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Iwata on 3rd-Party support on Wii U and 3DS

H

Hero of Legend

Member
New thread as people seem to have missed it:

Answer 4-2:

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/140130qa/02.html

Finally, in terms of third-party support, while many point out that Nintendo has traditionally been weak in terms of acquiring it, if you consider the Japanese market, it is fair to say that the number one dedicated video game system that Japanese third-party publishers are focusing on is Nintendo 3DS. This is because Nintendo 3DS has an overwhelmingly strong presence in the hardware as well as software markets for dedicated game systems, meaning that it would be illogical not to do business on Nintendo 3DS, and we are cooperating with third-party publishers in a variety of ways as long as we can establish win-win relationships. On the other hand, if you turn to the overseas markets, as home consoles are more popular, many publishers are not as focused on handheld devices. In such an environment, while we are certainly not satisfied with its overall unit sales or the results from the last year-end sales season, the fact that Nintendo 3DS has now sold over 10 million units in both the U.S. and Europe seems to be news for third-party publishers, and we have recently been receiving more proposals from third-party publishers. However, as many overseas software publishers are specialized in developing games for high-end home consoles, while they are very interested in Nintendo 3DS, it appears that they are currently investigating what they want to develop on our platform. Also, we sometimes distribute, or even publish depending on the circumstances, games that were made by Japanese software publishers in the overseas markets, and you can expect to see more examples of this this year and the next. As for Nintendo 3DS, as I mentioned before, its total global sales have already exceeded 40 million units. As for Wii U, opinions significantly differ among third-party publishers. Software publishers that develop content that has great affinity with audiences that Nintendo has historically been strong with, namely children and families, are still very active supporters of Wii U, and their enthusiasm for Wii U can also been seen from the fact that they have even reached out to us to help people upgrade from Wii to Wii U. On the other hand, software publishers are not necessarily keen on making games in genres that have weaker affinity with audiences that Nintendo has not been as strong with, where making a huge investment does not guarantee a sufficient return. With regard to Wii U, we first need to create a strong foundation in areas Nintendo excels at and achieve a sufficient sales volume. If we manage to do so, those publishers in the overseas markets who are currently not interested in Wii U will be attracted to the Wii U platform, as they were to Nintendo 3DS. This is going to be our approach in the near future.
Click to expand...

So to me in regards to Wii U it seems we can count on companies that make games that fit Nintendo's consoles and audience, which to me includes Sonic from Sega and such. Less so stuff more geared for adults. But many figured that already.

The 3DS bit is interesting as well.
 
X

x-Lundz-x

Member
So, he is saying that if they can build a sufficient platform of users who do not have interest in buying games from the major third parties that the major third parties will become interested.

I don't get it.
 
D

DNAbro

Member
I don't see much Western 3rd party support for 3DS so I have no idea why Iwata thinks that there will be some for the Wii U.
 
F

flatearthpandas

Member
Ugh.
Not really good news for me as a Wii U owner. Unless Zelda, Metroid, and Fire Emblem are what they consider games targeted at children and families, I have zero interest. Sounds like the best thing to look forward to after currently announced titles (assuming those all actually get released) is Animal Crossing U.
 
S

SmokyDave

Member
Western third party support is dire for the 3DS.

I'm not even sure the Japanese 3rd party support is as strong as he suggests. I'd like to see a list of upcoming Japanese 3rd party games for 3DS and Vita.

I guess you could add iOS for a proper giggle.
 
N

nampad

Member
x-Lundz-x said:
So, he is saying that if they can build a sufficient platform of users who do not have interest in buying games from the major third parties that the major third parties will become interested.

I don't get it.
Click to expand...

That's what I also gathered. Did work wonders for the Wii, lol.
 
I

Into

Member
I am trying to make sense of his PR speak:



Software publishers that develop content that has great affinity with audiences that Nintendo has historically been strong with, namely children and families, are still very active supporters of Wii U
Click to expand...

This is suppose to be Sega, Ubisoft etc.
On the other hand, software publishers are not necessarily keen on making games in genres that have weaker affinity with audiences that Nintendo has not been as strong with, where making a huge investment does not guarantee a sufficient return.
Click to expand...

This is EA, Activision etc.

However then he goes:
With regard to Wii U, we first need to create a strong foundation in areas Nintendo excels at and achieve a sufficient sales volume.
Click to expand...

Aka build a bigger audience for people who buy more family friendly games, aka certain Sega (Sonic) and Ubisoft titles.
If we manage to do so, those publishers in the overseas markets who are currently not interested in Wii U will be attracted to the Wii U platform,
Click to expand...

So by "creating a strong foundation in areas Nintendo excels at" is suppose to bring the likes EA, Activision and others back? How? He just explained that those developers are taking a bigger risk, because the audiences are not the same. Why would they suddenly become interested? Even if the Wii U miraculously turns around and sells 200 million consoles, that leaves those publishers nowhere, because its not the same demographic.

as they were to Nintendo 3DS.
Click to expand...

u wot m8? What 3rd party games on the 3DS? Japanese? Yea sure, but you just compared Japanese third party support on the 3DS to western third party support on the Wii U?!?

This is going to be our approach in the near future.
Click to expand...

Aka you have no strategy to speak of. Why is that Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo in late 80s, early 90s and even Sega to some extent could so easily do this, but you can not do it now? We are going to have a 20 year anniversary soon since the last time a Nintendo home console received good third party support (SNES)
 
S

Sophia

Member
I can't really help but feel that Iwata's answer says a whole lot of nothing. It's pretty much downplaying the severity of the issues ("but if you consider this...") while not really providing any answers as to how they intend to deal with the problem.
 
cyberheater

cyberheater

PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 Xbone PS4 PS4
Typical corporate double speak and obfuscation from Iwata.

So basically. When it comes to WiiU. If they can grow the user base then 3rd parties might develop for it. No shit Sherlock.
 
A

Asd202

Member
LoL Iwata i'ts not ONLY about sales, hardware matters too unless you're happy with 3rd party shovelware for the Wii. You need to reach out to 3rd parites if you want their support on home consoles, talk to them about your consoles plans like years before release and not be so arrogant as you are.
 
S

Sneds

Member
On the other hand, software publishers are not necessarily keen on making games in genres that have weaker affinity with audiences that Nintendo has not been as strong with, where making a huge investment does not guarantee a sufficient return.
Click to expand...

By Jove, he's got it!

Yet his solution is to double-down on family-friendly games. I don't think there's enough of an audience for that.
 
S

Serrenn

Banned
x-Lundz-x said:
So, he is saying that if they can build a sufficient platform of users who do not have interest in buying games from the major third parties that the major third parties will become interested.

I don't get it.
Click to expand...

Its called "playing hard to get".
 
P

Pie and Beans

Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
Total dodge of the question because the truth and reality of "Western wise its gone and may never come back" wouldnt sit well with already angry investors.
 
cyberheater

cyberheater

PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 Xbone PS4 PS4
Pie and Beans said:
Total dodge of the question because the truth and reality of "Western wise its gone and may never come back" wouldnt sit well with already angry investors.
Click to expand...

Are they angry. They don't seem very angry or they lack the power to voice their anger.
 
C

capslock

Is jealous of Matlock's emoticon
Nintendo: We are bad at creating competitive hardware and obtaining third party support, therefore we will do nothing to improve these aspects of our business.
 
B

Bluemercury

Member
Into said:
I am trying to make sense of his PR speak:





This is suppose to be Sega, Ubisoft etc.


This is EA, Activision etc.

However then he goes:


Aka build a bigger audience for people who buy more family friendly games, aka certain Sega (Sonic) and Ubisoft titles.


So by "creating a strong foundation in areas Nintendo excels at" is suppose to bring the likes EA, Activision and others back? How? He just explained that those developers are taking a bigger risk, because the audiences are not the same. Why would they suddenly become interested? Even if the Wii U miraculously turns around and sells 200 million consoles, that leaves those publishers nowhere, because its not the same demographic.



u wot m8? What 3rd party games on the 3DS? Japanese? Yea sure, but you just compared Japanese third party support on the 3DS to western third party support on the Wii U?!?



Aka you have no strategy to speak of. Why is that Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo in late 80s, early 90s and even Sega to some extent could so easily do this, but you can not do it now? We are going to have a 20 year anniversary soon since the last time a Nintendo home console received good third party support (SNES)
Click to expand...

So instead of trying to build their own core/adult games and give an example so Third parties get more confident, they will continue making what they made so far......right....this will work......i mean i'm not a rocket cientist but i can see FAIL all over this....
 
M

MarkMclovin

Member
When he talks about the 3DS, he makes sense. When he talks about the WiiU, he doesn't make sense. Especially when the foundation he is referring to, can't even be established with some of the best games released last year are exclusive to the system.

At this point, if Nintendo were to magically come up with 10 OMFG games this year that everyone is clamming for, it still wouldn't make much of a difference in the eyes of 3rd parties.

I'd like to know what the fuck he's smoking.
 
Q

Quadraphonic

Member
He's insane. He thinks the solution is to get more people that don't buy 3rd party games OR gamers who already have a PS4 or Xbox One and they'll magically get publishers back.

They tried that and failed. Many times. They are thinking completely backwards. You need to get publishers so you can sell more consoles, not the other way around.
 
F

fred

Member
Very odd. It seems to me they need to approach third party publishers and offer to fund development of big third party titles in exchange for a much larger cut of the profits. Just imagine if Nintendo approached Take Two and offered to publish GTA V...or Square Enix to publish Tomb Raider.

You can guarantee that Nintendo would ensure the Wii U SKUs of these high profile games aren't gimped and that there would be ample marketing and they would sell decent numbers as a result.

Publishers would see these high profile titles doing decent numbers, see Nintendo taking the majority of the spoils and decide that it's worth investing in Wii U development on their own.

They should have started this with GTA and continued with Tomb Raider, Thief, FIFA 14, Battlefield 4 etc.

Partnerships with indie developers like Platinum Games isn't enough, they need to go further and publish high profile games from major publishers.
 
A

Aquamarine

Member
Iwata's goal is to put Nintendo in the best possible light regarding the future. The mere fact that Iwata said specifically:

"As for Wii U, opinions significantly differ among third-party publishers. Software publishers that develop content that has great affinity with audiences that Nintendo has historically been strong with, namely children and families, are still very active supporters of Wii U, and their enthusiasm for Wii U can also been seen from the fact that they have even reached out to us to help people upgrade from Wii to Wii U. On the other hand, software publishers are not necessarily keen on making games in genres that have weaker affinity with audiences that Nintendo has not been as strong with, where making a huge investment does not guarantee a sufficient return.
Click to expand...

...this means the core third-party situation is very dire at the moment. We already knew that to some extent, but I wonder if it will extend to Ubisoft and Activision...like no Watch_Dogs Wii U port and no new Call of Duty for Wii U.
 
T

Triggerhappytel

Member
and their enthusiasm for Wii U can also been seen from the fact that they have even reached out to us to help people upgrade from Wii to Wii U.
Click to expand...

Maybe Iwata you should take from that that other publishers think your marketing is awful.

If we manage to do so, those publishers in the overseas markets who are currently not interested in Wii U will be attracted to the Wii U platform, as they were to Nintendo 3DS. This is going to be our approach in the near future.
Click to expand...

Like they did with the Wii? Does he really think publishers will return to the Wii U despite the pain in porting to a vastly weaker system? If they want third party parity on the Wii U, they need to write out cheques for it, because otherwise the publishers ain't coming.
 
L

liger05

Member
Clueless

Firstly Japanese third parties didnt even support the Wii U from day 1 so its not just a western pattern.

Secondly its not just about Wii U sales which do not appeal to third parties. Its the fact that the kind of games you see on other platforms dont sell on a Nintendo console regardless of how large the install base is. Nintendo doesnt seem to acknowledge this and ask the question why?

They have no desire to cultivate there own audience into playing a broader range of games.

Thats not even including the fact that the Wii U isnt capabale of running next gen engines so the console was never future proof when the XB1/PS4 were released.
 
V

Vanille

Member
Pretty sure PS3 is still number one in terms of Japanese third-party support.

And his "solution" to the problem is inane as always.

Dude has got to go.
 
N

NotLiquid

Member
It may very well be the "same song and dance" but let's be real here, there's really nothing else to do or say in regards to the third party situation. With the exception of putting a preemptive bullet in the Wii U which ain't happening, Iwata isn't a magician and doesn't pull those bananas out of a hat.

TheBaronOfNA said:
Wll, a google search made me found this:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/new...ounding-Family-Seeking-to-Sell-Company-Shares

Welp.
Click to expand...

This is already being discussed in another thread and isn't nearly as big of a deal as some people are making it out to be.
 
A

Aquamarine

Member
Into said:
I am trying to make sense of his PR speak:





This is suppose to be Sega, Ubisoft etc.


This is EA, Activision etc.

However then he goes:


Aka build a bigger audience for people who buy more family friendly games, aka certain Sega (Sonic) and Ubisoft titles.


So by "creating a strong foundation in areas Nintendo excels at" is suppose to bring the likes EA, Activision and others back? How? He just explained that those developers are taking a bigger risk, because the audiences are not the same. Why would they suddenly become interested? Even if the Wii U miraculously turns around and sells 200 million consoles, that leaves those publishers nowhere, because its not the same demographic.



u wot m8? What 3rd party games on the 3DS? Japanese? Yea sure, but you just compared Japanese third party support on the 3DS to western third party support on the Wii U?!?



Aka you have no strategy to speak of. Why is that Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo in late 80s, early 90s and even Sega to some extent could so easily do this, but you can not do it now? We are going to have a 20 year anniversary soon since the last time a Nintendo home console received good third party support (SNES)
Click to expand...

I agree, it's nonsensical. I don't think Iwata really cared about formulating a proper response to that question and just reiterated some empty platitudes.

"The best way to lure 3rd-parties back to making core, mature video games on the Wii U is to continue our focus on family friendly entertainment."

That totally won't make the Wii U more kid-oriented and dissuade the remaining third-party publishers from releasing titles. That will TOTALLY prevent third-party core games from selling horribly on the system.
 
T

Triggerhappytel

Member
Vanille said:
Pretty sure PS3 is still number one in terms of Japanese third-party support.

And his "solution" to the problem is inane as always.

Dude has got to go.
Click to expand...

I'm not really getting any sense of direction from him, despite lots of lip service being paid at the investor meeting last week. What are their plans for helping the Wii U recover? In getting caught up in the QoL nonsense I don't recall much having been said about the Wii U.

NotLiquid said:
It may very well be the "same song and dance" but let's be real here, there's really nothing else to do or say in regards to the third party situation. With the exception of putting a preemptive bullet in the Wii U which ain't happening, Iwata isn't a magician and doesn't pull those bananas out of a hat.
Click to expand...

This is something they should have done three years ago. They need to start getting publishers on board now for their next console.
 
S

Shaqiri1287

Banned
There is no money to be made on the Wii U by third party developers. Nintendo has built up a brand/consumer base that has no interest in third party software. They are simply reaping what they sowed.

When you make hardware that alienates third party developers, something that Nintendo has been doing for the the past eight years, it means they will ignore your system and eventually the consumers figure it out too, and see your system as something that only exists for first party exclusives. The only reason i bought a Wii U was for Mario and Zelda.
 
R

Respawn

Banned
Into said:
I am trying to make sense of his PR speak:
*snip*
Click to expand...

Don't try to. It's more smoke and mirrors confuse the reader tactic. This guy has a problem admitting when shit is fucked up. All I read was 3DS and with 3Ds we will strive to get the WiiU to that point. Once again more talk and no real resolution.
 
V

Version 3.0

Member
Selling faster than any console in history didn't get the Wii much decent 3rd-party support, and the halfhearted support it did get resulted in games that sold poorly, for the most part.

I have a hard time accepting that Iwata actually believes that any sales increase they can wring out of the Wii U will result in any increased support. On the other hand, he approved the Wii U's concept and design, so I guess he could be that dislodged from reality.
 
L

Linkhero1

Member
I don't see any third party support for the Wii U so I don't know what he's talking about. What's coming out this year besides the Lego Hobbit game?
 
N

NotLiquid

Member
Triggerhappytel said:
This is something they should have done three years ago. They need to start getting publishers on board now for their next console.
Click to expand...

I agree. Wii U is pretty much a done deal for third parties and it may have a snowball's chance in it's late lifespan after potentially reaching some better numbers but by then it'll have been too little and too late to have mattered.

There's just not really anything better that Iwata can say about the situation than what's there. The whole smokes and mirrors tactic is obvious; wing it and ride it out on your best material hoping that people will tag along before you put out the next big thing to remedy everything. The only alternative would be moneyhatting multiplatforms but that isn't going to be of much benefit when the software attach ratio is abysmal and won't be doing anyone any favors.
 
S

Sendou

Member
Linkhero1 said:
I don't see any third party support for the Wii U so I don't know what he's talking about. What's coming out this year besides the Lego Hobbit game?
Click to expand...

Uh Child of Light by Ubisoft?


Can we count indies as 3rd party? I'm pretty sure Nintendo does.
 
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