantly, saying people bought Mario Kart 8 in droves ONLY because of a free game and credit were involved. It's like you saying the same general opinion over and over again will make this opinion true somehow. In fact, you do this with nearly ALL of you VERY general opinions. Although you are persistent Jaysonguy, the only person you will convince your opinions are magically factual is yourself.

yea...also look at those crossbuy vita games that count as two games...you can download it to your playstation as well....and it still sells like shit.

I agree. I just don't care about the Vita or PS4 anymore. I used to consider myself a Sony guy during the the entire run of PSX through to PS3, and PSP was a great system too. They all had great games, especially almost the entirety of the FF series, but now with the PS4 and Vita, I just don't see anything worth pushing me to get those two systems. Now KH3 and FF XV are coming to Xbone so there goes that reason to get a PS4. My main problem with the Vita is it's over loaded with JRPGs and not enough western style games. Now I'm not knocking those games. I'm merely saying that's all the system seems to have going for it right now. I would prefer a mixture of the two. As for Xbone, I think I had multiple orgasms watching MS's announcements about Master Chief collection. I was impressed with Project Spark and I'm currently loving Titanfall. That leaves me with Nintendo. They blew me away with their announcements. Happy to hear about the new Star Fox game and The Legend of Zelda: Skyrim Edition:) (had to say it) All in all, I was happy with Nintendo and Microsoft's conference. Sony's just fell flat for me.

BTW, this thread should really belong in System Wars some place.

The back end of 2014 is somewhat weak. A lot of their games were announced for 2015.

There are pretty much 4 Wii U games to look forward to for the next 6 and half months. 3DS is in a similar situation.

Why are people still replying to this guy? He's been here for 8 years non-stop posting this exaggerated negativity. Why still give him attention.

Yea hate to say it but Jaysonguy is somewhat right...They can't support 2 systems when or if one don't sell, they were hoping things would go smooth for the 3DS & Wii U launch but it didn't...so now we're seeing Nintendo's really slow & bad handling when things goes wrong -> game droughts. At least this E3 they didn't have someone saying anything about keeping steady flow of games..which I think they realise they can't do. Bayonetta 2 + 1 & Smash Bros are about the only 3 games I will be getting..unless Ubi decides to release Watch Dogs Wii U this yr. The other 2 probably not. Its a shame Xenoblade Chronicles X got pushed back to 2015. Since so many titles are claim to be release in 2015..Im pretty sure some of those will be pushed to 2016 or beyond..just like what they have done with their 2014 title. :P

The wiiu isn't selling as well because the industry is in a different state. Let's all be honest; is the industry in a good state? I'd say absolutely not. Watching all of the three e3 "conferences" really accentuated the differences in the companies and their business models.

Nintendo has always been about all ages. This is what confuses me. People seem to remember a different past from what really happened. Nintendo Cereal, a few different Mario Cartoons, toys, etc etc etc. The depth behind Nintendo, and their games, lies in the design of their games--not the overall visual front. And that isn't necessarily saying the visuals are "immature". In fact, it is quite the contrary. Mario Kart 8 is a visual wonder. People see that the game may not be technically up to standard as big pc/ps4 games, but still think, "jeez, why exactly does that looks so good." It looks good because the artists responsibe have an excellent grasp on shape/color theory. An extreme statement, but true--Mario Kart 8 is visually more mature than Metal Gear GZ and Watchdogs.

People get that stuff all mixed up.

It is also alright to make games designed for children--the less difficult ones. However, I will say that these games ought to offer a more difficult play for more seasoned players.

Nintendo has invested in expansions to their development houses among other things not too long ago, this is actually a large reason as to why they've posted losses this past year. Of course, this should've been happening during the Wii's heyday, but Nintendo being run by those in charge, that this didn't happen is hardly surprising.

From what I'm seeing, Nintendo is going the opposite direction of the AAA massive budget machine and market that both MS and Sony are aggressively catering to. They are going to instead hone in on much smaller budget titles and a niche that are less risky and more financially assured. This is clear looking from at their games this E3 (and some of their business moves, such as contracting out to outside studios), and is quite aggravating for me personally. I want to see Nintendo games realized on massive budgets, not have mini-game compilations or new casual IPs put on the eshop that amount to basically what are indie titles or less. But the truth is, Nintendo is changing. They're deciding not to expand in an ever expanding industry, but instead are contracting. Almost like they're frightened and giving up.

Will this save them and assure them a place in the industry? Perhaps. But if they go this route, they will have to accept that they're going to become incredibly niche and dependant on an ever shrinking diehard fanbase for support. Hell, they should cease being a global company, buy back their stock to go private, open a shop in Japan, and do their business that way considering the way they're headed.

Sure, there will always exist the big boys in Nintendo's catalog such as Mario, Zelda, Smash and Kart, and these will be the titles that we'll be seeing heavy resources poured into (because they're assured investments), but my prediction is that as far as new properties go, from now on Nintendo's going to have a much smaller and tighter focus. This is why, and I'll scream it again and again from the rooftops, I HATE the direction Iwata has taken Nintendo. He is the captain and decides the direction and strategy, and this is all his doing. My dislike for him is borderline unhealthy but to see such a company with such potential shrinking into near irrelevance and extreme niche territory because it's led by a wimp is unbelievably frustrating.

Yea, Nintendo did used to be about all ages. They made games such as Eternal Darkness and basically created what so many Nintendo fans nowadays deride as the antithesis of what Nintendo stands for: the dudebro shooter with Goldeneye 64. They had Perfect Dark. I'd put forth that Nintendo is far less "for all ages" today than it's ever been. It has neglected and ignored an audience that it used to cater to to more focus on the much younger/family oriented demographic. Their games CAN be played for all ages, sure, but that's different than being targeted at a certain audience.

Forgive me but I'm not sure I understand where you are coming from.

He is right in some ways.

Not too surprising that Nintendo cannot, given that Sony seems unable to support both the PS4 and its Vita. That said, the E3 presentation for Nintendo as it showed that, beginning this fall, the Wii U should be getting a more steady supply of titles. There are four titles coming out from them in the fall, in addition to Watch Dogs and a few other 3rd party titles. With that said, it is a shame they have no retail titles for the summer for the Wii U. At least there are some GBA titles and indie games to enjoy in the meantime.

Also, I am glad they are giving the Wii U more support as the 3DS at least is getting more support on the 3rd party retail front (Persona Q and Layton vs. Wright being prime examples). While I don't own a Wii U, I understand that it needs its own exclusives as well if Nintendo as a whole is to remain profitable ^^.

Why do you, FFCYAN, believe Nintendo offered quite the number of incentives for purchasing Mario Kart 8 within the small release window?

For me, I received two games priced at $59.99 each (online or retail) plus $10.00 (from Best Buy) that I used to add funds for my eShop account along with a $5.00 eShop credit for downloading a "free" game along with numerous coins for Club Nintendo. Of course many people were planning on purchasing M.K.8 from the get go but the incentives surely helped those on the fence.

Mario Kart Wii sold over 35 million copies worldwide, making it one of the highest selling racing games of all time. The incentive? A free plastic wheel.

People just don't invest 60 dollars in a game that will get them another game they may or may not like for free. That's asinine to believe that. Mario Kart is a established franchise.The trailers show pretty, shiny awesomeness. The reviews came out weeks in advance, all praising the game. Mario Kart 8 sold well because it's a great video game period end of story.

Nintendo offered plenty of incentives because Iwata, Reggie, etc.., were concerned about how well it would sell. It is an established franchise on a struggling system so every possible (within reason of course) safety precaution was taken. Other well known titles didn't sell extremely well on this system. Your lament failed to address why you believe Nintendo offered quite the incentive(s) for this game.

Can we all recognize that many games that were announced for the later part of 2015 have a likelihood of being pushed to 2016? LoZ Wii U being my number one suspect.

I don't recall what games are slated for the later part of 2015, but I do not think LoZ will be delayed. They have over 12 months of development time from now, and we have no idea how long it's already been in development. Same with the Xenoblade game. It was shown at last year's E3, and now again, so that game will easily have been in development for over 2 years if it releases in that holiday 2015 window. There really should be no delays from those games.

In regards to the topic, I agree that Nintendo alone cannot support 2 platforms. I don't think any other publisher cranks out as many games as Nintendo's teams do every year - and I give them credit for that. But it certainly isn't enough to satisfy all types of gamers who own Nintendo consoles. Personally, even a 10 hour game takes me a month or two to finish due to when I can play. So I don't need a lot of games to keep me busy. But with that said, there is still no serious racing game on the Wii U (to compete with Forza or GT), for example. Nintendo really needs support.

Fair enough, but its all speculation based on past games DKCTF was delayed and it was a much simpler game. Nintendo has a deep history of delaying games, to their credit for the sake of quality.

Regarding your other statement, if Nintendo cannot garner support from other companies then they need to fill in the huge software droughts. They should go find a good developer that can make that simulation racer as a second party game. I am interested in an all in house console where most of the content goes through the hardware maker. The only big headline games Nintendo has, once again, are MK and SSB. The people that love that game are going to get a Wii U or play it at a friends house but its not going to shift the downward momentum of sales. They need another big name fun multiplayer game and I am hoping Star fox can do that for us.