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[Arc Christelle]

That worked so well for the N64.

I got news for you. It's not the N64 era anymore and Playstation is no longer the dominate platform stuffed to the brim with unique exclusives.

Certain members of Nintendo-GAF responded with "no one's going to miss you" as they have towards essentially every game not announced for Wii U.

Your notions are nonsensical. The lack of FIFA 14 and Madden NFL 25 will be a serious impediment to adoption.

Consumers will go where the games go.
The extent to which you overestimate Nintendo's current position in the marketplace is ridiculous.

Sound snide as much as you like but also have to consider, the Wii U does have games on the way and most will be here at the end of the year. Compared to the practices of the other and possibly other two consoles, along with the images of the same old compared to a chance of variety, Wii U is in a decent position to dominate. You are underestimating them.

Not to mention those games really never amounted much to Nintendo platforms to begin with. Maybe on other consoles but unless EA Big is about to drop some "Street" or actually go back to making SSX fun again, They really aren't in as strong as a position as you make them out to be. Speak to any basic Nintendo consumer who don't go to GAF and ask what games do they want from EA.

They have to face it. Other than sports rehashes that were never that strong on Nintendo to begin with, they have nothing to offer but Bioware (which has been getting negative looks lately) and DICE with Battlefield (mostly played on other consoles + PC).

We can try to see things from a business perspective but we also have to remember that we are consumers. Since I was a kid to a 22 year old Nintendo fan, the only thing EA brought that I like was NBA Street, Def Jam (lol) and SSX. That was during the Gamecube era and they damn sure aren't churning those games out anymore. They even managed to destroy NBA Jam. I played it once and locked it in my drawer forever.

Business wise, what were the most successful numbers that Madden and FIFA pulled on recent hardware AFTER the Gamecube?

EA has no place in Nintendo.

 

[KingSnake]

So, this is the outcome of the "special partnership" with Microsoft, right?

 

[wildfire]

Certain members of Nintendo-GAF responded with "no one's going to miss you" as they have towards essentially every game not announced for Wii U.

Your notions are nonsensical. The lack of FIFA 14 and Madden NFL 25 will be a serious impediment to adoption.

Consumers will go where the games go.
The extent to which you overestimate Nintendo's current position in the marketplace is ridiculous.

I disagreed with your earlier notion that EA sales on Nintendo consoles are miniscule. They aren't so small that they aren't significant enough to help buoy EA's overall operations.

And now you yourself admit missing Madden and Fifa is important. If they weren't important sales would have to be miniscule for that to be true.

EA has no place in Nintendo.

Boomblox, Tigerwoods, Madden, Sim series, etc says you're wrong.

 

[Arc Christelle]

Boomblox, Tigerwoods, Madden, Sim series, etc says you're wrong.

Damn I actually forgot about Boomblox, Tiger Woods, and Sims.

What were the numbers on those? And didn't Boomblox have a sequel?

 

[shinra-bansho]

Sound snide as much as you like

I sure will, because your comments are frankly silly.

but also have to consider, the Wii U does have games on the way and most will be here at the end of the year. Compared to the practices of the other and possibly other two consoles, along with the images of the same old compared to a chance of variety, Wii U is in a decent position to dominate. You are underestimating them.

I'm aware of Nintendo's grand turnaround plan of "Release more Mario." The notion that this will amount to a console currently selling 1 unit per store per fortnight in the US to domination!!!11! is patently ridiculous right now.

Not to mention those games really never amounted much to Nintendo platforms to begin with. Maybe on other consoles but unless EA Big is about to drop some "Street" or actually go back to making SSX fun again, They really aren't in as strong as a position as you make them out to be. Speak to any basic Nintendo consumer who don't go to GAF and ask what games do they want from EA.

They have to face it. Other than sports rehashes that were never that strong on Nintendo to begin with, they have nothing to offer but Bioware (which has been getting negative looks lately) and DICE with Battlefield (mostly played on other consoles + PC).

EA has no place in Nintendo.

You confuse your personal tastes and those of your anecdotal Nintendo fans, with the wider marketplace. The Nintendo fan is already buying the Wii U. They will buy the Wii U when more Mario releases. But that doesn't reflect the wider marketplace. I personally have no interest in them, but to deny the importance of the annual FIFA and Madden properties is folly, they are in the same sphere of importance as games like COD and GTA in terms of attracting consumers.

I disagreed with your earlier notion that EA sales on Nintendo consoles are miniscule. They aren't so small that they aren't significant enough to help buoy EA's overall operations.

And now you yourself admit missing Madden and Fifa is important. If they weren't important sales would have to be miniscule for that to be true.

Miniscule in relative terms. They made roughly 7% of their revenues in the last fiscal year on Nintendo's combined platforms. Nintendo are in no position of power over EA - EA have options.

As for my comments about Madden and FIFA, they help create value proposition, they are major franchises, in the same way that while COD sold insignificant amounts on the Wii U, the lack of it would be a major impediment to future adoption. And these titles will be far more important now that the casual audience has evaporated.

 

[wildfire]

Damn I actually forgot about Boomblox, Tiger Woods, and Sims.

What were the numbers on those? And didn't Boomblox have a sequel?

Yeah it had a sequel, the original sold like 500k in its first year. I don't see and hard numbers for Woods or Simcity.

 

[Arc Christelle]

I sure will, because your comments are frankly silly.I'm aware of Nintendo's grand turnaround plan of "Release more Mario." The notion that this will amount to a console currently selling 1 unit per store per fortnight in the US to domination!!!11! is patently ridiculous right now.
You confuse your personal tastes and those of your anecdotal Nintendo fans, with the wider marketplace. The Nintendo fan is already buying the Wii U. They will buy the Wii U when more Mario releases. But that doesn't reflect the wider marketplace. I personally have no interest in them, but to deny the importance of the annual FIFA and Madden properties is folly, they are in the same sphere of importance as games like COD and GTA in terms of attracting consumers.

It's not confusing them I am well aware of what I'm saying, but I am also saying that despite our knowledge on gaming and the industry, our personal tastes should be accounted for. We are still consumers after all, and while GAF represents a small number of those who may echo the same sentiment, you'd be surprise to find the numbers of people scattered everywhere combined who may feel the same way.

While Fifa and Madden are important (keep in mind I didn't doubt that on the other two consoles but I did on Nintendo.) Everywhere you go online, and see gaming information you do realize people are becoming more and more aware of the trends that are at play. And from the combination of the PS4 and One reveals, it was preview that they will indeed aim for more of the same thing.

Not only that but everyone knows the market for the current gen is deadly as all hell, with more power and bigger budgets for their games it's only gonna get more deadly, with Wii U development looking as the safe route.

Nintendo could easily gain more consumer support by marketing that they offer more than the limited tastes on the other two consoles, lock out EA, slander their name and their quality, and if things fail for that company with the PS4 and One, they will have nothing to fall back on, except being restrained to releasing the annual sports title. If they fail to keep exclusitivity to the sports licenses they acquire, they can be destroyed by a new franchise.

But then again this is just corporate scheming for the sake of discussion.

Yeah it had a sequel, the original sold like 500k in its first year. I don't see and hard numbers for Woods or Simcity.

Damn, still good though because you really brought something interesting to think about, those games could stand a chance depending on the use of the technology. Tiger Woods especially excells when it comes to gameplay interface innovation.


EDIT
---------

Also I think it goes to consider that EA already has enough negative mindshare as it is after the SimCity fiasco and Origin. Nintendo can easily call that out and make supporting them seem like the most anti-gaming shit on earth. That's if they want to go that aggressive route.

Despite the sales of the Wii U, it's still better than being considered the most hated/worst in the industry.

 

[Fantasmo]

EA is a whore. So is everybody else, but others are discreet about it, not insulting. MS and EA can play together in their little field, I'll be sure to keep away from them.

Companies are really cute with this shareholder mess. It might do them some good to realize the paying customers aren't shareholders.

Hope the whole stock market way of doing business starts to kill them off and customer oriented companies take their place.

 

[effzee]

It really sucks for someone like me who both loves EA sports games (have to have them) and outside of sports games mainly only plays Nintendo first party games. Yeah sure I play the exceptional well reviewed games outside of this small circle but with my schedule, work and personal, I only can make time for a few games. A Madden game is an annual purchase for me.

So I want EA Sports games on the WiiU. But unfortunately I won't be purchasing them if they are half assed ports. If they release a Madden or FIFA it better be on the same level as the ps3 and 360 versions, which is very much possible. And for this year at least those current gen versions will be the best versions. Next year is when we will truly see the games take advantage of the new systems and release on them at the right time.

Cmon EA give me a proper Madden, NBA Live, and FIFA. I'll buy it.

Such a sad cycle overall though. Nintendo makes it extremely difficult for EA and other big 3rd parties to make the game accessible across the board and as a result they get the shittiest versions of all the games which then with their poor sales are cited as justification for not supporting it further.

 

[Arc Christelle]

It really sucks for someone like me who both loves EA sports games (have to have them) and outside of sports games mainly only plays Nintendo first party games. Yeah sure I play the exceptional well reviewed games outside of this small circle but with my schedule, work and personal, I only can make time for a few games. A Madden game is an annual purchase for me.

So I want EA Sports games on the WiiU. But unfortunately I won't be purchasing them if they are half assed ports. If they release a Madden or FIFA it better be on the same level as the ps3 and 360 versions, which is very much possible. And for this year at least those current gen versions will be the best versions. Next year is when we will truly see the games take advantage of the new systems and release on them at the right time.

Cmon EA give me a proper Madden, NBA Live, and FIFA. I'll buy it.

Such a sad cycle overall though. Nintendo makes it extremely difficult for EA and other big 3rd parties to make the game accessible across the board and as a result they get the shittiest versions of all the games which then with their poor sales are cited as justification for not supporting it further.

This is a great post, and I would love to hear more opinions from consumers who are actually stuck in the middle like this. It does bring more into perspective about the situation. I do wonder, what's the point of wanting a franchise if you're just going to get the lesser version? Why would you or other consumers still support it?

 

[KingSnake]

Although I bought FIFA 13 for Wii U, I don't know what's worse: no games for Wii U or crippled games for Wii U?

Seeing they are giving the same love to the PC (no new engine for FIFA) I am not rushing to believe EA is doing actually something good. So for now my wallet is no friend with EA.

 

[shinra-bansho]

EA has had negative mind-share long before Sim City. They will continue to have it amongst the enthusiast crowd long after.

Just as Bobby Kotick and Activision aren't exactly fondly thought of, and in fact are openly reviled by many.

Dislike of his Imperial Hotness, did not stop Final Fantasy Toriyama's Waifu from selling.

It does not matter.

The typical consumer does not care. They will still buy Call of Duty, no matter how much some people on here despise Kotick.

FIFA 13 sold over 14.5 million units. 10M+ more will buy FIFA 14 this year. People will buy new consoles and buy "next gen" Madden on it. And people will ignore the platform(s) upon which they cannot get these games.

 

[KingSnake]

People will buy one new console and buy "next gen" Madden on it.

Fixed.


So, Nintendo won't have access to 10-20% of the market. Which is anyway quite out of their reach due to the fact they are far behind PS4 from power point of view (I still don't know why XB1 should even matter for this market, but probably the marketing will make sure it will).

Why should Nintendo go after this part of the market given their whole console philosophy?

 

[Arc Christelle]

(1) EA has had negative mind-share long before Sim City. They will continue to have it amongst the enthusiast crowd long after.

Just as Bobby Kotick and Activision aren't exactly fondly thought of, and in fact are openly reviled by many.

(2) Dislike of his Imperial Hotness, did not stop Final Fantasy Toriyama's Waifu from selling.

It does not matter.

(3) The typical consumer does not care. They will still buy Call of Duty, no matter how much some people on here despise Kotick.

(4) FIFA 13 sold over 14.5 million units. 10M+ more will buy FIFA 14 this year. People will buy new consoles and buy "next gen" Madden on it. And people will ignore the platform(s) upon which they cannot get these games.

1. Exactly but it has never been this level of bad. If Nintendo were to enter a political war with EA, they could easily be what destroys them. Like I said earlier with developing for the Wii U being the safest route, if they get locked out from that, they will have nothing to fall back on if endeavors on other consoles fail, except sports games, and they would have to fight just to keep that exclusive license. Nintendo is in a position to bring the damage.

2. Terrible example. There are plenty of Final Fantasy fans who still have faith in the series and the franchise. It's almost similar to the rough phase Sega and Sonic went through. "We Still Here".

3. But COD didn't step on Nintendo's toes, and to be honest, from Black Ops II sales, they ain't bout shit either. (On a Nintendo Platform)

4. How much did they sale on Nintendo Platforms? The Nintendo Market is not the same as the Sony/MS market.

EDIT:

So, Nintendo won't have access to 10-20% of the market. Which is anyway quite out of their reach due to the fact they are far behind PS4 from power point of view (I still don't know why XB1 should even matter for this market, but probably the marketing will make sure it will).

Why should Nintendo go after this part of the market given their whole console philosophy?

Exactly. If It would make those titles irrelevant on their consoles.

As for XB1 I'd say wait for Sony's press conference at E3 when all the information is out on the table before counting out the system. After all, Microsoft did reveal all of the details except price. Sony still has loads of information they haven't revealed for the PS4 that might even come back to bite them in the ass even worse due to the positive mindshare they've surprisingly earned over the past couple of months.

 

[Blueblur1]

This made me crack up like a madman. Do you have the original Vita-related one, by the way?

Edit: Nevermind. That's the same one from that old Media Create thread.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Fixed.

I'm not sure how. Your statement and mine are essentially the same. There wasn't any intent of implication that individuals would be buying multiple next gen consoles.

So, Nintendo won't have access to 10-20% of the market. Which is anyway quite out of their reach due to the fact they are far behind PS4 from power point of view (I still don't know why XB1 should even matter for this market, but probably the marketing will make sure it will).

Why should Nintendo go after this part of the market given their whole console philosophy?

The market that buys FIFA and COD and Madden and drives those games into the multi-millions is not the niche enthusiast market. It is the mainstream consumer that provides the success to those franchises. And all of the consoles need to attract those mainstream consumers in the long run to drive their own success.

1. Exactly but it has never been this level of bad. If Nintendo were to enter a political war with EA, they could easily be what destroys them. Like I said earlier with developing for the Wii U being the safest route, if they get locked out from that, they will have nothing to fall back on if endeavors on other consoles fail, except sports games, and they would have to fight just to keep that exclusive license. Nintendo is in a position to bring the damage.

2. Terrible example. There are plenty of Final Fantasy fans who still have faith in the series and the franchise. It's almost similar to the rough phase Sega and Sonic went through. "We Still Here".

3. But COD didn't step on Nintendo's toes, and to be honest, from Black Ops II sales, they ain't bout shit either. (On a Nintendo Platform)

4. How much did they sale on Nintendo Platforms? The Nintendo Market is not the same as the Sony/MS market.

It's very hard to take such comments seriously. Notwithstanding how nonsense the notion is, a "political war" would result in absolutely nothing but to make Nintendo look ridiculous. It would in no way affect EA's licenses. It would in no way affect the FIFA franchise, or Madden Franchise, or Battlefield.

I have no idea what you mean about people having "faith" in Final Fantasy. It retains brand strength. As will FIFA, Madden, Battlefield, The Sims and so on.

The Nintendo market currently consists of 37K purchasers a month in the US, and the worst console sales of any platform save few. Nintendo needs any market it can get. Spurning the mainstream consumers that want their annual sports games is no way to go about any recovery.

EA are in no way beholden to Nintendo. The absence of EA does not strengthen Nintendo in any way.

 

[MemoryHumanity]

FIFA 14, please. And I mean 14, not 13.5.

 

[tkscz]

So like the Wii then?

 

[ahm998]

Waiting for new need for speed on Wii U and really enjoyed most wanted ver. on wii u.

 

[Ludicrous Speed]

no sports games. probably racing games. and kid friendly games

 

[frankie_baby]

EA has had negative mind-share long before Sim City. They will continue to have it amongst the enthusiast crowd long after.

Just as Bobby Kotick and Activision aren't exactly fondly thought of, and in fact are openly reviled by many.

Dislike of his Imperial Hotness, did not stop Final Fantasy Toriyama's Waifu from selling.

It does not matter.

The typical consumer does not care. They will still buy Call of Duty, no matter how much some people on here despise Kotick.

FIFA 13 sold over 14.5 million units. 10M+ more will buy FIFA 14 this year. People will buy new consoles and buy "next gen" Madden on it. And people will ignore the platform(s) upon which they cannot get these games.

Or they'll just carry on buying madden and FIFA for their ps360s, the Wii did fine with FIFA/madden being present but a total non factor after ea shit the bed with its treatment of them

 

[Arc Christelle]

I'm not sure how. Your statement and mine are essentially the same. There wasn't any intent of implication that individuals would be buying multiple next gen consoles.
The market that buys FIFA and COD and Madden and drives those games into the multi-millions is not the niche enthusiast market. It is the mainstream consumer that provides the success to those franchises. And all of the consoles need to attract those mainstream consumers in the long run to drive their own success.It's very hard to take such comments seriously. Notwithstanding how nonsense the notion is, a "political war" would result in absolutely nothing but to make Nintendo look ridiculous (1). It would in no way affect EA's licenses. It would in no way affect the FIFA franchise, or Madden Franchise, or Battlefield.

I have no idea what you mean about people having "faith" in Final Fantasy. It retains brand strength. As will FIFA, Madden, Battlefield, The Sims and so on. (2)

The Nintendo market currently consists of 37K purchasers a month in the US, and the worst console sales of any platform save few. Nintendo needs any market it can get. Spurning the mainstream consumers that want their annual sports games is no way to go about any recovery. (3)

EA are in no way beholden to Nintendo. The absence of EA does not strengthen Nintendo in any way. (4)

1. How so? Because EA has been looking kinda silly for these past few weeks.

2. That "Brand Strength" comes from consumer "faith" in the products, It's what allows games like XIII/-2/LR to happen and still receive support.

3. #FirstYearWoes before Full on Next Gen. At the time people really felt that there was more being offered on PS4/One. We'll see during E3. And Nintendo doesn't need any developers that do not support their philosophy or vision, matter in fact, failing to work with those principles will only work against the developers/pubs.

4. In contrast it does. Which is the point of the "political war" to influence/convince consumers to disregard EA's games as low quality products and invest in Nintendo. Slander backed by facts can be very super effective to a "mainstream" audience. But like I said, that's only if they want to go that route. You can't deny that from what we're seeing Nintendo is starting to look like the safest market to be in, if they ban EA software, EA will fall big time if they do not suceed on other hardware. Matter infact, sports will be the only thing keeping them relevant until someone better arrives or is able to take away the license. NBA 2K did a great job of showing that.

If you can't survive on the "Bigger/Powerful Consoles" and the Lighter one won't take you in, what do you think would eventually happen to that company? Especially with negative overtones and the possible appearance of a superior competitor. It's possible.



Also question to fellow GAFfers who enjoy EA games and Nintendo hardware.

As a consumer, how many of you plan to support EA on Nintendo platforms if they offer gimped versions of the games?

 

[shinra-bansho]

Or they'll just carry on buying madden and FIFA for their ps360s, the Wii did fine with FIFA/madden being present but a total non factor after ea shit the bed with its treatment of them

I'm sure a lot of people will, with regard to the former. Just as a lot of people did at the last generational transition for the 6th gen consoles. As for the latter, people need to stop mistaking the Wii U for the Wii with regard to reliance or non-reliance on third party output; and really just in general.

 

[shinra-bansho]

1. How so? Because EA has been looking kinda silly for these past few weeks.

2. That "Brand Strength" comes from consumer "faith" in the products, It's what allows games like XIII/-2/LR to happen and still receive support.

3. #FirstYearWoes before Full on Next Gen. At the time people really felt that there was more being offered on PS4/One. We'll see during E3.

4. In contrast it does. Which is the point of the "political war" to influence/convince consumers to disregard EA's games as low quality products and invest in Nintendo. Slander backed by facts can be very super effective to a "mainstream" audience. But like I said, that's only if they want to go that route.

If you can't survive on the "Bigger/Powerful Consoles" and the Lighter one won't take you in, what do you think would eventually happen to that company? Especially with negative overtones and the possible appearance of a superior competitor. It's possible.

Your entire notion is childish fantasy. Little old Nintendo, standing up to big bully EA. The crowd of consumers cheering them on, as EA tumbles off a cliff into oblivion. It's delusion.

They're currently barely managing to convince consumers to buy their system at all, and you think that Nintendo can stop 14M people from buying FIFA 14 because EA are meanies? That the value proposition of their system is somehow stronger with games like FIFA and Madden?

Consumers do not care if Nintendo starts a muck-raking war. All it would do is make Nintendo look farcical. While consumers continue to consume the products they enjoy.

 

[fluffydelusions]

What is going on at EA, just a couple days they say they have no games in development, now they have some?

 

[Arc Christelle]

Your entire notion is childish fantasy. Little old Nintendo, standing up to big bully EA. The crowd of consumers cheering them on, as EA tumbles off a cliff into oblivion. It's delusion.

They're currently barely managing to convince consumers to buy their system at all, and you think that Nintendo can stop 14M people from buying FIFA 14 because EA are meanies?

Consumers do not care if Nintendo starts a muck-raking war. All it would do is make Nintendo look farcical. While consumers continue to consume the products they enjoy.

My notion is simple. EA fucked up and should be punished. Their goal isn't to convince people to stop buying EA software, but to take away the safe ground they might have with them. Not on a notion of being bullied, but a notion of respect and principle. Standing your ground is important in business and despite the slow first year adoption rate, there is interest in the Wii U, mostly held back to price and games (which are indeed coming) The only thing that could work against this idea is that after E3 and the first year they are still in the slumps they are now.

You constantly seem to forget that EA is still choosing to compete in a more dangerous narrow market and past results aren't guaranteed for this generation. They will be spending some cash just to survive. (Not to mention they just dropped a couple of franchises just for the sake of that survival)

If 2K can stop Live, what's stopping PES from invading FIFA or a new NFL series to replace Madden? Especially if they gain positive reviews and word of mouth. They could eventually become a true threat to EA.

Now are you going to consider that, or just act condenscending because you don't understand how Nintendo could fuck over EA?

 

[Nicktendo86]

Ok, GIF of the century

 

[kirby_fox]

I'm now waiting for EA to show up in a Nintendo Direct around E3 to show off Madden U and FIFA U-- which are basically just games we're getting on the other systems but with GamePad support and some Nintendo content thrown in (play as Mario, Luigi and Peach!)

Because at this point, I don't know what to believe anymore and we might as well go crazy.

 

[frankie_baby]

I'm sure a lot of people will, with regard to the former. Just as a lot of people did at the last generational transition for the 6th gen consoles. As for the latter, people need to stop mistaking the Wii U for the Wii with regard to reliance or non-reliance on third party output; and really just in general.

oh i'm not mistaking wii u's needs for the wii's just downplaying the how necessary EA sports is to the equation, i (and most nintendo owners i assume) would rather spend 40 quid on some cool new game than bend over and take a shafting with a 40 quid roster update

 

[AranhaHunter]

I guess i wasted my time on this one.

Got a chuckle be out of me, but the gif quality could be better.

 

[shinra-bansho]

My notion is simple. EA fucked up and should be punished.

I'm confused. Are we talking about the Sim City debacle? Or are you referencing a more recent incident?

Are you implying that not releasing unprofitable titles on the Wii U is the "fuck up that deserves to be punished."

Nintendo's stalwarts really have taken the lack of interest by EA in the Wii U rather emotionally. When emotions are not in play. The Wii U is not a good fit and not providing good return on titles for EA, so they're not going to invest much in it. It's as simple as that. They're under no real obligation to. The idea that a business should be "punished" for making prudent business decisions is bizarre.

I'm just going to steal a quote, since it aptly illustrates the point.

Blame is a foolish term to use. EA chooses whether or not to support Nintendo. They have chosen not to support Nintendo. They aren't begging in the streets for Nintendo to let them publish. They are peacefully going about their own way. If Nintendo is fine with that, no harm no foul no blame. If, however, Nintendo is worried and wants to enhance their reputation and ability to work with western publishers (or publishers in general), it will involve Nintendo offering concessions. People who want the help of others don't make demands, they make offerings. Blame doesn't factor into it.

Put it this way--if EA started their discussions with Nintendo by saying "Make John Ricitiello president of Nintendo and give us ten trillion dollars or we'll never work with you again", blame still wouldn't be an appropriate term for either EA or Nintendo in the situation. You could explain the result by saying that EA asked for too much or Nintendo provided too little, but as long as one party is happier with the situation than the other, "blame" doesn't come into play.

---

Their goal isn't to convince people to stop buying EA software, but to take away the safe ground they might have with them. Not on a notion of being bullied, but a notion of respect and principle. Standing your ground is important in business and despite the slow first year adoption rate, there is interest in the Wii U, mostly held back to price and games (which are indeed coming) The only thing that could work against this idea is that after E3 and the first year they are still in the slumps they are now.

Your notions are based on emotional reactions to business decisions far removed from emotions. Emotional reactions that neither Nintendo nor EA have, which is why your notions come across as little more than silly fantasy.

As for whether there is real underlying interest in the Wii U, beyond Nintendo's core fanbase, that remains to be seen. And will not be helped by the absence of EA's titles.

You constantly seem to forget that EA is still choosing to compete in a more dangerous narrow market and past results aren't guaranteed for this generation. They will be spending some cash just to survive. (Not to mention they just dropped a couple of franchises just for the sake of that survival)

I don't forget that at all. Nor do EA. That's why they're consolidating their development to more tested franchises, and limiting development on platforms that are not providing suitable returns on investment - like the Wii U.

If 2K can stop Live, what's stopping PES from invading FIFA or a new NFL series to replace Madden? Especially if they gain positive reviews and word of mouth. They could eventually become a true threat to EA.

Now are you going to consider that, or just act condenscending because you don't understand how Nintendo could fuck over EA?

It would likely take years for anyone to produce a viable competing product to EA's properties, and to do so in absence of the major licenses it holds exclusively.

That is the strength that provides EA negotiating clout when they extend the Madden license. That is presumably why FIFA opted to extend their relationship with EA for a decade.

PES vs FIFA will be interesting to watch, but I don't expect any real change in market position.

 

[radcliff]

Wasn't it already confirmed that EA's Star Wars game was using the Frostbit 3 engine, the very engine EA said it as well as its predecesor (Frostbite 2) couldn't run on Wii U? So if EA does in fact make Star Wars games for Wii U, I expect them to be outsourced and not of the same quality as the PS4/XBone titles.

 

[Arc Christelle]

Got a chuckle be out of me, but the gif quality could be better.

Golden

oh i'm not mistaking wii u's needs for the wii's just downplaying the how necessary EA sports is to the equation, i (and most nintendo owners i assume) would rather spend 40 quid on some cool new game than bend over and take a shafting with a 40 quid roster update

Exactly.

I'm confused. Are we talking about the Sim City debacle? Or are you referencing a more recent incident?

Are you implying that not releasing unprofitable titles on the Wii U is the "fuck up that deserves to be punished."

Nintendo's stalwarts really have taken the lack of interest by EA in the Wii U rather emotionally. When emotions are not in play. The Wii U is not a good fit and not providing good return on titles for EA, so they're not going to invest much in it. It's as simple as that. They're under no real obligation to. The idea that a business should be "punished" for making prudent business decisions is bizarre.

I'm implying that allowing EA's employers to go out and badmouth their platform and choosing to drop support after hyping up so much support was disrespectful.

And to explain my "childish" fantasy to you, I am focusing on future stakes and predicting from their while considering past experiences and the things that affected them.

You have to consider the fact that History doesn't repeat twice and the Next Gen market is EXTREMELY different from the current Market. Especially considering if the PS4 is going the same route as the One (which hasn't been confirmed)

If this happens, the Wii U would most likely be the console for the mid-tier/niche/indie/Japanese devs, and they have demonstrated the goal to get them on board with deals with Platinum/Atlus/Sega.

They would definitely offer the easiest platform to market for due to new forms of game design which means a new market. Considering that, and the advertisements from Nintendo Direct and Word of Mouth power of Miiverse. It would be much easier than last gen for smaller devs to gain an audience due to having a Community already there.

This puts EA at an awkward position because currently they are supporting all three consoles, two will cost some money to produce anything outside of Sports Games, and one that their employers literally spat in the face of but at the time, offering the safest market, especially for risky titles.

If Nintendo Bans EA from Wii U, they *could end up being left out to the other two to die. (History doesn't repeat itself, and it is possible for what seems to be popular to lose value)

Not only that, but attacking EA could also help Nintendo gain more support since EA does have hold of most of the market when it comes to sports and AAA titles. That combined with the negative stigma they have now could most definitely doom them if a new competitor were to arrive and offer the superior experience.

Why? If Nintendo is gonna create a new market, they have to push devs to either innovate or die. This includes AAA-tier pubs such as EA. With EA out of the way, that makes it better for smaller pubs that might want to compete in the market and even boost support for Nintendo.

You really have to consider the strengths and weaknesses of all sides.

Nintendo
Microsoft
Sony (to be unveiled at E3)
EA

After all, no one saw the West becoming the dominant side this gen along with PC becoming a threatning platform, which it still is compared to the One/PS4. especially if they're going to attempt the same model as this generation.

Also. Humility is a virtue.

 

[frankie_baby]

Wasn't it already confirmed that EA's Star Wars game was using the Frostbit 3 engine, the very engine EA said it as well as its predecesor (Frostbite 2) couldn't run on Wii U? So if EA does in fact make Star Wars games for Wii U, I expect them to be outsourced and not of the same quality as the PS4/XBone titles.

unless of course its cheaper just to put some effort in and port the engine

 

[big_erk]

So, this is the outcome of the "special partnership" with Microsoft, right?

As soon as that was said I wondered does special=unprecedented.

 

[Effect]

I can't help but think this about face is regarding the Star Wars games. A franchise that has always done well on Nintendo platforms since the SNES or even NES. They continued to do very well on the N64, GameCube, and Wii. Didn't matter if they were platformers, action games, or flight games. Didn't The Force Unleashed series actually sell better on the Wii then the PS3 and 360 and the games were actually reviewed higher also? There is no way if Disney was smart (and I believe they really are) and wanted the most money from their investment (with new films coming along with a new TV show) that they'd allowed EA to not put a games on Nintendo platforms (for whatever stupid reasoning EA could come up with) when they've always done well on them. I keep hoping there is someone in Disney asking why that damn Kinect game was made but there was never a lightsaber combat game for the Wii to take advantage of the Wii remote. That was money left on the table that was then burnt.

 

[shinra-bansho]

I'm implying that allowing EA's employers to go out and badmouth their platform and choosing to drop support after hyping up so much support was disrespectful.

And to explain my "childish" fantasy to you, I am focusing on future stakes and predicting from their while considering past experiences and the things that affected them.

The EA employees tweets were unprofessional, but if that's the basis of this ridiculous, Nintendo should "punish" EA, I hope they go bust nonsense, then again, you're far too emotionally invested.

Sony should presumably "punish" Take-Two for the lack of Agent and Bioshock Vita. I'm sure they're going to egg Ken Levine's house.

Meanwhile, your notions of Nintendo's importance to EA's future stakes and Nintendo's market position at present in general are wholly overestimated. If either Microsoft or Sony, each of whom have roughly 40% of EA's business on their platforms were to "ban" them then it would have a severe impact. But Nintendo needs EA far more than EA needs Nintendo.

You have to consider the fact that History doesn't repeat twice and the Next Gen market is EXTREMELY different from the current Market. Especially considering if the PS4 is going the same route as the One (which hasn't been confirmed)

You're right. The 8th gen seems to have largely loss the market which drove the success of the Wii.

If this happens, the Wii U would most likely be the console for the mid-tier/niche/indie/Japanese devs, and they have demonstrated the goal to get them on board with deals with Platinum/Atlus/Sega.

Nice as they are Platinum's games are not going to change the fortunes of the Wii U. Meanwhile, the system sold 6K units in Japan last week.

This puts EA at an awkward position because currently they are supporting all three consoles, two will cost some money to produce anything outside of Sports Games, and one that their employers literally spat in the face of but at the time, offering the safest market, especially for risky titles.

The Wii U doesn't offer a safe market. At present it offers no market. That's why EA has mostly bailed on it.

If Nintendo Bans EA from Wii U, they *could end up being left out to the other two to die. (History doesn't repeat itself, and it is possible for what seems to be popular to lose value)

EA has survived and thrived in absence of Nintendo. Sure, history doesn't necessarily repeat, but the other two systems are positioned towards the markets that EA's title's appeal to. The idea that "banning" EA will somehow send them into a spiral of doom is frankly nonsense. Conversely, Nintendo saw it's market shrink dramatically in absence of broad third party support. They managed to stem this with the Wii. The Wii U is not the Wii.

Not only that, but attacking EA could also help Nintendo gain more support since EA does have hold of most of the market when it comes to sports and AAA titles. That combined with the negative stigma they have now could most definitely doom them if a new competitor were to arrive and offer the superior experience.

Why? If Nintendo is gonna create a new market, they have to push devs to either innovate or die. This includes AAA-tier pubs such as EA. With EA out of the way, that makes it better for smaller pubs that might want to compete in the market and even boost support for Nintendo.

You really have to consider the strengths and weaknesses of all sides.

Nintendo
Microsoft
Sony (to be unveiled at E3)
EA

After all, no one saw the West becoming the dominant side this gen along with PC becoming a threatning platform, which it still is compared to the One/PS4. especially if they're going to attempt the same model as this generation.

Also. Humility is a virtue.

Consumers do not care about "negative stigma" from a stupid tweet that an EA employee's poor judgement put out. They want FIFA, they'll buy FIFA. They will not all go out and buy PES because Nintendo starts a flame war about how "disrespectful" EA has been.

I am considering the market position of all sides. You're the one overestimating the market position of a single side and creating imaginary scenarios in which a war of words dooms EA. At this stage it's quite clear you won't be convinced of such.

These are companies. Not anthropomorphic characters.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

Neither Nintendo or EA are in a position where they should be alienating current or potential partners. EA dialed back their previous shorted sighted stance and the garbage spewing from certain vitriolic devs, that's good enough. Iwata doesn't need his pound of flesh.

 

[MedIC86]

Searched, couldnt find anything.

Lock if old/not thread worthy

Electronic Arts is developing games for the Wii U, but not as many as the company is developing for Sony and Microsoft's consoles, EA's chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen said today during the Stifel Nicolaus 2013 Internet, Media and Communications Conference.

Jorgensen's statement seems to contradict a statement last week from EA spokesman Jeff Brown, who said last week that the company has "no games in development for the Wii U currently."

More at the link

 

[NotLiquid]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=561121

 

[Arc Christelle]

These are companies. Not anthropomorphic characters.

Dafuq does that have to do with anything?

Anyway. All I did was make a suggestion about the route Nintendo should take in response to EA which was waaaay more bad publicity than a negative tweet, especially when it came to criticisms of their hardware. Matter in fact the only positive response was from Criterion who sadly didn't get the sales they deserved. To say that the market isn't ther before a year is crazy, even for the situation they're in, also the drought. You act as if they can't turn this around and gain the upper hand.

It's just simply my guess from the scenario and what I think they should do.

We still have E3 announcements + whatever the hell route Sony may go, I'd say wait atleast another year before declaring there is nothing there for the any companies on the Wii U. You know the underlying interest is there, we just have to wait for the results.

EDIT:

The thought of Nintendo attacking EA aside, I just thought about it. What's your prediction of the industry from now to next year (possibly March/April)? Would you be interested in bidding our predictions against each other? Just to make things interesting.

 

[Acquiescence]

The pure shitness of the moniker 'Xbox One' doesn't quite hit home until you've seen it unceremoniously used in a thread title.

Edit - Oh wait, what? The thread got moved. That was in response to MedIC86's ex-opening post.

 

[XenodudeX]

Shovel ware for Wii U. Big games for the rest.

 

[Jackano]

So let's me sum up here:

EA announce an unprecedented partnership for Nintendo;
One month ago, they said they have no more Wii U games in development due to poor launch sales;

Today, they announce to have new Wii U games in development, one fucking day after having announced an unprecedented partnership with MS?

What were they thinking?

 

[Kimawolf]

So let's me sum up here:

EA announce an unprecedented partnership for Nintendo;
One month ago, they said they have no more Wii U games in development due to poor launch sales;

Today, they announce to have new Wii U games in development, one fucking day after having announced an unprecedented partnership with MS?

What were they thinking?

They weren't. That's the issue. Businesses are ran by people, people are still prone to say stupid things and make stupid decisions without thinking of all the external factors. It's funny people always say "Well they are a business, they only make rash decisions, blah blah" well OBVIOUSLY something changed very quickly to announce a week later "no we are making games actually, just not as many as for the other two." To me it falls back to them not having a leader, and as such people are just making random comments without thinking of the licenses they hold, the deals in place etc. mostly because they may not know and of course, gamers are eating it up, and making up every reason as to why.

And yes, they announce the same thing with MS, but difference is MS is willing to play ball with EA, and give into their anti consumer BS which is obvious now. We all said "Well they are giving up online passes it HAS to be a reason..." Well we know the reason now, and it all begins to make sense.

EA has tried very hard to make itself irreplaceable and a "necessity" on the console front, but every action they take only removes more and more goodwill from them. When it was just Wii U, people laughed and proclaimed Nintendo was "Dreamcasted" but once all that bullshit landed from the XB1 conference everyone was up in arms because now it affects EVERYONE.

 

[megabytecr]

I will adopt the wait and see approach, in the meantime I will keep my stance on not buying any EA game on any console, basically F U EA.

This news sounds as like they were forced to work on the Wii U, or they backpedaled their decision and decided to not leave Wii U completely just in case. I dont think this has anything to do with XB1 presentation. XB1 I guess will have a good E3, but the used games thing is catastrophic.

If EA is willing to try on the Wii U I guess they are welcome to, I cannot ignore there importance, but if everything is going to be half assed, please EA I will say this nicely,

GTFO, GTFO, GTFO.

Edit: the Madden games on Wii were decent, Fifa on the other hand was a joke. PES was way better option for the Wii, and if EA does not care maybe Konami could take the market for Soccer games on the Wii U. All CoD games on the Wii I think offered the core gameplay and the wii implementation was way better than the Fifa implementation. Boom Blox was a great game for the Wii and MySims Agent I beleive got decent scores.

 

[slit]

Can't Nintendo make their own NFL game if they want to?

I know EA has an exclusivity contract but I seem to recall there being an exception for the console makers. I don't know if that still applies.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Dafuq does that have to do with anything?

Anyway. All I did was make a suggestion about the route Nintendo should take in response to EA which was waaaay more bad publicity than a negative tweet, especially when it came to criticisms of their hardware. Matter in fact the only positive response was from Criterion who sadly didn't get the sales they deserved. To say that the market isn't ther before a year is crazy, even for the situation they're in, also the drought. You act as if they can't turn this around and gain the upper hand.

It's just simply my guess from the scenario and what I think they should do.

We still have E3 announcements + whatever the hell route Sony may go, I'd say wait atleast another year before declaring there is nothing there for the any companies on the Wii U. You know the underlying interest is there, we just have to wait for the results.

Aside from all that, you are one condescending motherfucker for a guy with a Gintama avi, but then again maybe that should be expected. lol.

All your nonsense about disrespect, punishment, standing up, etc. regarding EA and Nintendo, suggest an anthropomorphization of corporations. Not making SKUs is a business decision. EA are not deliberately not making Wii U SKUs to create bad publicity, again emotional nonsense.

My "condescension" amounts to me telling you your ridiculous ideas are ridiculous ideas. Your idea that Nintendo would somehow strengthen its position in some sort scathing public admonishment of EA and a blacklisting of them, that leads to EA spiraling into disaster as the market crashes into oblivion is ridiculous wishful thinking. It's petulant nonsense with no basis in reality or consideration of the actual market positions of Nintendo's current platforms, and/or EA's current, past or future need of them.

If Nintendo did do anything like what you suggested, investors and other publishers would seriously question their judgement, not EA's.

 

[PhoenixDawn]

Can't Nintendo make their own NFL game if they want to?

I know EA has an exclusivity contract but I seem to recall there being an exception for the console makers. I don't if that still applies.

Maybe, but Nintendo definitely wouldn't waste their top dev resources on making a game that would only be moderately successful in one region (America) and be DOA in every other one.

 

[hellclerk]

Consumers do not care about "negative stigma" from a stupid tweet that an EA employee's poor judgement put out. They want FIFA, they'll buy FIFA. They will not all go out and buy PES because Nintendo starts a flame war about how "disrespectful" EA has been.

I am considering the market position of all sides. You're the one overestimating the market position of a single side and creating imaginary scenarios in which a war of words dooms EA. At this stage it's quite clear you won't be convinced of such.

These are companies. Not anthropomorphic characters.

While I agree with you on some concepts of premise, consumers do respond to negative feedback and word of mouth. The Sim City debacle soured many upstream and downstream consumers to EA, and they'll tell their friends about it. Furthermore, most individuals listen to their friends when it comes to games (and other media in general) called opinion leaders in communications theories, and if this opinion leader feels slighted by EA's recent activity regardless of platform, they're going to tell their friend to not buy games from EA. Now here's the thing, it's very easy to feel slighted by EA's non-Nintendo output. Deadspace 3 was a shadow of the original Deadspace, Sim City was a mess beyond messes, Medal of Honor was sent to die a buggy mess and never to be fixed. All these reasons make me very, very tepid to purchase Battlefield 4. I don't mind that its essentially a gameplay expansion, what I will mind is if EA adds or subtracts anything that will take away from my experience of the game, and if I leave BF4, I'm gone for good.

EA already has enough shit with upstream gamers, so what would happen if they lost access to the most potent downstream audience with Nintendo? I mean, it didn't kill them with the Wii, but in general EA's works were moderate successes. Then again, EA has also been in the red since 2009. There was enough consumer backlash to win them a plastic poo trophy on the internet two years in a row. What does that tell you about their market choices in the last five years? In many ways, the best option EA has is with those who have no experience with their products. Call it the soccer mom clique if you like, but EA needs a market where opinion leaders have no opinion on their company or product, so at the least they can rebuild some positive mindshare. Nintendo is largely a purveyor of that kind of market, with kids and "casual" gamers. (in terms of use, not content). It's the kind of audience EA needs access to on a number of different levels, because they're running out of their good will with gamers, but EA lacks something consistent like Call of Duty to smooth things out.