#would you agree that Nintendo makes good consoles?

The NES and SNES are the only good home consoles Nintendo has made. The Wii was just luck and didn't help them in the long run like the NES and SNES did. Nintendo is a company that lives in the past and uses an archaic methodology to run their business.

The Wii just lost Wi-Fi connection so now WiiU owners will avoid buying online games because Nintendo is just gonna close them down later when they want you to buy their next sub-par console.

- The WiiU is a disgrace.

- The Wii got lucky in sales, had very little third party support, and the games were the same from last gen.

- The Gamecube was dead last and didn't even have online play.

- The N64 had terrible graphics, a bad software lineup (compared to PS), and the controller was atrocious.

Nintendo is clearly a company of the past and will soon be phased out if they do not get some real talent leading the charge. They cannot survive on their old fashioned views on gaming.

They should stick to the handheld/mobile market if they want to see a brighter future.

So, given Nintendo's history, would you agree that they make good consoles?

I sure as hell don't think so.

No, I don't think so, from specs to disc formats to the inability to play movies on it to the memory formats and sizes they use.

I do however think that the games on those systems are fantastic. The Wii was awesome with the games that came with it.

tough question. i'd say they've made good consoles. but as for the wii u (which i confessed yesterday i own), well mine is hardly used.

partly my own fault, partly the fault of game prices on consoles. but basically if it was awesome with super appealing games to me, i'd be telling a different story about it.

sounds like you are very ignorant about the n64 and gamecube because they were fantastic systems.

I think Nintendo makes great first and second party games.

Consoles? Not so much. Gamecube was my favorite Ninty console.

They make excellent consoles and games.

Nintendo make good games and gamepads the consoles lack features and storage.

the N64 even kicked PC's ass for its time when it comes to graphics, the HW was way ahead of everything. Its mistake was using cartridge if not Nintendo would have continued dominating the market because 3rd party's were still on board and the system even sold faster than the PS1 at first but then... Cartridge were a real limitation to devs both in cost and game design and Nintendo lost everything for being so stupid because they never listen.

It may be the only one that still makes consoles. The HD twins and the HD twins 2 feel too much like PCs that you happen to plug in to your TV. They even have more or less the same library as nowadays' PCs.

You see, kids, there was a time when you played certain games on the PC and you played other games on consoles. Onl ine multiplayer was a PC thing, while local multiplayer was that one thing that consoles did way better, for obvious reasons. Now you either play the same game on the highest settings on your kick-ass PC or you play it on whatever console most of your friends prefer, because it's either on line multiplayer or nothing, except for a few (sometimes honourable) exceptions.

I can honestly understand why Japanese gamers are going handheld only. At this point, handhelds feel more like consoles than the consoles themselves. That's not either good or bad and I'm sure most of you love it, and that's ok, but it's still a vibe that some of us old farts (and, apparently, everyone in Japan) are getting.

No, they should just focus on handhelds. The last Nintendo console I enjoyed was the Gamecube.

in what ways? Both had less than stellar hardware/features and ended up being dead last in terms of sales. However, the software created during the GC era was pretty fantastic, I can agree to that. GC/PS2/Xbox was my favorite gaming generation by far.

They definitely make good consoles. Never had a Nintendo console fail on me. Gamecube still works like new.

The Wii U is truly fantastic. I just hope it doesn't bankrupt Nintendo.

Of course the console works, they don't make broken equipment. The fact that it could have been better is what makes it a sub-par console from Nintendo. Nintendo is an incredibly lazy company.

The N64 and Gamecube both had the best graphics on consoles during their generations and amazing exclusive libraries.

They make a great console but they will get by with a little help from their friend.

good games and reliable hardware. most consoles "could" have been better. Genesis could have had more colors. Gameboy could have been in color. N64 could have used more memory. PSX could have had a faster disc drive. 360 could have not been made like shit. PS3 could have not required software updates everytime you start a game. etc etc etc. When I look back at any old systems, all that really matters is gameplay. I don't look back at old libraries and think, "remember when that game USED to look good?" Don't get me wrong i like when the tech improves ten fold every generation, but really, none of the consoles that just came out did that.

1. NES = YES
2. SNES = YES
3. N64 = YES
4. GAMECUBE = YES
5. WII = NO
6. WII U = NO

Yeah I loved my Gamecube... Very underrated system I thought.

The Gamecube had promise, but whose idea was it to use smaller discs with less than half the storage capacity? Seriously, who thought that was a good idea? Maybe if it had used full sized DVDs and you could watch movies on them.

Everything after that has been the worst kind of shyte.

Pretty much this, except I'd choose the SNES (though Gamecube was the last time they really tried...).

It's a tough thing to answer because on one hand their consoles are utter shit for the hardware in them but something like the Wii was an absolute powerhouse in terms of sales and accessibility. Plus their consoles are always trying different things instead of being form factor PCs.

I'd say they're really good at making games that utilise their systems well

Lol hell no Nintendo does not make good consoles, games on the other hand.

Who cares !

The console is absilutely useless without games... Regardless of whatever it is people think is Wrong with Nintendos Hardware..... In fact the Hardware works just as its suppose to.... Just needs more games.

The NES was good for its time, and the SNES is still one of the best consoles (if not THE best) to be made. After the 4th gen though their consoles have always been objectively weaker in terms of games (and with their last two consoles, hardware) compared to the competition.

that being said I wouldn't say any of Nintendo's post SNES consoles are bad, as I have been overall satisfied with all of them, including the Wii and Wii U. I'd say at the least they are adequate.

The last two sure as Hell haven't been good compared their competition. Nintendo is pretty rolling the dice on casuals. Worked last gen, but failed this time around.

After N64 they forgot what a good console is

I have been with Nintendo since the NES and I've quite the massive Nintendo game library. In fact, my exposure to Nintendo was with the Atari and Arcades far before they entered the home console market.

NES and NES I thought were good hardware consoles in their time, but since then Nitnendo continually made bad choices on their hardware either going with cartridge, going with mini-discs, or just not enough juice/power.

Long story short, they don't make good consoles*, but they make great games which is why I buy their consoles. I knew what I was getting (and not getting) with the N64, GC, Wii, and Wii U but I was okay with it.

*Good consoles as qualified by my statement to mean hardware power and bottleneck choices.

@StrongBlackVine

The "Casuals" are much better gamers than we are.

They actually like gameplay and don't mumble on and on about superficial bullsh!t, like Graphics, Immersion, Story,etc.

Wii Sports and Kinect Adventure is far more Hardcore than anything "True Gamers" like to play.... Casuals are the best thing to happen to gaming.

N64 was passable, but NES and SNES was Nintendo only Triple A console imo.

If it was so great then why didn't they stick with motion controls as the core controller?

they make sturdy reliable hardware

as far as the Wii U goes though two things bug me, one being that the disc drive always spins even if the system is in the dash or using YouTube, the disc drive will still spin, it doesn't cache the data, which worries me in the long run that maybe the disc drive might suffer a premature death

the buttons on the gamepad are kind of loose, so if I'm say laying on the couch hold it it above my head the buttons come out a little bit of the way, and make a little clicking sound, functionally though it's fine

overall though sturdy thing, the Wii U runs cool and doesn't get hot

my NES and SNES were reliable and good, N64 too, my Wii had a dead pixel issue though, that bugged me

Why do you put that "hashtag" thing in almost all of your thread titles?

NES was greatness.

SNES was good but IMO Genesis was better.

N64 - Just never interested me, so never owned.

GameCube - Worst console of all time. The Controller was pure garbage.

Wii - Motion control was over rated and inaccurate. Lower resolution and no surround sound? Really? Online stinks.

Wii U - What the Wii should have been. Would have been my favorite if released earlier. Now behind the times. And I have to add an external HDD? WTH!!! Online still stinks.

But have to admit the first party games are very good. Not a personal fan of most of them, but for most people Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong games are typically rated very high. If they come out with a power house console in the next 4 years or so I think they can come back, as long as they get the 3rd party support. Looks like they had it early on with the Wii U, but then lackluster sales really hurt them. I like having all 3, but admit I miss Sega. They had some great systems.

There is some valid complaints you can make about online features and how difficult setting up some things are.

Aside from that their hardware is very efficient, quiet, cool, small, and affordable. The load times are short, there are not many long patches unlike their competition and hardly ever bait and switch unlike Sony and MS (like the increase of gold fee and making the PS3 a closed system). Nintendo consoles are better than their counterparts at playing games, you know the thing you buy them for. You don't have to install games.
The controllers work well and are all pretty sturdy.

The online features that are there work flawlessly for me, but I understand in the USA there are problems?

Agree with everything only the biggest sheep will deny this.

Like I said multiple times, Nintendo has been irrelevant since the N64 in the console business. Yes they had some (not many) great games...but that's really the only positive I can say.

yes very correct..they should stick to hand helds and go 3rd party.

I've had every Nintendo console and enjoyed owning them all. It's mainly down to their own games I suppose though and without these I certainly wouldn't bother. They wouldn't be great as your only console these days either because of the lack of 3rd party support.

I guess my answer is no if I think about it despite the fact that I wouldn't miss out on one. Entirely saved but the 1st party games and there isn't a great deal more to shout about these days.

@4myAmuzumament: I Agree

Traditionally Nintendo after SNES made some of the worst decisions ever .. even if Wii was a commercial success , it was for entirely other reasons than games/hardware etc and we all know why ( casual play says hi ).

N64 numerous problems from architecture to price , games price , third party support , exclusive losses , limited space for new age of games ( cartridge ) , really low sales of 32M when 20M was in NA and 12M in the rest of the world....

GC was a solid piece of hardware for me but again this lack of third party support and very low sales of 20M killed it...

Wii a commercial success with 100+ million sales couldnt make it till the end and died so early as well ... Lack of third party support , shovelware , hardware limitations and so many other problems that Nintendo couldnt handle made it the first console in console history that despite the fantastic sales ..DIED so early !! Thats a first.

Wii U continues the Wii logic with 1 difference ... Casuals already own a Wii , they had this casual Wii mote experience already , they dont care anymore !!And that reflects to Wii U sales. People thought was the marketing , the lack of games etc etc ... Well no !! Its the lack of third party support along with hardware limitations once again. Casuals dont care anymore about fancy controllers as i said they had this experience already with Wii. therefore .. it is failing so hard and not even major first party titles seems to change anything for it.

Conclusion : In my opinion , Nintendo after the amazing NES/SNES they messing things up really hard and that reflects to systems sales and/or their premature deaths.

There hardware lack features. I wouldn't say there bad though. They just haveDs a different mindset then the other two. Sony and Microsoft want to be "the one device" in your living room. And I think Nintendo are perfectly content with just being a complimentary device to your other machines.

People have different expectations though when it comes to console hardware. So i can definitely understand why some people would consider them bad.

Nintendo makes durable consoles that's for sure. I'll say they make necessary consoles. Consoles that mainly get the job done well which sole focus is to game. As far as media hubs though, their consoles are decent for that.

The problem comes with Nintendo's stubbornness to add things that even their own inside development team asks for.

As a person who likes to follow stocks, and track business moves, there is no luck in business. Nintendo were not lucky that people were attracted to the Wii. People spent money on it. That was a conscious decision by consumers. By that logic, Sony is lucky that people are interested and without thought spending money on the PS4. They make great consoles, and first party games. They are a bit mistaken that the market as a whole doesn't want competitive graphics but there is value in their consoles.