gaming The Importance of Criticizing Nintendo

[Guest]

This is a topic that I've been scratching at for a while now, and as a Nintendo fan, I feel it's been necessary for it to be said for some time, but Nintendo fans are refusing to accept Nintendo is doing anything wrong with their moves in the past few years and it's clearly giving Nintendo the impression that they should just continue doing stuff that isn't selling. Nintendo is a shadow of what it once was, and the Wii U has more or less brought them down further. Their mistakes and failings are being ignored to the point where fans are clamoring that Nintendo should just keep on the path they are on even if it destroys them.

 

The truth is... Nintendo is hurting, they are struggling just to remain relevant. Their franchises are not as popular as they once were, and if they don't change soon, they will die.

 

Because there was a lot to say about this topic, I actually made a video on the subject.

 

I only stress two things:

 

1. You watch the entire thing and really think about it.

2. You try and turn your fanboy glasses off for a moment and think about this objectively. I am not a "Nintendo hater", but someone who wants Nintendo to exist.

 

[PiratePony 8,475]

@@Key Sharkz,I watched the whole video and I think it had a lot of good points -- I think you brought up some things Nintendo should really consider to ensure a strong future, and not be a punching bag. I especially loved the SNES 3rd party point -  a lot of great games came out on that system that were 3rd party, and Nintendo wasn't a sell-out or whatever for having them. You have a nice voice too.

[Crusaders Forever 88]

To me. Nintendo really isn't as good as they once were. They still a good company, but in my opinion they kinda got a little lazy. It feels to me that they just reuse their old characters. Some of their games feel like they are the same old games that came out back in the SNES era.

  What they really need to do is start making either new characters, or making games that don't feel the same. They also need to give us a new metroid game

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,331]

I can agree even as a Nintendo fan that Nintendo needs work. Well I like the games on the Wii U, the way they market them is terrible. They are so limited with marketing and when they do give their games any sort of advertisement, it's usually marketed to cater to kids. Nintendo games are meant to cater to all ages, not just one demographic. How are you supposed to get older gamers in if you market them like this?

 

I'm not saying make their commercials super adult, I'm saying to find a balance for all ages. Their games are fine (though they really should use more of their library of franchise for games instead of relying on Pokemon, Mario and Zelda) but again, market them better and try competing better.

[Megas 27,695]

I think Nintendo's biggest problem is that they're too Japan-centric. Nothing wrong with appealing to the Japanese audience since they're...well, Japanese, but the thing is, nowadays the gaming market is now a Western Dominated market. If they want to truly stay in the game, they're gonna need to invest in some western studios to make games that appeal to the western market. Not saying make super dark and gritty games, but look at what makes those games work, and find a way to make them "Nintendo", and I think Splatoon is a good start to this

 

Also what CB said, use more franchises than the usual 3 and appeal to ages. You can have Metroid and F-Zero co-exist as well as Pokemon and Mario

Edited May 10, 2016 by Megas

[Shanks 10,816]

I have been a Nintendo fan for a long time myself actually, my first console was the NES and my second was the SNES and I could still play many of those games to this day. But most of the points in this video were right on, Nintendo seems to have this rather bizarre identity crisis where they come up with a lot of gimmicky stuff and market it as "innovation" when it really makes things more complicated and cumbersome than necessary while being resistant to changes in other areas and this is harming them. They have captured the casual gaming and family market with the Wii successfully, but have not held onto them or given them a reason to actually buy the Wii U and haven't given core games much of a reason either with poor third party support and a limited market of first party games which invalidates the argument many fans give that the first party games are Nintendo's greatest strength.

 

Nintendo's real greatest strength is handheld, it is true that they have enjoyed a relative monopoly on that for a long time with its closest competitor Sony with its PSP and Vita not doing that well and the 3DS has had a slow start but has made up for lost time. One of the points in the video is that the 3DS is stagnating and while that may be true, it has been around for quite some time and it may be because they are preparing for its successor. There are some rumors that the "NX" may include successors to both the Wii U and 3DS, assuming this is true we of course don't know yet how successful either will be but I hope Nintendo does learn from its mistakes because if they don't improve next generation they may need to consider getting out of the console business and become a third party developer like Sega did years ago.

[Zyrael 1,471]

I think Nintendo's biggest problem is that they're too Japan-centric. Nothing wrong with appealing to the Japanese audience since they're...well, Japanese, but the thing is, nowadays the gaming market is now a Western Dominated market. If they want to truly stay in the game, they're gonna need to invest in some western studios to make games that appeal to the western market. Not saying make super dark and gritty games, but look at what makes those games work, and find a way to make them "Nintendo", and I think Splatoon is a good start to this

 

Also what CB said, use more franchises than the usual 3 and appeal to ages. You can have Metroid and F-Zero co-exist as well as Pokemon and Mario

 

I don't think they need to appeal to a "western market" they just need to make appealing games. 

 

Outside of ssb, I don't find any of their other current games very appealing. I toyed with the idea of getting a wii U, simply because I wanted smash bros. Also, nintendo has always had very bad consoles. Terrible internet connectivity, poor design, useless features, bad controls. They need to update their consoles to match their competition, and invest in new franchises that will be appealing to anyone, of any age. They haven't done a great job of that so far... they only really have a small selection of franchises they reuse over and over, except that when something is successful, they don't really follow up with trying to capitalize on that success.  

[silvadel 1,393]

There is a path where a major game console company ends up simply making game for other systems, like Sega.

[Member Berry 1,217]

I love Nintendo but I agree, they are becoming less relevant and need to sort things out. I also agree with you saying that Nintendo re-hash games, just like other companies. Pokemon is a re-hash every generation but hey, I like it and so do many other people. It's the same as other games.

 

I want them to change, I don't want to see Nintendo die at all.

[takai 1,060]

Nintendo has made mistake after mistake. Keeping items in stock is one of many, between the awful amiibo shortage and the insulting Fire Emblem Fates Special Edition shortage, you can't trust them with anything.

 

The treatment of certain game franchises is also an issue, Paper Mario is dead now, and we now know they don't care for Metroid at all. Instead they'll be celebrating all things Zelda at E3. Zelda is such an overrated series. It's too bad Metroid won't be getting the same anniversary treatment as Zelda.

 

They better pray that the NX is a winner, or this company is screwed. Not necessarily money wise, but in the eyes of gamers.

Edited May 10, 2016 by takai

[Guest]

Nintendo has made mistake after mistake. Keeping items in stock is one of many, between the awful amiibo shortage and the insulting Fire Emblem Fates Special Edition shortage, you can't trust them with anything.

 

The treatment of certain game franchises is also an issue, Paper Mario is dead now, and we now know they don't care for Metroid at all. Instead they'll be celebrating all things Zelda at E3. Zelda is such an overrated series. It's too bad Metroid won't be getting the same anniversary treatment as Zelda.

 

They better pray that the NX is a winner, or this company is screwed. Not necessarily money wise, but in the eyes of gamers.

 

I love Zelda, but I have to agree: Nintendo is banking solely on Zelda, hoping that Zelda will save them and it's not a good idea.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,615]

I could not agree more. Nintendo has been going further and further down on list of likable gaming companies in the past 10 years. The Wii was an outdated Gamecube with motion controls and while it had some great games, any third party studio that made a good game for it suffered because of Nintendo's terrible marketing. Now we have the Wii U, which is an even bigger third party disaster, somehow. It could have been a great system, fantastic in fact, but Nintendo still doesn't think of the long term at all.

 

Now with Zelda delayed just so they can put it on the NX, it is leaving a bitter taste in my mouth, because I own a Wii U and now I wonder why I even do.

[Guest]

I could not agree more. Nintendo has been going further and further down on list of likable gaming companies in the past 10 years. The Wii was an outdated Gamecube with motion controls and while it had some great games, any third party studio that made a good game for it suffered because of Nintendo's terrible marketing. Now we have the Wii U, which is an even bigger third party disaster, somehow. It could have been a great system, fantastic in fact, but Nintendo still doesn't think of the long term at all.

 

Now with Zelda delayed just so they can put it on the NX, it is leaving a bitter taste in my mouth, because I own a Wii U and now I wonder why I even do.

There's also a very glaring issue:

 

If the NX is supposed to  be more third party friendly that means they will NEED to ditch the PowerPC structure which translates to: playing Wii U games on the NX now because a problem. But if they don't abandon it, then they won't be able to compete. If they do, they will be killing off Wii U titles that aren't even that old.

 

Their decisions with the Wii U more or less put them in a spot where they have no choice but to screw someone over.

[gamecubeguy214 2,512]

As much as I love Nintendo, I think they're rather stupid. For example, New Super Mario Bros. They made Mario Bros for the DS, then they made on on the Wii, and they stuck with the Wii's style ever since. They tried to be original by making coins the focus in New Super Mario 2, but a few items that get you a lot of coins won't change the fact that you're playing New Super Mario Bros Wii on the go. Another thing is that Europe is getting all the fun, and they're treating America like people would treat blacks a long time ago. My brother was watching a video once, and the video said that Starfox is coming to Virtual Console, but then he finds out it's only in Europe. America is quite a stupid country, but as an American, I feel like we deserve more.

[Steve Piranha 29,428]

Can't watch the vid right now, but it doesn't take to be a genius to notice that Nintendo is decaying. Arrogance, is the beginning of the downfall, and keeping that way, it's only a matter of time it reaches the same spot as Konami. 

[Jonny Music 3,415]

I totally agree with you there @Key Sharkz, they really need to step up their game with the NX.

 

I'm also quite disappointed with them that they have gotten pretty lazy with the Wii U and not actually being persistent enough to bring back the hardcore audience, which is a sobering thought. The lack of 3rd Party support is also abysmal. I don't like that inconvenience of not having favourite 3rd Party games for the system (currently).

 

One redeeming factor that I see with the NX is that Nintendo's current CEO, Tatsumi Kimishima (as Rich of ReviewTechUSA pointed out here: 

) did happen to work with Nintendo of America and that he predicted that Wii U will not sell well (reasons are mentioned in the video). Therefore, I do think that he might have enough understanding of the Western market. And since he is also a businessman from an expertise and professional standpoint (from what I understand), I'm pretty sure those skills of his may go well in his favour. Though he is still yet to prove himself.

 

And from what I have seen from this video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njAC3qAoRfw, Kimishima must've had something to do with this strategy they are going with for the NX. Only time will tell, but I do have a small grain of hope for Kimishima to surprise us in a good way.

 

Don't forget however that we did see some new things from Nintendo within the past few years, including some new IPs like Splatoon, Xenoblade Chronicles, etc.

 

Update (11:42 PM EDT) Well speak of the devil, Kimishima-san himself has very recently answered more questions about the company's future, including the NX.

http://nintendoeverything.com/kimishima-comments-on-nintendo-movies-mobile-nx/

Edited May 16, 2016 by Jonny Music

[Guest]

I totally agree with you there @Key Sharkz, they really need to step up their game with the NX.

 

I'm also quite disappointed with them that they have gotten pretty lazy with the Wii U and not actually being persistent enough to bring back the hardcore audience, which is a sobering thought. The lack of 3rd Party support is also abysmal. I don't like that inconvenience of not having favourite 3rd Party games for the system (currently).

 

One redeeming factor that I see with the NX is that Nintendo's current CEO, Tatsumi Kimishima (as Rich of ReviewTechUSA pointed out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TBK3zqukak) did happen to work with Nintendo of America and that he predicted that Wii U will not sell well (reasons are mentioned in the video). Therefore, I do think that he might have enough understanding of the Western market. And since he is also a businessman from an expertise and professional standpoint (from what I understand), I'm pretty sure those skills of his may go well in his favour. Though he is still yet to prove himself.

 

And from what I have seen from this video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njAC3qAoRfw, Kimishima must've had something to do with this strategy they are going with for the NX. Only time will tell, but I do have a small grain of hope for Kimishima to surprise us in a good way.

 

Don't forget however that we did see some new things from Nintendo within the past few years, including some new IPs like Splatoon, Xenoblade Chronicles, etc.

 

Update (11:42 PM EDT) Well speak of the devil, Kimishima-san himself has very recently answered more questions about the company's future, including the NX.

 

http://nintendoeverything.com/kimishima-comments-on-nintendo-movies-mobile-nx/

 

 

"Movies"

 

No. Please no. Video games movies always seem to bomb. This is a terrible investment, Nintendo.

 

Oh god, they sound like they want to make a Zelda movie... Please no...

 

I am glad to hear about them giving Animal Crossing some love though.

[PiratePony 8,475]

"Movies"

 

No. Please no. Video games movies always seem to bomb. This is a terrible investment, Nintendo.

 

Oh god, they sound like they want to make a Zelda movie... Please no...

 

I am glad to hear about them giving Animal Crossing some love though.

 

 

After all, they set the...ahem..."golden standard" with the Super Mario Brothers movie. 

[Megas 27,695]

"Movies"

 

No. Please no. Video games movies always seem to bomb. This is a terrible investment, Nintendo.

 

Oh god, they sound like they want to make a Zelda movie... Please no...

 

I am glad to hear about them giving Animal Crossing some love though.

Sounds like they really want to move along with the whole "expand our franchises" thing they said in the past.

 

Honestly? After the seeing the Kid Icarus/Starfox/Pikmin shorts, if Nintendo at least has some control with these projects(instead of being completely outsourced like most other VG films are), and if they can finally get a competent marketing team, I can see these being successful. I mean, the first couple of Pokemon movies made bank(before everyone started getting tired of them), and at the very least they seem to be remembered fondly by fans, and after the  Super Mario Bros movie, there's really nowhere to go but up

Edited May 16, 2016 by Megas

[Jonny Music 3,415]

"Movies"

 

No. Please no. Video games movies always seem to bomb. This is a terrible investment, Nintendo.

 

Oh god, they sound like they want to make a Zelda movie... Please no...

 

I am glad to hear about them giving Animal Crossing some love though.

 

I'm not that pessimistic and negative about it. I have some confidence in Kimishima that he knows what he's doing. After all, the mobile app plan seems to be doing well in their favour at the moment. Besides, I still go on Miitomo at least once a day. Yes, it's that addictive.

[Guest]

I'm not that pessimistic and negative about it. I have some confidence in Kimishima that he knows what he's doing. After all, the mobile app plan seems to be doing well in their favour at the moment. Besides, I still go on Miitomo at least once a day. Yes, it's that addictive.

If Nintendo maintains creative control it could work, but that's a big if.

 

Also as my wife pointed out. Only fitting that they say they wouldn't trust a third party with the films, after all, Nintendo and third parties don't mix.

[Jonny Music 3,415]

If Nintendo maintains creative control it could work, but that's a big if.

 

Also as my wife pointed out. Only fitting that they say they wouldn't trust a third party with the films, after all, Nintendo and third parties don't mix.

 

Nintendo cannot survive on their 1st Party games forever. They still need to retrieve the great 3rd Party support they had for the NES and SNES in order to become relevant again. But as to if it will even happen in the near-future, we cannot tell at this moment in time.

Edited May 16, 2016 by Jonny Music

[Guest]

Nintendo cannot survive on their 1st Party games forever. They still need to retrieve the great 3rd Party support they had for the NES and SNES in order to become relevant again. But as to if it will even happen in the near-future, we cannot tell at this moment in time.

 

Now I want to go back and play some SNES games today.

[EpicEnergy 23,219]

I think that criticizing any company is important, not just Nintendo. Personally, I don't think that Nintendo is that bad of a company in the gaming industry, they've made many bad decisions but so have EA Games, Bethesda, Sony, Microsoft, and so forth.

If you really want to talk about a natural disaster in the gaming industry, look no further than Google Stadia.

[Steve Piranha 29,428]

On 2016-05-10 at 12:24 PM, Crusaders Forever said:

To me. Nintendo really isn't as good as they once were. They still a good company, but in my opinion they kinda got a little lazy. It feels to me that they just reuse their old characters. Some of their games feel like they are the same old games that came out back in the SNES era.

  What they really need to do is start making either new characters, or making games that don't feel the same. They also need to give us a new metroid game

I feel they’ve got into a dork age since WII. They aren’t still what they once were, but at least they are releasing the occasional great game on Switch

11 minutes ago, EpicEnergy said:

I think that criticizing any company is important, not just Nintendo. Personally, I don't think that Nintendo is that bad of a company in the gaming industry, they've made many bad decisions but so have EA Games, Bethesda, Sony, Microsoft, and so forth.

If you really want to talk about a natural disaster in the gaming industry, look no further than Google Stadia.

It’s a shame. Nintendo has made it’s share of bad modern practices, but yes, a lot of other companies have done much worse