David Jaffe: Nintendo should sell themselves or make new

Link

Kind of old news, but it was still released this month. That, and HAZE shared the original video on this in another thread, but I thought it was worthy for it's own.

David Jaffe, former Sony developer (God of War, Twisted Metal) had this to say on Nintendo during an interview with the HipHopGamer YouTube channel:

"I say this with love as a fan of Nintendo. But if I was Nintendo, I’d be sitting my a** down trying to figure out how to sell my company to Walt Disney, because if you look at sort of what they have done sort of the reverence they’ve had towards Marvel, if you look at what seems to be happening with Star Wars and the Lucas brand they’ve acquired, they clearly understand marketing, they clearly understand their audience. To imagine going to a Disney Land park and having an entire land – like not just like Tomorrow Land but others like Nintendo Land – and sort of integrating that into that world, doing more with those brands.

You know end of the day, we’re all standing gratefully if you’re lucky in the shadows, the very long and powerful shadows of Miyamoto. But ultimately, he said himself he’s setting up younger developers to step in, he’s talking about retirement. I’m not a big Pikmin fan, I don’t think he’s making a game that really has spoken to me as a gamer in awhile. But what he has done has been industry-altering and super important and his characters live on and they should. But I think the idea of, you know, some new blood getting in there appreciating what they’ve got and doing more with it would be awesome…

…I’m a big Nintendo fan, but I just think it’s time to bring in some new blood that really is going to appreciate what they’ve got and bring it to a new generation and do some new s***. Never lose that essence, never lose that core, but for the love of f****** God, do some new s***."

I'll give him this much, Nintendo DOES need new blood, but selling the company out (even more depending on your view of Ninty) is not the way to do it.

Thoughts?

Nintendo needs to make new IPs, he's absolutely right.

They're one of the most creative and brilliant developers in the world when they try to be.

It's a damn shame that all that talent goes into rehashing their ancient franchises. I love Mario, Zelda and Metroid as much as the next guy, and they're all still good (for the most part), but I want to see what they can do next, beyond their bread and butter.

I'm sorry, exactly what kind of "new shit" are we seeing out of Sony and Microsoft again? Lots of bad rumors going around about Xbone (not to mention their horrendous reveal and the ongoing potential for abuse) and PS4 seems to be losing features that PS3 had by the day. What are the hyped games again? Oh yeah, COD, BF4, and Titanfall, yet another shooter. How refreshing...

WiiU, while it's had a bad launch, seems to be set to win this holiday season. It's got a unique controller with some real potential for new sorts of game features, if only anybody could be bothered to utilize it.

He would fit right in system wars.

@1oh1nine1: Nobody said anything about Sony or Microsoft. He's talking about Nintendo.

Just become somebody else does the same bad thing doesn't stop a bad thing from being bad.

And let's be honest about the WiiU: It has completely flopped. It is going to need a miracle if it wants to stick around.

Whilst i do have a spot inside for certain nintendo games i do think they need to modernise and start coming up with some new IP's for the new younger generation.

Its been goin on for years now and they still at it, STILL floggin the Mario, zelda, mario kart etc etc franchises to death in the vain hope it will sell the system.

Nintendo dont seem to realise the same people who brought their consoles and games back in the day are all now grown adults with different gaming tastes, the same people who played mario to death BITD all now have kids of their own so dont play silly child like platform games or run around saving fairies etc anymore.

I'd like to see nintendo do ok but it seems to me they need a change of management with new ideas and some fresh blood rather than have myamoto rattling around like marleys ghost making the same games forever more.

@Big_Red_Button: In sales it may have flopped. But it's a good console, let's just hope it survives with support from the big N.

The smartest thing Nintendo could do is just become a third party developer.

Nintendo games are the only reason to own a Nintendo system. I didn't buy a Wii for the scant handful of games I wanted and I won't buy a WiiU for maybe a dozen good Nintendo games.

The Wii hardware was at least passable... The WiiU hardware is just ass.

True that. People flak on Nintendo for using the same IPs, but are people just overlooking the giant tidal wave of FPS games on Sony and Microsoft consoles?

Buh... buh... new IP's,

I don't think they need to sell, but they do need to accept that the console market has surpassed them and that new blood is probably necessary at this point.

If we just do a simple comparison, how old are all of nintendo's IPs they're still pumping games out of right now, and how old are the rest of the AAA production games? I think even that is not the biggest issue, they're simply not making games that appeals to an older audience.

The zelda's and mario's will always have a place in people's hearts, but game design doesn't live on nostalgia or targets only one demographic.

Well, it's not hard to see why. The last two games they released for that audience bombed, while their "family friendly" stuff, be it their triforce (Mario, Zelda, Pokemon), or some other of their IP's that are not AS popular (Donkey Kong, Kirby) still sell well, and it's not because of nostalgia like this forum likes to think.

1. Even if they make a new IP, most people would just ignore them. That can be seen with Endless Ocean, Rhythm Heaven, and Xenoblade Chronicles

2. Fire Emblem clearly appeals to an older audience. Mario and Zelda are ageless, they appeal to everyone because they teach and challenge you.

3. If Mario lived on nostalgia alone, that series would've been dead a long time ago.

The Last of Us,Ni No Kuni and Beyond Two Souls this year alone,when was the last time that a new nintendo ip scored around 95 on metacritic?

Nintendo needs a 100% rehaul.

They should join forces with Sega and release a console

They should go back to Sony.

Sony gets Nintendo exclusives.

They make new IPs every gen but nobody says they count until like 2 gens later.

You think Those games were Sold because they were "New IPs"?

The Last of Us - Coming from the Award Winning Developers of Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter, and Uncharted. Why Hype? Because Naughty Dog.

Ni No Kuni - Coming from Legendary Anime Studio, Studio Ghibli which is most famously known for Hayao Miyazaki films such as Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and Princess Mononoke. Why Hype? Because Studio Ghibli.

Beyond Two Souls - Coming from The Award Winning Developers of Heavy Rain Quantic Dream and Starring a Well Known Actor and a Well Known Actress and was Advertised primarily as a Movie. Why Hype? Because Quantic Dream.

They also weren't Rated high on Metacritic because they were New IPs either.

They were Rated high because Reviewers thought the games deserved it.

But we're not talking about Sony or MS..Are Sony and MS being ignored by 3rd party devs and Core gamers? yes. are Sony/MS install base (or soon to be install base with the PS4/X1) almost nonexsistant? No.. Case in point- Sony and MS can get away with making the same rehashing over and over and having more shooters on their system, Nintendo cant. its time for some fresh new ideas/IP's (Mature Ip's like Bayonetta no more colorful kid friendly platformers) to get people interested again.

So what does that say about nintendo in the topic at hand?

So what you're saying is that It's okay for Sony and Microsoft to Release the Same crap over and over because They're Sony and Microsoft.

But Nintendo does it, it's a sin.

and people say Nintendo gets the Free Pass.

More on topic, Nintendo doesn't have to sell themselves (I wonder if Disney could afford them) or go third party. The only things I agree with that Jaffe said are that it would be good for Nintendo to get some new blood working in there, and it would be good to see them change for the better. But this Nintendoomed go third party sell themselves nonsense is ridiculous.

Plenty of other developers of Sony and Microsoft titles are just as bad. Why don't they get some new blood? Why don't they do new things? Instead, most of the biggest hyped games are shooters, chasing after that COD cash, and they'll get good reviews no matter how redundant or run-of-the-mill they are because $money$ and OMG1337HARDCORZZZ!!

It'd be cool to see Nintendo improve, but System Wars ammo this ain't.

Besides that, didn't Beyond: Two Souls only score 70+ on Metacritic?

Thoughts? I think he's an idiot. You lose the brand when you sell out to anyone. And Disney? Seriously.....

Yeah it did,but it was a new IP and a high profile game and that was the point,NNK scored much better and TLoU got the 95,so the point obviously stands.

Lol, I think Marvel's doing ok so far under Disney, Star Wars remains to be seen...

But yeah, why are we even listening to David Jaffe? His main contribution has been God of War, a "mature" title (hahaha) which features a murderous psychopathic whiny crybaby piece-of-shit protagonist (and I liked the first game, back when I was in high school), digital boobies for the sad boys, and quick-time events galore. Oh, and Twisted Metal. Wait, who the hell plays Twisted Metal?

Wait, what? How does your point stand when you brought up games that didn't rank what you said before? Only one of those did that.

Not a contradiction at all. :roll:

and so does mine.

Nintendo Games don't score below that AAA status because it was an Old IP.

Looking at Metacritic right now (cause you love it so much) The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker HD has a 90.

Old Title, Touched up Graphics, better Meta Score than 2/3 games you have listed (Ni No Kuni and Beyond).

Games don't get High Scores because they're Old or New IPs. They get High Scores because the Reviewers felt that it's deserved.

Not sure what the answer to their console problems is, maybe some new blood in marketing would help like David suggested.

Did you even read the post you made and wich I quoted?

"Buh... buh... new IP's," - this is what you said and it´s to what I responded,I merely showed three new IP´s on another system this year alone,three high profile games and the score was just a side point,wich btw you haven´t showed me one yet.

If you don´t want to aproach what I said it´s fine but don´t try to swag it the other way.

I wasn't the one who said ALL of those games were 95+, something you added and I never even bothered to bring up in that post.

Besides that, I know Sony has had new IP's (although Ni No Kuni wasn't published by them, that was Namco), I just said that quote to AvatarMan in a statement that pretty much predicts posters using the NEW IP's excuse for whatever reasons they can come up with.

Nintendo have more than enough cash reserves to survive a bad generation or two, there is no pressing need for them to go third party.

People forget that Nintendo are the only company to actually make serious money from the console hardware business. They have 30B+ in lifetime profits compared to 1.5B for Sony and Billions in losses for MS. You can't write them off based on the failure of one console.

They do need to change though, the formula of rehashing old titles and selling underpowered gimmicky hardware isn't working any more.

Last time I checked, Sony makes new IPs far more than the other 2 companies. I think you mean just Microsoft.

And I did? Read the post again and tell me that what I said meant that all of those games scored a 95.

Are you serious? Come on man,don´t find shit that isn´t there just for the sake of arguing.

@LegatoSkyheart: you missed the point i was trying to make, completely.

Not only are you two exaggerating the amount of shooters that are on the console but you are completely overlooking all the other kind of games the system has that Nintendo doesn't.

I did read it. In fact, here's the quote again.

"The Last of Us,Ni No Kuni and Beyond Two Souls this year alone,when was the last time that a new nintendo ip scored around 95 on metacritic?"

Yeah, the way all that's worded pretty much implies that those three games scored 95+ while nothing of what Nintendo released this year have reached.

Besides, you calling me out for arguing over crap that isn't there? Funny coming from the guy who added critical scores when I never did in the quote you were responding to.

Eh,I´m pretty sure everyone understood what he meant aside from you,it´s pretty clear,just stop it dude.

This is one of the reasons it´s so annoying to argue anything to you,it´s almost like you make yourself look daft on purpose just to annoy people.

Wow,you really are serious...

No I get it.

It's okay for a company to do re-releases and rehashes if you're also making new games...oh wait I'm sorry, New IPs because New Games don't cut it if the IP is 10 years old.

@Big_Red_Button:

Nintendo's problem has never been its ablity to make games. Its games are some of the most memorable in the history of gaming. There problem is they lack the ablity to make hardware that is on par with the competition and as a result the games suffer. They also rely on only themselves as opposed to 3rd parties which makes the platforms they own lack the games that you can find everywhere else.

3rd party nintendo, make it happen.

I don't know what Nintendo should to, really. But they should do something. Sell or not sell, either is fine to me. But their present course is like SquareEnix's present course: unacceptable and unsustainable.

*Imagines revamping the Dumbo ride to Star Fox and Autopia to F-Zero.*

Yup, they should totally do it.

Selling the company would be the dumbest thing they could ever do.

However, they do need new blood and new IPs.

And that theme park idea is actually a great one.

Not Gonna lie, a Nintendo land part of Disney World would be awesome.

But I don't want Nintendo to sell. They just needed a wake up call with the wii u.

At the rate he's going, David Jaffe will probably be selling himself pretty soon.

Stay gone Dave.

So Nintendo is rehashing and the others aren't?