Nintendo Should Give up Third Parties, Focus on Exclusives

I think Nintendo's been heading in the right direction with the Wii U from the start, which I realize is something most people will starkly disagree with. But while I'm standing firm that they're heading in the right direction, I don't think they've fully committed to it. Generation after generation, gamers prove that there isn't a huge audience for third party, multi-platform releases on Nintendo consoles, but what they do prove is that Nintendo gamers love their exclusives.

The problem, I think, Nintendo is facing is that they're unwilling to fully commit to being as "different" as they claim they are. Nintendo seems hell bent on defining themselves as the unique ones in the industry, but still insist that you can get the normal gaming experience on their consoles. My question that I'd love to ask them is simply: Why?

Spending time on any internet gaming outlet, and you can find droves of Xbox/Playstation -- COD/Assassin's Creed/etc types that would rather quit gaming all together, rather than spend money on a Nintendo console. And that's exactly why I think Nintendo should shift their focuses elsewhere. I think that focus should be on the niche, or as I like to call them -- the gaming lifers.

These are the Dark Souls, the Shin Megami, the Bayonetta types that will be gaming long after all the Call of Duty players get older, have families, and stop playing games in favor of other, more "adult" hobbies. But you get something like a Shin Megami game, and you'll find fans more rabid than a pack of feral cats. And the best part about these types are that they typically don't assign themselves to a specific console blindly. They buy the consoles the games they want to play are on. Why not go after these gamers? And I'm not talking about just Bayonetta or the Wonderful 101. I'm talking about going after f****** all of them.

You can point to all the times Nintendo's struggled to bring in a big enough audience for games like Tales, Resident Evil, and the extending list of exclusive, non first party games that don't bring gamers in droves, but that's because it hasn't ever been a full on assault to bring in every last niche franchise imaginable.

The truth is, games like that haven't ever really had a home on the likes of Xbox or Playstation. Too often good games like Catherine get buried beneath a sea of COD and console exclusives, but they could become a major selling point for the Wii U. The beauty of this angle is that the budgets of these smaller titles wouldn't allow them to fully utilize the other two console's outrageous horsepower, and could perform quite well on the Wii U's modest internal components.

The key to this strategy would have to be an "all in" approach, however. Just bringing in a few of these franchises would only boost sales by a million or so, and that's not a number that makes the financial investment required to bring this kind of content in worth it in the end. But if Nintendo dipped into some of its fortunes they've been hoarding away, I think they could build themselves a home console that has some of the wackiest, strangest, and most unique library of games you can find on the market, and isn't that what Nintendo's tried to brand themselves as all along?

I wouldn't say give up on them ENTIRELY, but they shouldn't be top priority unless Nintendo introduces a console that appeals to "hardcores" as much as it does "casuals."

I agree. I'm not saying they should just cut the cords with the likes of Ubisoft and Activision, just take the focus off of them. As someone from Bethesda pointed out a few months back, the time to woo third parties is over for Nintendo. As long as AC and COD sell a million units or so, they'll still come out on Wii U, as long as development isn't too hamstrung by the limited console resources.

But I think branding the Wii U as the console where you can play literally every weird, unique title not found on the other two would do wonders for the system's sales in the long run; mainly because those are the types of gamers you can really gain the loyalty of for the long haul.

I'm going to make a bold prediction in saying that whenever Call of Duty loses its seemingly endless luster, the amount of console gamers is going to drop like crazy. It might not ever happen, or maybe just not for a long, long time. But the core COD group is the type that would just as quickly drop gaming all together, rather than search out a new competitive online game to play.

Because there aren't enough of them. Look at the sales figures for those weird, quirky games on the Wii, and there's your answer.

Also, I don't think Nintendo has any real resources devoted to third parties to begin with. Those companies can choose whether or not to publish on Nintendo's console. All Nintendo can do is curate a first party lineup that fits your description of what they should do. If they go deep into unique games, then third parties can choose whether or not to follow suit depending on the console's success in that area. That's why the Wii got so many mini-game collections.

i say do it right or not at all

I'm not talking about games on Wii like Zack and Wiki. I played that game for ten minutes and understood exactly why people didn't show up in droves to play it. What I'm talking about is taking after lower-tier, but still big-budget developers; the likes of Level-5, Atlus, etc. These are studios that Nintendo already has a great relationship with, and who don't have a need for a monstrously powered system like Xbox One or Ps4. You're correct in saying that there aren't enough gamers with these games to bring the Wii U to success, which is why I said it's important that, for this plan to work correctly, Nintendo would have to go after all of these titles. Building up a niche reservoir of awesome titles would do wonders for bringing in fans of all types, which would, in turn, bring more sales for Nintendo's first parties.

Talking to plenty of niche gamer types, most of them have told me they have an interest in Wii U, but aren't willing to shell out 300 dollars for the likes of new Donkey Kong, Mario, and Zelda. But what they have told me is that if Nintendo were to release enough titles around their key releases, they would most certainly end up purchasing their first party content.

Imagine a Nintendo console that has all of Nintendo's iconic franchises, as well as all of the Bayonetta 2's of the world; the types of games that don't really have a home on another console. Nintendo could give those games a home, and they would be more well off because of it.

I disagree. I've tried recapturing the magic of the Great Nintendo Franchises with the likes of Super Mario 64(DS), Ocarina of Time 3D, Mario 3D Land, and frankly- they just don't do it for me. Not anymore.

I've played a number of games on my 3DS since launch day and my favorites include the likes of Samurai Warriors Chronicles, Captain America: Super Soldier, Monster Hunter 3U and Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy. I've been pining for an Assassin's Creed and a Call of Duty(because I much prefer FPSs on handhelds instead of consoles). But the idea that all of my favorite genres should be stripped off of my favorite device(yes, lately I prefer my 3DS over even my 360) for some idea that I'm less worthy as a gamer for preferring action games and beat em ups over platformers and RPGs is more than a little distressing to me.

While you're definitely right about the demographic you're talking about, that demographic won't ever buy a Nintendo console on namesake alone. So, trying to make a console that would appease these gamers would be a poor move on Nintendo's part. Being different is the only thing that's keeping them in business (that, and their insane amount of money).

@El_Zo1212o: i dont see any issues with those 3ds games.