@CrillanK@amallica12Nintendo has a well earned reputation from even the N64 days of making it difficult to produce 3rd party titles on their systems.They've become very anti-3rd party and IMO it's because they don't want 3rd party games competing with their own games or diluting their "family friendly" brand they've worked so hard to project over the last two the three generations.
Nintendo prides themselves on having full control of the type of software content they produce, how they want that content distributed (media formats) and promoted along side the Mario brand, and tends to develop their consoles only with their in-house development in mind.
They have to change their model to a more inclusive, indie-friendly arena where they can bring on and discover new talent and sign them on to develop exclusives for their systems, but they aren't programmed that way.
@vindictivecow@ChaosAngelZeroRight, exactly. This is what's hurting them. Some people will say well all Nintendo needs is its games. That's pretty much true overall, however, Nintendo can never justify their $250 to 350 price point for the Wii U system if all they can produce is their own titles and slowly at that, with very little 3rd party support.
Little 3rd party support almost guarantee that people will be buying the system for their games but if they can't even get those out in a timely manner, then for who exactly was the system designed for? Casual gamers? No. Hardcore Nintendo fans? Well, that was the idea...but this group is losing patience just like the rest of us here.
So Nintendo really put themselves in a position where they HAVE to sell their system at a much lower price because it's basically a system that only allows you to play Mario games, and not much else.
@samus_my_life The WiiU is a flop in the eyes of the gaming world in general because they had a head start and they still haven't gotten the big gunz out regarding games yet. That's inexcusable.
They should be leading this generation so far, but they are trailing a PS4 and Xbox1 system that came out just a few months ago.
@theR34p3R I think what it really comes down to is just Nintendo getting more games, period ....as well as the diversity in the game content from kids to more adult themed storylines.
As you had noted, Nintendo used to have its share of adult and mature themed games and they did a somewhat decent job of it during the N64 period when they had titles like GoldenEye, Turok, Perfect Dark, Resident Evil and Conker's Bad Fur Day.
Nintendo can go back to bringing that kind of content if they want to, they just choose NOT to. They seem to have convinced themselves that they HAVE to only make G-rated games and can't promote, much less develop adult themed games anymore, which is a shame.
@Coren_Larken @dannyodwyer @19James89 I agree with @endorbr . A different name altogether would have been much better for the Wii or simply calling it Wii 2 would have gotten people to realize this is a brand new console...which actually would have been genius because it kind of sounds like "We too". Nintendo could have played around with that moniker for their advertising and watch that name sell by itself.
But that's what happens when you have a craptacular branding and marketing strategy from the start.
@dannyodwyer @Scarab83 I think you are on to something here, Danny. Another poster on this thread you responded to said something to the affect: "Nintendo is running itself like a small-to-medium enterprise..."
Perhaps Nintendo is thinking in terms of being more of a Japanese based company that occasionally caters to a Western audience with their overall mindset. Unfortunately, it's handicapping them in more ways than one. They should probably take a page out of Sony's playbook and do something similar with their leadership but Nintendo seems less likely to do so with Iwata at the helm of things.
@LancerVI @Bread_or_Decide They are concentrating on making those games on the 3DS, that's why.
It's almost as if Nintendo is putting more energy in the software department for their handheld and not focusing that same or more energy on their console. It should actually be the opposite.
@19James89I agree with all your points, especially the one you made where they operate like a small-to-medium enterprise. It's like they aren't trying to be competitive anymore and in by doing so, they took themselves out of the mental pysch needed to make the critical decisions that big companies make when they want to lead an industry from the front, not from behind.
Nintendo is a big company, and they can certainly afford to spend a little more development time in the hardware specs department as well as expand their horizons on the software department. They are out of touch with the current gaming market and they have to learn to adjust to it. After the success of the Wii, there is no one to blame but themselves for why they are in the position they are in.
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