Is Nintendo Killing Itself?

PokéTrainer J

These threads alarmed me:

http://news.yahoo.com/nintendo-killing-itself-164557665.html

http://www.gamesradar.com/is-nintendo-in-trouble/

How is Nintendo killing itself? In my eyes it's not. The reason why the Nintendo 3DS is failing is because of a lack of good titles to support it and unfortunately there's very few, then there's also the disappointing Wii U that was leaked at this year's E3 which basically is a fusion of a Wii and an iPad. Seriously Nintendo? You're starting to copy off of Apple now? What was wrong with the Wii Remote anyway? I talked to my family about the Wii U and they agree that the Wii is better in every aspect.

Nintendo is one of If not one of the most successful video game companies in the entire world spawning hits such as Super Mario Bros., Legend of Zelda, Pokemon, Metroid, Kirby, and many other hits from the past. So really what is it about that article that is making people think that Nintendo is dying? I mean sure the Zelda formula has gotten old and the lack of a consistent timeline has hurt it in some ways. Pokemon is still successful as it was a decade ago and there's already plans for a new Super Smash Bros. game to be released as well.
 
the lack of a consistent timeline has hurt [Zelda] in some ways.
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If you honestly think that, it's hard to take your words seriously on this topic.

Nintendo is currently back to the stock prices they were at in the GameCube era - except now even their handheld isn't selling blockbusters and that's becoming worrying.

The Yahoo article has a somewhat crappy headline. Nintendo is in its current state because of Apple, but making iOS games isn't going to help them reach the type of profitability they enjoyed in the past few years. The reason they did so well is because they sold hardware at a profit then charged $40 for what Apple platforms now have for $1. People don't want to pay $40 for Brain Training anymore. They can get it for $0.99 on the smartphones they already own and bring with them everywhere.

Unfortunately, the stable franchises they've used over the years won't get them to where they need to be either. The N64 and GCN eras showed that the "core gamer" can keep Nintendo alive, but not make them a powerhouse.

The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 have finally come into their own and are beating the Wii again. The Wii U looks like a good competitor but they had the worst communication possible when revealing it. Nobody knows what the hell it is exactly. A controller? A system? I mean, even people on gaming sites are confused. Sure we now know it's a new console, but that initial impression was the most muddled message I've ever seen come out of a do-or-die press conference.

The GamesRadar article is old and not relevant anymore.
 
I mean sure the Zelda formula has gotten old and the lack of a consistent timeline has hurt it in some ways.
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Skyward Sword currently has a 99/100 aggregate score on gamerankings.com, js.
 
the article focuses on the 3DS and makes the point that gamers already have handheld devices known as 'smartphones' and the offering of mediocre nintendo games is not enough to tempt them to spend more on a 3DS. plus the wii is pretty much the joke console. its easy to see how nintendo is slipping into decline.
 
Lee said:
Skyward Sword currently has a 99/100 aggregate score on gamerankings.com, js.
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Just because Skyward Sword is being called the greatest Zelda game ever by some reviewers (oh god just the thought gives me a hard-on), doesn't mean Nintendo is back on the rise. It's just not going to have enormous sales.
 
Lee said:
Skyward Sword currently has a 99/100 aggregate score on gamerankings.com, js.
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Well, out of 2 reviews. but oh my god i want it so much fuck why did i sell my wii i don't think that i can live without this game on launch -- er, I mean...I think it will be fucking awesome, like all Zelda games are.
 
I think the problem with nintendo is its lack of incorporation of social media and communication and next gen technology. Also like monkfish said Nintendo is basically using old tricks and cheesy gimmicks to lure in customers, which is a equation for failure. Sony and Microsoft have already gone beyond just using the games as the leading factor for buying their console. Hell, the ps3 is basically a personal computer with great up to date games. Look, i dont care how good zelda and kirby was back in the day, the truth is the new generation of kids dont want to play that shit. Nintendo needs to come out with solid new series that attracts the younger 1998+ born crowd.
 
Well, out of 2 reviews.
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One of which was Edge Magazine who gave it 10/10 - in their nearly 20 year history, Edge has only awarded that score to a mere fourteen games. Even the likes of Uncharted 2, Metroid Prime, Resident Evil 4, Call of Duty 4 and Portal had to settle for a 9/10...basically, it's looking promising!

what i'm saying is nintendo have obviously still got the ability to make outstanding first party games and as long as they're doing that, they're safe.
 
I don't know about sales, or stocks and the like (lets face it, Nintendo is never going under) but Nintendo IS hurting themselves.

Its because they keep doing stupid little things like implementing friend codes, not giving a damn about online play and just being stubborn. They totally botched the 3DS launch by giving us the worst launch titles known to man. We're getting a string of good games in... like november? Too fucking late if you ask me. I played my 3DS quite a bit after buying it, but I haven't touched it since. (don't buy Starfox, its a fucking rip off) Don't take this the wrong way, i'm like Nintendo's #1 fan, but they're alienating most of their fans by buying too damn stubborn. Also functionally, the 3DS should offer more. Where's youtube, a proper music player, etc. I know its a gaming device but damn for its initial price (250) the 3DS should have offered way more.

Quality wise, the games are still stellar. Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 are still the best games of all time and Skyward Sword looks fantastic.

PS: I dare someone to try and defend the friend code system, seriously try it.
 
I thought your point was nobody outside of a bunch of crazies who Nintendo has specifically taken steps to diassociate themselves from give a fuck about a Zelda timeline.
 
I have always bought Nintendo consoles for their first party games and I will always continue to do so.

Regardless of how much Nintendo blunders strategically (and both the 3DS pricing and the WiiU reveal were blunders) they will always be good at making games. I read an Arkham City review recently (and everyone should go buy it right now by the way) and the one of the biggest points of praise the reviewer had for it was that it "felt like it was built by Nintendo". They will always be associated with titles that are brilliantly designed, and given the Skyward Sword/Mario 3D/Luigi's Mansion 3D reviews I've been seeing, I doubt that's going to change any time soon. So I doubt that Nintendo will "die" in any significant capacity. The WiiU, however, may make or break their console division - they will need to fight hard to counter the initial confused impressions of it as an updated Wii controller (which the name doesn't help). But I mean, there's at least half a year before they release it, so I'm confident that they can pull it off.

The 3DS does worry me much more though - if its holiday sales are bad, Nintendo will need to consider pretty drastic measures, like another price cut or a total rebranding. The DS was so successful because of the casual games, but with the smartphone devices completely obliterating that niche, they will need to court the hardcore. And while the upcoming games list reads like a love poem to the hardcore, the current perception of the console is still that it's an upgraded DS with a gimmick. It doesn't help that the Vita is fucking amazing (although on the plus side the Vita will face much, much heavier competition from the smartphone market).

Edit: They're probably rushing to get Pokemon 3DS to market right now. Pokemon Black/White already seem to be built around 3D (look at how the camera pans in battles and in certain areas) so Pokemon Grey seems the most likely candidate. Once Pokemon comes out, it will give a healthy boost to 3DS sales.
 
FlareBlitz, you can't make good games if you don't exist as a company. They existed through the GCN and N64 days through a 90%+ marketshare in handhelds and being able to make money off both hardware and software. Right now they're losing money on hardware for the 3DS and selling FAR fewer hardware units which are delaying software releases which means less money from software. Nintendo is not Microsoft. They do not have Windows to cover a $6 billion loss. They need to turn it around.
PK Gaming said:
I don't know about sales, or stocks and the like (lets face it, Nintendo is never going under) but Nintendo IS hurting themselves.

Its because they keep doing stupid little things like implementingfriend codes, not giving a damn about online play and just being stubborn. They totally botched the 3DS launch by giving us the worst launch titles known to man. We're getting a string of good games in... like november? Too fucking late if you ask me. I played my 3DS quite a bit after buying it, but I haven't touched it since. (don't buy Starfox, its a fucking rip off) Don't take this the wrong way, i'm like Nintendo's #1 fan, but they're alienating most of their fans by buying too damn stubborn.

I dare someone to try and defend the friend code system, seriously try it.
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Their online system is terrible but friend codes wouldn't be an issue if they were fewer numbers and universal for all Nintendo products. Their online strategy has been absolutely terrible considering they were the first to try out online. They're finally starting to do a little bit to fix that as you can see from their earnings conference.
 
my friend posted this re: skyward sword

I've hated every Zelda game since Wind Waker. Nintendo keeps making them 100% dungeons with no great overworld or anything, which is the polar opposite of my favourite Zelda game (Majora's Mask). This one is even more blatant about it, with "Nintendo wants people to think of the pre-dungeon areas as dungeons themselves" being right in that article. That bird thing looks like a level select screen right out of Mario Galaxy.

Also, Wii motion controls are fucking stupid and always have been. Every single one of them involves "WHOA DUDE POINT AT THIS THING / DO A CRAZY MOVEMENT WITH YOUR ARM FOR NO REASON". For a game of Wii Tennis with my 11-year-old cousin, they're fine. For everything else, they annoy me and add nothing. Twilight Princess, disappointing as it was, at least had a GameCube version where I didn't have to put up with that.

I'm also really sick of Nintendo putting zero effort into graphics. Go with a cell-shaded style if you want, but give it good animations and particle effects -- SOMETHING to make it stand out from a $5 GameCube game. Those mountains look just as jagged and cardboardy as they did in Ocarina of Time; it's not a style, it's pure laziness. Wind Waker had a style that let it get away with those kinds of models -- Skyward Sword looks bland and rushed, two words that describe most Zelda games nowadays. The cell-shading just emphasizes the graphical problems that Twilight Princess had.

Also loving the fact that the music still sounds like a synthesized midi track. Nintendo sure is the mark of quality these days. How anyone manages to worship them anymore is beyond me. They don't make the worst games ever, but they're nowhere close to being great anymore. All their games are either the same thing they've already done a million times with slight alterations, rereleases of old games for a quick buck, or carbon copies of Wii Sports. They're only slightly above average. I'd hope that even the retarded video game fanboys would be able to realize that.
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there's no question that most modern nintendo games aren't half as good as the ones released c. 1999
 
I have a feeling people who complain about the Wii motion controls not adding to a game have never played Red Steel 2. I have full confidence that the swordplay in Skyward Sword will be amazing.

Anyone who seriously compares the graphics to Ocarina of Time either doesn't remember what Ocarina of Time looked like or is blind. Also, the soundtrack is confirmed to be fully orchestral...most of these concerns seem really baseless, honestly. I get people who criticize Nintendo's strategy but questioning the quality of their 1st party games is just silly.
 
Is your friend blind? Skyward Sword has an orchestrated track, the visuals are pretty damn amazing considering the platform, and an overworld that functions like a dungeon is exactly what much of Majora's Mask's overworld was. To be honest, I haven't kept up with Skyward Sword that much as I'm on media blackout mode but he's just bitching for bitching's sake at that point. Nintendo's game quality is not the issue. Quantity maybe, but that's because they have a platform that third parties don't want to develop for.

As far as your statement, Mario Galaxy, Galaxy 2, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Mario Kart DS...
 
Their online system is terrible but friend codes wouldn't be an issue if they were fewer numbers and universal for all Nintendo products. Their online strategy has been absolutely terrible considering they were the first to try out online. They're finally starting to do a little bit to fix that as you can see from their earnings conference.
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Codes in general are unacceptable. Nintendo should create a "Nintendo-O account" or something similar to the PSN account and Xbox live accounts. Its much, much more convenient than typing stupidly long codes (even a 5 digit number would be stupid imo)
You're right though, it isn't that big of a deal since the majority of Nintendo games have terrible online play. But for the games that DO have decent online (Pokemon, Mario Kart, Smash bros etc) it just drives me crazy that have to type in 16 digit code to play with someone else.

I heard that the Wii U was going incorporate Friend Codes. I'm not sure though, this could be a make or break type deal when it comes to online gaming on the Wii U console. (and lets be real here, Online is a large contributing factor to replayability.)

@ Umbreon Dan you're friend is a hater and I have this huge urge to yell "U mad bro?"
 
No, I don't think having terrible online system is an excuse for friend codes. And yes, I agree a gamertag system is easier. I do kind of like being able to set your screen name independently of your username, but I don't have a huge problem with friend codes as I already use phone numbers and BlackBerry PINs which work much the same way. My issues with it are:

- Individual FC for each console / handheld you own
- Individual FC for each game you own
- Both players have to add each other and there's no requesting process

If I had one friend code that I probably would have memorized by now and I could just add someone and it lets me see them across all my Nintendo products I wouldn't have an issue with it.
 
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Nintendo may make good games but they're few and far apart, and the rest of the time you're stuck with shitty animu JRPGs with next to 0 replayability. The 3DS exacerbated this problem since it banked upon a gimmick (3D) in order to sell, and aside from the surprisingly high initial price it was released at an especially bad time, with smartphones creating huge competition for traditional handheld gaming devices. 3D doesn't really add any gameplay value except maybe games that rely on it for some minigame or w/e. There's an unacceptably long interval between the release of a console and its flagship game (Wii with SSBB -- a one and a half year wait). While the 3DS may not be as much of a blunder as the Virtual Boy, it certainly is hastening Nintendo's demise.
 
FlareBlitz said:
I have a feeling people who complain about the Wii motion controls not adding to a game have never played Red Steel 2. I have full confidence that the swordplay in Skyward Sword will be amazing.
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Good thing I'm not the only one to have played RS2, that game indeed proves that motion controls are more than randomly swinging your controller around.

On topic, I don't think Nintendo is killing itself. I do agree that the 3DS is not what it should have been, but more great games are coming for the 3DS, after which the sales will probably rise to a point where it is at least affordable. On point of the WiiU, I think it will be most important for Nintendo to focus on online gameplay too. More and more people are getting connected, and then friend codes are just not acceptable. Online in general needs a boost, though Nintendo still produces the best single player games around.

Nintendo should maybe implement some new franchises, but honestly, they have so many good series and such a rich history that that might not even be needed. Really, how much icons does a system like the PS3 or Xbox 360 have, opposed to Nintendo's Mario, Pikachu, Link, Kirby, Donkey Kong and many more? As long as they play it smart and make sure their games stay on level of the PS3 and Xbox 360, Nintendo will easily pull through.
 
Firestorm said:
If I had one friend code that I probably would have memorized by now and I could just add someone and it lets me see them across all my Nintendo products I wouldn't have an issue with it.
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The 3DS actually has this system - it's just one friend code per console, and once you share that friend code with someone you can automatically play online with that friend on any game. Also, if someone is on the same shared WiFi as you, you can automatically add them with no friend code required. They are almost certainly going to have the same system for the WiiU, meaning that friend codes will essentially just become numeric gamertags...
 
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