Support NeoGAF

[Amazeballs]

Videogame's that require mandatory peripherals usually fail, don't they? I remember there being several NFC games before Skylanders as well as a card collection game that worked similar manner.

Spoiler

I'd probably remember their names if they had made a bigger impact.

 

[Yado]

Funny thing is if Nintendo did go through with this deal and it failed horribly people would still be saying Nintendo is incompetent and made a bad business decision and that Nintendo is just wasting money on another "gimmick." It was a risky proposal at the time, no one would have known it would have been a success and if it kept to Nintendo exclusively there's no saying it would have been. The 360 market share for Skylanders is a pretty big portion too, would Skylanders have been as big without it? It worked out well for Activision in the end and it was probably better for the industry that it did because every console gets to experience it now.

Edit: lol man GAF just loves to jump on Ninty every chance they get. Will you people honestly tell me if you were faced with that option years ago you had the hindsight to say "okay this will be successful" especially when this was coming off the heels of THQs UDraw tablet?

But it's Spyro. They must have known it would be wildly successful.

 

[BatDan]

Videogame's that require mandatory peripherals usually fail, don't they? I remember there being several NFC games before Skylanders as well as a card collection game that worked similar manner.

Spoiler

I'd probably remember their names if they had made a bigger impact.

Eye of Judgement? I think that's one of them.

Also, turning something down that ended up succeeding is such a common occurrence that it has it's own page on TVTropes. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ItWillNeverCatchOn

Meaning, don't blame Nintendo for something that's so fucking common.

 

[ArcaneFreeze]

But it's Spyro. They must have known it would be wildly successful.

You mean the Spyro that had been cast into irrevelance all the years prior attaching it to a peripheral based system which shown by past trends has been either a huge hit or miss?

 

[DaSorcerer7]

You mean the Spyro that had been cast into irrevelance all the years prior attaching it to a peripheral based system which shown by past trends has been either a huge hit or miss?

I think he was being sarcastic.

 

[jrDev]

Hindsight is 20/20 yada, yada...

I would've turned it down too especially if they presented me a property like spyro...

 

[FStop7]

I can see why they declined.
There was a good chance it could have completely backfired.

As opposed to the current state of affairs.

 

[ArcaneFreeze]

I think he was being sarcastic.

My bad. Its hard to tell in threads like these where people will use everything and anything to bash Nintendo. Nintendo does plenty of stupid stuff but its amazing how many people will try to find any little thing to try and bring them down even more.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Didn't one of Nintendo's investors recently gripe that they weren't exploiting their IP sufficiently? I know there was talk of the theme park, but if Activision put Skylanders on the table and they walked away that's pretty damning.

 

[Concept17]

Funny thing is if Nintendo did go through with this deal and it failed horribly people would still be saying Nintendo is incompetent and made a bad business decision and that Nintendo is just wasting money on another "gimmick." It was a risky proposal at the time, no one would have known it would have been a success and if it kept to Nintendo exclusively there's no saying it would have been. The 360 market share for Skylanders is a pretty big portion too, would Skylanders have been as big without it? It worked out well for Activision in the end and it was probably better for the industry that it did because every console gets to experience it now.

Edit: lol man GAF just loves to jump on Ninty every chance they get. Will you people honestly tell me if you were faced with that option years ago you had the hindsight to say "okay this will be successful" especially when this was coming off the heels of THQs UDraw tablet?

It's another wasted opportunity by Nintendo. They had such a huge success with the Wii, and as a result Nintendo did nothing. Other developers and publishers constantly innovate, open new studios, and push things forward, while Nintendo seems okay sitting around with its hand in it's pants.

 

[BocoDragon]

Yeah I'm sure we at GAF would have all loved it when Nintendo's focus shifted to toys for kids. No one here would be bitching in that alternate reality. Nope.

 

[BatDan]

Yeah I'm sure we at GAF would have all loved it when Nintendo's focus shifted to toys for kids. No one here would be bitching in that alternate reality. Nope.

Remember when everyone was angry that Spyro was becoming Skylanders (and was ugly as sin)
Someone would lose either way.

 

[cw_sasuke]

This would be another EA Sports situation....how big would the IP be if it was platform exclusive ? Doubt Nintendo would be fine with putting the game on other systems.

 

[MisterHero]

Smash Bros could have had REAL LIFE TROPHIES

They still could. They just don't need to interact with the game whatsoever.

Nintendo's already aiming to sell 2 versions for a combined total of $100, plus whatever hardware people will get to play them. That's a lot of money already.

Didn't one of Nintendo's investors recently gripe that they weren't exploiting their IP sufficiently? I know there was talk of the theme park, but if Activision put Skylanders on the table and they walked away that's pretty damning.

Nintendo also nixed Link and Samus in Marvel Ultimate Alliance. IIRC they said no because Activision used them in a PS prototype. lol

 

[Sadist]

Yeah I'm sure we at GAF would have all loved it when Nintendo's focus shifted to toys for kids. No one here would be bitching in that alternate reality. Nope.

Nintendo shot themselves in the foot!

 

[ArcaneFreeze]

It's another wasted opportunity by Nintendo. They had such a huge success with the Wii, and as a result Nintendo did nothing. Other developers and publishers constantly innovate, open new studios, and push things forward, while Nintendo seems okay sitting around with its hand in it's pants.

Innovate what? The most change we've gotten post Wii was Oculus Rift. Gameplay wise there hasnt been anything new. We're getting more cinematic and larger open worlds but nothing as genre defying as say Mario Galaxy was and possibly The Last of Us. And while Nintendo hasn't opened new studios theyve largely expanded the studios they do have, and its funny you say opening new studios at a time when studio after studio is being shut down and people are being laid off constantly.

 

[Altered Juice]

 

[BGBW]

IIRC you can unlock the characters without the toys.

Which may have been true for a Nintendo only Skylanders and thus the massive profits wouldn't be as big.

 

[Amir0x]

sigh, Nintendo. I hope in June when the shareholders vote they can send a clear message that they want Iwata to change at a fundamental level.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Yeah I'm sure we at GAF would have all loved it when Nintendo's focus shifted to toys for kids. No one here would be bitching in that alternate reality. Nope.

"GAF" complained about Nintendo even when they were doing well, but from a fiscal perspective I can't see how their strategy of "Skyward Sword and nothing else" from December 2010 to November 2012 can possibly be defended at this point.

They should have been investing in something, that much is clear, and it's only in hindsight that we know that Skylanders was yet another missed opportunity.

 

[Amazeballs]

It was smarter for Nintendo to make their own move on NFC with a more well-known franchise in Pokemon. What wasn't smart was them using a mediocre development studio to make their game.

 

[Nudull]

Yeah, it looks like an incredibly dumb move now, but I can definitely see why Nintendo wouldn't want to go for it at the time. Skylanders was unproven, Spyro had long since fallen out of mainstream popularity, and the big N probably would've wanted the concept and franchise all to themselves (or just do one on their own). Nintendo isn't all that dumb.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Thank God for that since they have had much more success than being exclusive on WiiU of all platforms.

 

[MisterHero]

Which may have been true for a Nintendo only Skylanders and thus the massive profits wouldn't be as big.

But I also said Nintendo sold a crapton of Pokemon toys and cards without the NFC stuff. Years and years ago.

I suppose they could have a thing if they combined 3DS AR with the current Pokemon TCG. The 3D models and animations exist for every Pokemon, so a lot of the work is done. Conversely, it could also be just as short-lived as the eReader era of the TCG.

 

[RagnarokX]

Nintendo doesn't like things they can't control 100%.

They passed on the PlayStation, we know how that one turned out.

That's not true and not why they passed on Play Station. Sony wanted 100% control of IPs put on their CD-ROMs. Anyone in their right minds would have passed on that deal and it's a wonder Nintendo even signed that contract in the first place.

Nintendo has been hesitant to get into the microtransaction business. They expressed concerns with it when they started getting into making DLC. They probably thought Skylanders would cheapen their brands. Hindsight is 20/20.

 

[spookyfish]

I agree with what others are saying, though -- the reasons for Nintendo's not doing this are valid. AND -- I doubt Skylanders would be as big a property as it is were it available on just one system.

 

[Ken Masters]

This is a pretty insignificant mistake by the standards of nintendo mistakes.

In related news, Skylanders recently surpassed $2 billion in revenue: http://www.joystiq.com/2014/02/06/skylanders-series-sells-2-billion-worldwide/

Quite an insignificant mistake

 

[gogogow]

Yes, Skylanders is a huge success. But a similar game with Nintendo plastic NFC toys (Pokemon/Mario/Zelda etc.), will much and much bigger.

With Nintendo in financial problems, Wii U selling badly, I really don't know what Nintendo are waiting for.

 

[Pikma]

Another success, another missed opportunity for Nintendo.

You speak as if Nintendo didn't even know the definition of success, as if they hadn't been capable of accomplishing it in the past.

 

[Ken Masters]

Yes, Skylanders is a huge success. But a similar game with Nintendo plastic NFC toys (Pokemon/Mario/Zelda etc.), will much and much bigger.

With Nintendo in financial problems, Wii U selling badly, I really don't know what Nintendo are waiting for.

Why do you assume kids still care about Nintendo franchises? Why hasn't Mario 3D World flown off the shelves?

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

Think about the fucking Pokemon figures they could be selling

 

[fred]

The mysterious new Miyamoto IP, don't you know?

I think a Pokemon game with figures is more likely. It would be a licence to print money despite most people's opinions being that Pokemon should stay on portable platforms. I'm personally expecting an announcement about it in June at E3.

 

[gogogow]

Why do you assume kids still care about Nintendo franchises? Why hasn't Mario 3D World flown off the shelves?

Why do you assume "kids" don't care about Nintendo franchises anymore? Do you have a source/market research report?

You mean a game didn't sell 20 million copies on a failing (confusing) console?

Just like how Pokemon X/Y dind't flew off the shelves....oh wait.

 

[spookyfish]

I think a Pokemon game with figures is more likely. It would be a licence to print money despite most people's opinions being that Pokemon should stay on portable platforms. I'm personally expecting an announcement about it in June at E3.

I'm personally perplexed why it's taking them this long to do it. I wouldn't be surprised if the limited Pokemon Rumble U was all they're planning. Such a lost opportunity.

 

[Ken Masters]

Why do you assume "kids" don't care about Nintendo franchises anymore? Do you have a source/market research report?

You mean a game didn't sell 20 million copies on a failing (confusing) console?

Just like how Pokemon X/Y dind't flew off the shelves....oh wait.

What generation are really buying Pokemon? I see more adults talk about then kids, who have moved onto newer franchises, and rightfully so


Wii U sales and sinking 3DS sales show Nintendo franchises aren't the draw it used to be

 

[Dr.Schlomo]

sigh, Nintendo. I hope in June when the shareholders vote they can send a clear message that they want Iwata to change at a fundamental level.

if this happened gaf would be in a up roar about nintenod being all kiddy ignoring the hard-core ?

double standards ?

Please don't do this...Gaf is a very big place with lots of people who have different opinions. It's not a double standard it's differing opinions among a large group of people.

 

[Toadette]

if this happened gaf would be in a up roar about nintenod being all kiddy ignoring the hard-core ?

double standards ?

 

[PdotMichael]

What generation are really buying Pokemon? I see more adults talk about then kids, who have moved onto newer franchises, and rightfully so

Even if you work as teacher in an elementary school, I'm not sure why you should know that more adults talking about the latest Pokemon title than kids.

 

[Epcott]

Not surprising, and I'm sure Nintendo is oblivious regardless.

 

[Tomohawk]

Being released to every platform under the sun helps a lot .... and that would not happened being a Nintendo Exclusive

I dont think it would be a stretch to say since skylanders already did best on nintendo consoles a game with nintendo ip would have been extremely lucrative.

 

[boyshine]

Think about the fucking Pokemon figures they could be selling

Retail doesn't want another figure based concept. Two games the size of Infinity and Skylanders are already taking up a lot of space. There are also huge issues with how both Disney and Activision are handling their products which will affect this years sequels unless they can provide better solutions. A third game would be extremely hard to sell at this point.

 

[1st Course]

In related news, Skylanders recently surpassed $2 billion in revenue: http://www.joystiq.com/2014/02/06/skylanders-series-sells-2-billion-worldwide/

 

[Jagsrock]

If they showed me this I would have turned it down too.

It seems like a bad move now but that's only after skylander's success and nintendo's wiiu struggles. Skylanders when it first came out was scoffed at by most gamers for destroying spyro and being a blatant cash grab with the figurines.

 

[javac]

Nintendo always wants 100% control. It's just the way it is. I don't think Nintendo expected to be the one wanting others help down the line. Heads in the clouds and all that.

 

[Christopher]

You speak as if Nintendo didn't even know the definition of success, as if they hadn't been capable of accomplishing it in the past.

Blockbuster said the same thing to Netflix

 

[TreasureHunterG]

Amazing that people are trying to act like Nintendo didn't fuck up here.

Once again, they refuse to acknowledge third party and rely soley on Mario and Pokemon.

Once again they prove they are not the innovators like some (most?) nintendo fanboys like to say.

One again they shoot themselves in the foot for some stupid reason.

Say what you want about Activision or the quality of Skylanders, but it's a pretty huge game. There's even adults playing it. Now imagine if the only place to play that was on the Wii/Wii U. It would have sold more systems, which is something Nintendo desperately needs with the Wii U.

but hey its fine. They'll make a Pokemon one! they only have to compete with Skylanders and Disney Infinity, and Disney is including Marvel characters now. We all know how successful you can be when you're late to the party against two huge names, especially one of those names has Disney characters and Marvel Characters, two of the biggest properties right now.

but wait they won't do that, because then it'll make their handhelds pointless since you can play a superior version of Pokemon on a console. There's a reason in 15+ years they haven't made a real Pokemon game on consoles

Spot on here.

It's simply another example of how short-sighted, incompetent and unable to follow the market, even the younger which they admitted being focused after, Iwata's management is.

sigh, Nintendo. I hope in June when the shareholders vote they can send a clear message that they want Iwata to change at a fundamental level.

The best way to change is asking him to leave.

 

[Graphics Horse]

I don't really see how Nintendo lost out on this. Skylanders already sells best on their platforms.

There's some truth to that, although exclusivity might have made the Wii U more attractive instead of a lot of people moving from Wii to the PS3/360 versions.

 

[jholmes]

I'm really not clear on what Activision offered Nintendo, or who they offered it to. How can anyone say Nintendo was dumb to turn down a deal we know nothing about?

I love how everyone can armchair WBC this one with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.

Also I hate interviews like this because they don't tell you who at Nintendo they were working with. Was it an actual decision maker? What was Activision asking from Nintendo.

Yeah it is easy to look back and say man what a missed opportunity but we are not privy to but a smidge of the details. It does suck for Nintendo, and you have to wonder if the person making the decision had all the info and foresight, but this happens all the time.

The Exec who passed on the Beatles and said they wouldn't make it in the US was damn near right and still had a massively successful career.

Also, this.

Also, how do we know it would have been a success if it hadn't been multiplatform? If it were Wii U exclusive, it might've got crushed by Infinity by now. How do we know it would've stayed Nintendo-exclusive for long?

This is a cute story, but it's two guys' biased account of what a success they are. I don't believe the Internet is so starved for things to use as examples of poor management by Nintendo that they have to dogpile on this.

 

[Keyouta]

Although I can see why some people might turn this down if it was shown to them, it's a little weird that the company that introduced motion controls to gaming was the one to say 'we have never seen anything like this before' and turn it down.

 

[Riki]

Although I can see why some people might turn this down if it was shown to them, it's a little weird that the company that introduced motion controls to gaming was the one to say 'we have never seen anything like this before' and turn it down.

Because the idea of selling kids over priced figurines to play a game seems like a failure in the making.